Qatar - Azkals United
Philippine football leaped from their lowest World Ranking ever at 195 in September 2006 to hitting an all time high in December 2010 placing at 150. Our team dubbed as Big Fish bait or the "Minnows" in the region ate bigger fishes for breakfast, lions for lunch and the gobbled the regional Champions for dinner in one of the toughest competition in the Asean region.
The AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 lay witness to these accounts as team who had nothing to just a few support captivated not just the entire nation they represent, but turned quite a few heads in the international football scene as well. ESPN, BBC, the region and oh, FIFA.
Surging from their success, reinforcements coming from Filipinos living outside the country rallied and joined hands as the band of brothers representing the Philippines and aiming to reach just one goal, the success of Philippine Football.
The latest victim of this small fish are the brave reds from South Asia, Sri Lanka 5-1 on aggregate, before whole hardheartedly fighting a gallant stand to a blue Goliath in Kuwait sitting 67 places ahead of the Philippines in round 2 of the FIFA World Cup Qualifers for Brasil 2014, but make not mistake, nothing was taken away from these Filipinos and they only had everything to gain, winning world class experience which was never thought of even before.
The Azkals now sit on 162, in order for us to move, friendly matches with other national teams will determine a climb or a decent on those numeric values. Team manager Dan Palami has organized friendly matches starting next month followed by a 4-Nation Challenge that will see the best of ASEAN Regional powerhouse, these will also serve as a preparatory tune ups for the Philippines will compete anew in the AFC Challenge Cup in Nepal, a Cup for emerging football nations, but something triggered me to write this blog and I found it in Fulhamfc.com where Philippine International Neil Etheridge is currently a part off.
Meanwhile, I hope you will be able to read this post and as a supporter of Fulham, Do not insult or sarcastically comment on the country of Neil Etheridge & Filipinos, instead support it too for football.
Everything big started small, and nothing goes up without starting from the ground. We will get there.
Thank you Fulham FC for supporting our No.1 Goalkeeper and as the club would say. "BELIEVE."
See thread here :http://cc.fulhamfc.com/forum/topics/neil-etheridge-2