TRIBUTE TO THE AZKALS (Philippine Football Team)

In a country where everybody focuses on basketball...the Philippine Football Team (AZKALS) out of nowhere reached the Semi Finals in the ASEAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION(AFF) SUZUKI CUP 2010.

One great achievement for the Philippine football team is when they defeated Vietnam 2-0 on The 5th of Dec 2010 held in "Hanoi Vietnam", as the Philippines have never scored a point against Vietnam. Note Vietnam is the defending Champion.hehe.



The Philippine Azkals’ quarterfinal victory over Vietnam in the 2010 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup made it to Sports Illustrated’s Top 10 soccer stories this year.

The Azkals' 2-0 win over Vietnam early this month is ranked No. 10 on the list compiled by Sports Illustrated columnist Georgina Turner.

“This year's tournament produced arguably the biggest upset in its history: Defending champion and federation powerhouse Vietnam lost 2-0 to the Philippines, ranked 151st in the world and without so much as a point off Vietnam in nearly 20 years,” Turner said in her column “Inside Soccer”.

The Azkals defeated Vietnam in front of 40,000 Vietnamese spectators at the My Dinh National Stadium on December 5.

Chris Greatwich scored the opening goal for the Azkals in the 38th minute. This was followed by Phil Younghusband’s precision strike at close range with 10 minutes remaining.

The victory made the Azkals instant celebrities in basketball-crazy Philippines.

It also sent Vietnam’s Portuguese coach Henrique Calisto fuming mad over the Philippines’ defensive style of play.

"If the Philippines think they can win playing that way then my dear, poor, poor football in this region," he said in an interview published on the tournament's official website.

The Philippines went on to score a draw against Myanmar and seize a semifinals slot.

The Azkals, however, failed to advance into the Suzuki Cup finals after bowing to Indonesia in two semifinal games.