For decades, fans of Philippine football had endured a period of darkness during which the state of the sport languished in neglect, most playing fields in the capital confined to the grounds of elite private schools. During this period, the Philippines became the doormat of Asia, where countries wiped their cleats imposing shameful score lines that sometimes went into double-digit margins before moving on to subsequent rounds in various competitions. In 2006, the Philippines fell to #195 (out of about 200) in the FIFA world rankings, its lowest in history.
Philippine football hadn't always been in this state of depression. There was a time when the Philippines dominated the continent. Indeed, the Philippines played a pivotal role in pioneering the game in Asia. Established in 1907, the Philippine Football Federation is the second oldest in the continent; only Singapore's is older, founded by its British colonial administration in 1894. Through the first half of the twentieth century, the Philippines was among the leaders in Asian football's development. Manila regularly hosted the Far Eastern Championship Games, the only international football tournament in pre-World War II Asia, winning the first edition in 1913 and finishing as runners-up six times in a row before the competition's demise upon the onset of the war. In 1954, the Philippines became one of the 13 founding members of the Asian Football Confederation, whose charter was signed at a conference in Manila. Filipino football fans constantly turn to the memory of Paulino Alcantara for inspiration that we will one day see Pinoys playing at the very top level in the world. Alcantara, for those who have never heard of him, holds the club record of most career goals for FC Barcelona. Born in the province of Iloilo, Philippines, Alcantara went to Spain to study medicine and ended up playing for the storied club from 1912 to 1927, scoring 369 goals in 357 matches, a record which still stands today. During those years, Alcantara was capped by both the Philippines and Spain. He is now listed in the Barca record books as a legend, quite an accomplishment when one sees the other names on that list - Maradona, Cruyff, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Krankl, Stoichkov...
Victories in the post-war era were few and far between for the Philippines. There was an abundance of goalless defeats, many to lowly teams like Laos, Taiwan and Brunei, with goal differentials of negative 5, 6 or 7 occurring regularly. The Philippine Football Federation finally decided to withdraw from the World Cup Qualifiers in the first decade of the 21st century, focusing on development of the domestic league and regional competitions. The result of this decade-long hibernation was a Philippine men's team that had undergone a system makeover. In the 2010 Suzuki Cup, the Philippines, now dubbed "the Azkals," stormed into the group stage and blanked hosts Vietnam in a shocking upset, booking our first semifinal berth in tournament history. Philippine football was back in the regional landscape and began to take the country by storm.
Much credit has been given to the Philippine Football Federation and team manager Dan Palami, who have taken a proactive approach to systematically develop and construct a Philippine team like never before, piecing together critical pieces, hiring a pragmatic tactician in German Head Coach Michael Weiss, and searching for players far beyond the barbed-wire fences of Manila's elite schools, discovering Pinoy footballers who have been plying their trade in Europe, the United States and provinces outside the capital region, plucking players from obscurity in poor communities and making heroes of them on the pitch. The result is a Philippine National Team which is playing at a level of passion and technique that the country has not seen in generations, comprised of highly-skilled players produced by comprehensive youth development systems abroad and at home. Gone are the days of double-digit defeats to the likes of Indonesia, Malaysia and Syria. The Philippines is no longer the whipping boys of Asia; indeed, by all accounts, we are now a country to be reckoned with.
But the cultural revolution I speak of is manifest less by the changes at the top than by the grassroots development programs sprouting up all over the Philippines, and the blossoming of coaching education. In years past, I have always said that in order for the Philippines to develop into credible international competitors once again, millions of youths of all ages would have to be playing the game in the streets, in barangay-based programs and in organized competitions under real coaching. A cultural revolution would have to occur, not necessarily to supplant basketball as the national pastime, but rather to expand the pursuits of Filipino athletes and to break the basketball monopoly over available resources. This critical transformation has been taking place over the past five or so years, sweeping across all sectors of Philippine society and steamrolling into the future.
One important product of soccer's sudden return to popularity is the attention the women's game is now receiving. Established in 1981, the Philippine Women's National Team was no more successful than the men in international competition. Double-digit defeats, goal droughts lasting years, and first-round eliminations were the norm. But in this Philippine football renaissance, Head Coach Ernest Nierras has embarked upon a development campaign that has given the Women's National Team unprecedented support, conducting regular training camps at home, and occasionally abroad. Many grassroots youth programs in poor neighborhoods all over the Philippines now include girls squads. The result is a Malditas team that is beginning to emerge as a bonafide competitor in the region.
It was under this light that I greeted with keen interest the arrival in Houston of East Carolina University and their Pinay goalkeeper Christiane Cordero to face U of H and Rice over a weekend series of Conference USA matches. Christiane did not disappoint. On a typically muggy October night in southeast Texas, the Pirates rolled into the University of Houston's Robertson Stadium, and rolled all over the Cougar defense, leaving Kaci Bush, Danielle Muñoz and Ciara Slayton (see my Nov 27, 2012 blog entry) dazed in a home shocker in which Christiane repeatedly denied Kylie Cook and company's advances. Admittedly, the Cougars were off that night, unable to answer ECU's three goals by Caty Butler, Chrissy Gratz, and C-USA First Team all-star Hali Oughton. But Christiane's best was yet to come - two days later at Rice.
While U of H had an off-night that Friday, the Rice Owls certainly were totally on the following Sunday afternoon. In a battle for second place in the conference for which Rice and ECU were tied, the Pirate defense simply could not hold off the relentless attack of Quinney Truong, Gabi Iribarne, and Julia Barrow (see my Nov 10, 2012 blog entry). But Christiane produced the most remarkable performance I had ever seen from a goalkeeper on Houston grass. She made save after unbelievably spectacular save under extreme pressure, repelling everything the Owls brought, repeatedly drawing gasps of astonishment from the Rice fans sitting around me. The Quinney-led Owl offense dominated every third of the pitch, attacking from all sides, but inside the goalmouth belonged to Christiane that day. At one point, one of the Rice spectators keeping track of stats uttered in disbelief in the middle of the game - 17 shots on goal for the Owls, not a single one getting past Christiane, making them want more information about her and where she came from. I of course was more than happy to provide them with that information. Through double-overtime, the Owls eventually racked up a staggering 40 total shots on goal, the sixth highest single-game tally in school history. In the face of this Rice onslaught, with little help from a defensive backfield that looked road-weary at best, Christiane achieved a perfect record in Houston that weekend, blanking the two flagship universities of the fourth largest city in the country, taking home four precious points for ECU to maintain their share of second place in the conference, and earning her seventh shutout of the season. Christiane would go on to notch three more shutouts before the season ended, and secure the First Team All-Conference USA keeper spot.
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| An unmarked Lauren Busansky (11) of Rice could not convert this corner kick against stern goalkeeping by Christiane Cordero (yellow). Facing an ECU defense that looked flat-footed and road-weary, the Rice Owls often had good position deep inside the box. |
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| Christiane performed heroically all afternoon. |
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| Despite the efforts of Kendall Frey (8), Kelley Johnson (34), Chrissy Gratz (5) and Kelly Miller (9), East Carolina's defense was overwhelmed by Rice's relentless attack... |
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| ...but the goalmouth belonged to Christiane Cordero (0) that day... |
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| ...making save after unbelievable save to preserve a goalless away draw for East Carolina and earn her second shutout of the weekend. |
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| ECU's Haley Patsy (11) and Danielle Romano (19) could not stop Rice's All-Conference USA center-midfielder Quinny Truong (21), who was firing on all cylinders that afternoon. But Christiane Cordero (0) denied Quinny's best opportunity at close range. This save drew one of many collective gasps of astonishment from the Rice fans filling the bleachers. |
Christiane has not gone unnoticed by Coach Ernie, inviting her to a Philippine National Team training camp in California last November, where he fielded in the Viking Cup an all-star Malditas squad of stateside Pinay college players from around the country, including two-time NSCAA All-American Nadia Link of Long Beach State. The Malditas won the tournament. Christiane put in another stellar performance, blocking two penalties in the final shootout. Just a junior at ECU, I look forward to seeing Christiane for another season in Conference USA play - and for years to come wearing a Philippine National Team jersey.
(All photos by Kokoy Severino)
Kokoy Severino has been coaching junior high school soccer in the public school system of the Greater Houston area for 19 years. He holds a National Youth Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, two coaching certifications from the United States Soccer Federation, and a Master in Educational Leadership degree from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. His research focuses on the relationship between interscholastic competitive soccer and the academic success of at-risk students. He returns regularly to his native country of the Philippines and conducts soccer training sessions for economically disadvantaged youths.
"This blog is to document the intensity, the depth, the passion, the strategic and tactical nuances, the stars, the spectacular play that I witness in the women's teams at the college level. And in doing so, it is my hope that others might be inspired to discover for themselves the beautiful game brought by the women." (Kokoy, from blog entry dated Nov 4, 2012)
