MANILA (17 Jan 2012) – Philippines national chief coach Michael Weiss indicated this week that he will be focussing more on the local, young talents this year to provide a continuous competitive edge of the national team in the long run.
He said that with the difficulty in assembling foreign-based players alongside the local talents for a given period of time meant that the composure and competitiveness of the national team is affected.
“Right now, familiarity is what we need in the team,” said Weiss (pix). “Fil-foreign players will play for five times a year then leave. Nothing will happen after that.”
“That’s why I’m going to focus on the local side this year maybe after the Challenge Cup because the players are available every time you need them. We need to focus on the young local talents.”
The Azkals are currently preparing for the AFC Challenge Cup on 9-13 March 2012 in Nepal where they will be up against DPR Korea, Tajikistan and India.”
Weiss said with the quality of players available in the province, there is no reason why the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) could not tap into it.
“I’m going to continue evaluating the team because the management is also evaluating my performance based on the results of the competitions we played in,” added Weiss.
“I’m hoping my players will play together for a long period of time.”
