AZKALS Development Team coach Scott Cooper said the opportunity to go up against Stephan Schrock will be a good test for the club being groomed as the next batch of members of the Philippine team.
The ADT opens its 2020 Philippines Football League (PFL) season against United City, which will be led by the Azkals skipper who, like them, was also once part of the developmental team.
The match is at 4:30 p.m.
During the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, Schrock was part of the Azkals U-22 team that was made up of players of the ADT team for the PFL.
“He is the player that they all looked up to,” said Cooper during the prematch press conference of matchday one. “He led them in the SEA Games, he is the captain of the Azkals. In my mind, he is the best player in Southeast Asia, one of the best in Asia, keeps his body in tiptop condition. Great guy, great player.”

For the concurrent Azkals coach, the debut match of an ADT team led by Jarvey Gayoso against Schrock and United City will be a perfect barometer for the program.
United City is regarded as the favorite with the buik of its players coming from the Ceres-Negros FC club that won the three PFL league crowns since its inception.
“They are going up against a guy that is in so many levels above them. For them, they should look at it as an honor and as a challenge to gauge where they are. You can look at United City. There are six players that play for the Azkals in the last couple of years. They have three foreign players.”
Cooper said he’s been challenging his players for the match against United City.
“On paper, it looks like a total mismatch. But games aren’t played on paper and our players have to think about their own development. They’ve got to stand up to the challenge in front of them,” said Cooper.
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