MANILA (25 Jan 2012) – The Philippines Football Federation (PFF) have signed veteran Zoran Dordevic from Serbia as the new coach to lead both the Under-21 squad for the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy 2012 and also the Under-23 team for the next SEA Games in 2013 to be hosted by Myanmar.
Dan Palami, the team manager for the Azkals who has also been appointed as the new team manager for the U21 team, said that the appointment of Dordevic is seen as a continuous progression from one tournament to another.
“We want to make sure that we will be well-prepared for the SEA Games next year in Myanmar as what we promised after our disappointing result in Indonesia,” said Palami.
The 59-year-old Dordevic, was credited for steering Bangladesh to the South Asian Games crown in 2010. He had also led Churchill Brothers SC to the India League crown in 2008. He was the former coach of Sudan and Yemen.
In the meantime, the Azkals Selection side conceded a 4-2 defeat in the penalty shootout against Korean third division side Icheon Citizen FC. The score at the end of regulation was 1-1.
Icheon striker Bin Tae Kwan drew first blood in the 21st minute before Marwin Angeles found the equaliser for the home team a minute to the end.
The game at the Rizal Memorial Stadium was a charity match for the benefit of victims of tropical storm ‘Sendong’. It was the second charity match after the earlier game against CF Internacional de Madrid which saw Azkals Selection losing 3-1.
