PHILIPPINES head coach Albert Capellas said that their performance in the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024 is just the beginning for the squad, promising that they will be a better team with the experience they gained in the tournament.
Capellas said the team’s progress over the course of the tournament was immense in which they nearly made past the semifinals of Southeast Asia’s biggest football competition after it won over Thailand, 2-1, in the first leg of their tussle last Friday.
READ: Late Thailand goal denies courageous PMNT a 'miracle' in Bangkok
The Philippine men’s football team (PMNT) eventually fell to the seven-time champions after a 3-1 result in the second leg last Monday at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, with Thailand winning by aggregate, 4-3.
The fact that the team came so close to reaching the finals has Capellas, who has rich experience in football particularly as coach in different levels with FC Barcelona, optimistic about the future of Philippine football that had to rebuild over the past few years.
“First, I would like to congratulate Thailand (for reaching) the final. Second, I’m very proud of my players. We will come back stronger. I can promise you that,” said Capellas during the postmatch press conference.
Capellas said the Philippines reached the semifinals amidst far from ideal conditions during the tournament particularly in the travel where the team had little rest in playing four home-and-away group stage matches in 10 days.
“To come here to Thailand, to play against Thailand face-to-face until the last minute of the 90 minutes and from the last minute of the extra time with a competition that I think has to be organized in a different way. Our players were absolutely destroyed physically. We have to take care of the players. They need more rest time between the games. This is not respect for the game, it’s respect for the players.
'I hope all the Filipinos are proud'
“And the country – Philippines – I hope all the Filipinos are proud of that. I hope they are enjoyed with our squad. They fight a lot and I hope we will get the support from the federation, from the government, from the people who loves football, to help us grow football in the Philippines,” said Capellas.
In the second leg, PMNT forced extra time after Bjorn Kristensen knocked in an 84th-minute goal to level at 3-3. The second extra time also saw the Philippines nearly gaining the lead when a rebound by Jarvey Gayoso was deflected by Thailand goalkeeper Patiwat Khammai into the crossbar.
In the end, Thailand star striker Suphanat Mueanta showed why he is a frontrunner in the MVP race of the tournament, scoring on a late header in the 116th minute to send the War Elephants to the finals and a rematch against Vietnam.
Capellas said that while the breaks of the game didn’t went their way, he also noted the importance of consistent play the entire match, something that he admitted was missing especially in the final minutes but the lessons of which can be used in future tournaments.
“Unfortunately, we had the chance in the extra time, we had the double chance and then the game was over. Sometimes you also need this kind of luck,” said Capellas.
“But on the other hand, if you want to win these kind of games, I think we played good the first 20 minutes, we played good the last 20 minutes. And in the first half of the extra time was equal game and in the last 10 minutes, we have suffered. We couldn’t put pressure on the ball anymore. We allowed too many crosses. Next time, we will learn from that lesson and we will come back strong.”
The 57-year-old Spanish coach also has more reasons to be optimistic since it was the first time that some of the players, most of which in their 20s, reached this level of football in the region, proving that it can compete against the likes of Thailand and Vietnam in the future.
Call for strong support system
Capellas also added the sky is the limit for the squad since it didn’t exactly had the best players for the tournament since the ASEAN Cup doesn’t fall in the FIFA international window.
“We just arrived to this level. For a lot of years, we couldn't play these kind of games – to fight until the last second against Thailand, against Indonesia, against Vietnam. It's the first time that we are there for our own, for a lot of years. That means it’s our first experience, we have to learn to play these games, to be more mature, to learn from the experience, to put more pressure on the ball, move the ball quicker,” Capellas said.
“For us, for this generation of players, it’s the first time. I only can promise that we will learn from this and we will become stronger. That is the big difference. We just arrived and Thailand has much more experience. We are learning what it means to play these games. It’s new for us. It’s new for them. That means now we know that we can do it,” said Capellas.
“And now, they will get more experience. Also, we will come with players that they couldn't join this tournament. Unfortunately, we couldn’t come with our strongest squad. That means I think in the future, I really think we have a very future for the national team in the Philippines for the next years,” Capellas said.
For the performance to be sustained, Capellas reiterated the value of a strong support system starting with a grassroots program.
“Thank you very much to all the Filipinos, not only from the Philippines, but also from around the world who have supported us. We have received a lot of messages from the support and now we have to move to the next level.”
“We have to have a better league with a more powerful league. We have to develop youth football in the Philippines. We have to invest and we will come back stronger. That's the only thing I want to say to all the Filipinos. We work very hard to make it happen,” said Capellas.
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