RANGOON—The Philippines, defending stubbornly against a tall, physical Palestine team, settled for a scoreless draw Wednesday, leaving the Azkals with no recourse but to nail a victory in their last group qualifying match in the AFC Challenge Cup.
RANGOON— A Philippine team slowly finding fluidity in its play faces a formidable Palestine side considered a heavy favorite in the AFC Challenge Cup group stage qualifying here.
MANILA—The Philippine football team leaves for Japan today for the most important stretch of its preparation for Mongolia in the second leg of the AFC Challenge Cup qualifying duel in Ulan Bator.
MANILA, Philippines—A new kind of diplomacy in the disputed Spratlys is in the works.
And Filipino soldiers stationed on Philippine-occupied islands in the Spratlys are looking forward to engaging their counterparts from the five other state claimants to the oil-rich specks in the South China Sea.
Dan Stephen Palami, the man behind Philippine football’s renaissance, shows his devotion for the sport in unconventional ways.
As a schoolboy in Tacloban City, Palami would insist on wearing his new pair of studs as he went up the stage to receive his awards during recognition day.
As manager of a national team that had sometimes been overlooked even by its own federation, Palami takes a hands-on approach.
He is so involved that sometimes he joins training sessions. He even plays to complete the lineup during scrimmages when players are lacking.
“Football is my passion,” said the 40-year-old Palami, a former varsity player at the University of the Philippines.
“When the opportunity to manage the national team came, I saw it as a chance to really help the sport.”
Palami took the job on the condition that “the team should be isolated from the issues hounding the Philippine Football Federation.”
With little fanfare, Palami carried out his role, funding the team to the Interport Cup in Taiwan in January. He took the team to Tacloban and Davao for training camps, and also to Cebu for outreach programs and clinics.
Palami’s approach was enough to lure Phil and James Younghusband out of the sidelines and join the team. The Younghusband brothers had quit the national team because of a row with the PFF two years ago.
“They probably saw how serious we were in building the team,” said Palami.
Palami, an accounting graduate of UP, funds the team primarily through the Autre Porte Global Inc., an engineering firm in charge of construction, maintenance and operations of LRT 1 and LRT 2. Palami is CEO of APT Global.
“The family was actually concerned how he will be able to sustain the program,” said Palami’s younger brother, Ted.
“He always had this in mind that for football to attract big corporations, they have to be marketable, and for that to happen, it has to be a serious approach in managing the team.”
With the Azkals making a surprising run to the semifinals of the AFF Suzuki Cup, Palami is starting to reap the fruits of his labor. A slew of companies have pitched in to help the Azkals future campaigns.
“I just felt that it will take one man to believe in the team,” said Palami. “And now, we are creating believers out of our team.”
Palami rarely shows emotion. With every fighting performance by the Azkals, though, he is stoked.
As Phil Younghusband struck the goal that secured the famous 2-0 upset of defending champion Vietnam, Palami, celebrating on the Philippines’ bench, looked for the nearest television camera and let out a loud shout: Pilipinas.
