PHILIPPINES head coach Alen Stajcic knows full well the caliber of the Australia team they faced on Monday night in the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, being the mentor that led the Matildas to Fifa Women’s World Cup appearances in 2015 and 2019.
So when the national team, still being addressed endearingly by fans as the Malditas, put up a gallant stand against the Matildas despite the defeat, Stajcic was over the moon over the performance of his squad.
Against the world No. 11, the PH side held the Matildas scoreless in the first half until Sam Kerr broke the ice in the 51st minute to spark a 4-0 win.
“To play a football tournament and to come out with a performance like that against Australia just shows how much fight and spirit there is in this team which I think the whole country should really be proud of,” said Stajcic.
Australia coach Tony Gustafson was also impressed by the Philippine effort.
“We knew this would be a very different game from the opening game,” said Gustafson, referring to their 18-0 win over Indonesia in their debut. “I have to give a lot of credit to the Philippines.”
“They are really well-organized,” Gustafson said of the Philippines. “You can see they’ve spent a lot of time together. They probably have a very long prep time compared to some other teams in this tournament because they are organized like a club team, very synchronized which I’m impressed with.
"And also the fighting spirit, they didn’t show away from the attack goal and they made it a tough game for us. I’m really impressed.”
Long-term program
Being on the other side before, Stajcic knows how long Australia was able to build its football teams through a long-term program that begins in the grassroots - something that he said other countries including the Philippines should emulate.
When asked how the Philippines can be at par with Australia in women’s football, Stajcic said: “We can be here for two months talking about that question. This Matildas team was put together for 10 or 12 years, not 10 or 12 minutes.”
“They have perhaps a thousand caps with experience in that team. They are playing at the highest levels in Europe and America. It didn’t just happen overnight. There were institutes, there were player development systems, player identification systems, and lots of things in place to find these players and train these players and prepare these players and that takes 10 years. It doesn’t take 10 minutes.
“Any country who wants to get to that level, if they think a magic wand can come over their team and fix any issue in 10 minutes, they are on another planet. It really takes a lot of hardwork in grassroots and development systems and to be able to train and develop some of the athletes within your own country. Australia did a god job of that 10 years ago and they are reaping the rewards of this fantastic team that have.”
With that fact, Stajcic couldn’t emphasize enough the magnitude of the Philippine performance against a world-class side like the Matildas after its three-month buildup - lengthy for the team but short for world-class standards.
“We spent three months in camp and for us to bridge that gap so quickly is really a phenomenal thing. I think the country should be immensely proud of what they produced today,” said Stajcic.
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