MANILA (2 May 2011) – The recent Nagold Blitz Football Tournament in Germany has unearthed several new talents with Filipino lineage which the national Under-23 squad hopes to take advantage of for the SEA Games at the end of the year.
In the four-team tournament, the Philippines team emerged second behind hosts Nagold but ahead of Stuttgart and Reutlingen.
They opened their campaign in the Nagold Blitz Football Tournament with a 3-2 loss to Nagold before holding Stuttgarter Kickers to a 2-2 draw.
They then wrapped up the tournament with a 3-1 win over SSV Reutlingen.
The result has given Dan Palami, the team manager of the Philippines, confidence that they will not only be competitive for the SEA Games in Jakarta in November but also might just end up in the medals.
Philippines have never been on the podium at the biennial meet of the SEA Games.
“So far, we achieved what we set our sights on, like in the AFF Suzuki Cup and in the AFC Challenge Cup,” said Palami. “I hope our luck will continue and our success is tangible when it comes to the medal.”
Among the new talents identified by Philippines chief coach Michael Weiss from the Nagold Blitz Football Tournament were striker Patrick Reichelt, central defender Oliver Poetschke and captain of the Hamburg Under-19 team Kevin Ingreso.
The newcomers can be expected to join several members of the senior team who are still eligible for the SEA Games and they are goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, Yannick Tuason, David Basa, Jason de Jong and Manny Ott.
“I might invite them to come to Manila to our camp,” quipped Weiss.
