AN incident between top officials of the Philippine Football Federation and the coaching staff after the Philippines’ match against Tajikistan in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers last June 10 led director of national teams Freddy Gonzalez to resign from his posts, according to sources interviewed by SPIN.ph.
Sources said a PFF official blamed Gonzalez and assistant team manager Mikkel Paris for the failure of the Philippine team to beat Tajikistan, a game which ended in a 2-2 draw.
READ Online speculations mount over 'resignation of top PFF official'
The PFF official, sources said, reportedly cited the eight yellow cards that the Philippines committed which, the official argued, left the home team to settle for a draw in a very winnable game. It was a highly-physical game with Tajikistan being given seven yellow cards.
What made matters worse, and probably what caused Gonzalez and some members of his staff to resign, was that the official made known his displeasure about the result in front of some members of the team.
A few days after the incident, Gonzalez submitted his resignation as the PFF's director of national teams and team manager of the men's side.
The conflict between Gonzalez and some top PFF officials is not a new development. Their differences have been worsening over the past several months and the June 10 incident at New Clark City likely proved to be the last straw.
Though the relationship have been strained, Gonzalez's resignation still came as a shock to the football community especially to the fans aware of the time and effort he put in to create one of the country's best football teams over the years.
The departure of Gonzalez and Paris was another blow to the PFF which since the new leadership took over, had seen the resignation of other officials, including head coach Albert Capellas, who led the Philippines to the semifinals of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup, - Reuben Terrado
Alfrancis Chua brokers peace for rival coaches
KENT Pastrana's inclusion as a member of the Gilas Pilipinas Women roster surprised many observers.
It's not because the skills of the University of Santo Tomas guard are wanting, it's whether Pastrana will continue to be loyal to UST after her Gilas stint.
Pastrana's dual life as both a member of the Growling Tigresses and Gilas has long been a festering issue between Gilas coach Pat Aquino and UST mentor Haydee Ong. Their conflict over Pastrana's loyalty has created a chasm in their relationship.
This apparently forced UST Special Assistant to the Rector for Sports Alfancis Chua to enter the picture before the matter further deteriorates. He brought the two together and seemed to successfully patched things up.
The truce enabled Pastrana to peacefully join the Gilas roster after Chua, himself doing his own multi-tasking being PBA board governor for Ginebra and San Miguel's overall basketball director, helped settle the matter.
Chua allayed fears on Pastrana's situation and assured Ong of the guard's commitment to the school after representing flag and country.
Chua, the newly appointed program director for Gilas Pilipinas, also gave a much needed youth boost for Aquino whose Gilas Women squad has been hampered by the absence of veterans Afril Bernardino, Janine Pontejos, Andrea Tongco, and Chack Cabinbin.
As proof that all is well all over, the two teams had a tuneup game at UST last week,
Will this peaceful co-existence last? Only time will tell. - DL
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