Five Takeaways from Tito Jay: The Rise of Der Meistertaktiker

Photo Credits: RM Chua

The Philippine Azkals hosted Nepal in a thrilling 90 minutes at the historic Rizal Memorial Stadium as they try to claw their way back to how things used to be and they somehow did not disappoint after winning their first match to break their four-game losing streak.

Not only was it a comeback for the Azkals who, in recent years, have seen a dip in their form, but it was also a walk down memory lane as coach Hans Michael Weiss took the helm for the second time since 2014. His return reinvigorated the passion of the squad as well as the fans who can finally see a glimmer of hope after years of walking in the dark with the national team.

Jarvey Gayoso's solitary goal in the 50th minute gave the Azkals the win and the hope that finally, all things may turn out just fine again. Without further ado, let's dive into the five takeaways from Tito Jay's observation of the Azkals' win against Nepal.

1) Say hello to Blitzkrieg

Photo Credits: RM Chua

Weiss' first game back with the Azkals saw a different style of play with the personnel that he currently has for this window. Throughout the match, the 58-years old tactician made the Azkals work hard in the offense as they tried to bombard the opponent's backline with continuous movement upfront mixed with piling on the numbers with Sandro Reyes and Kevin Ingreso breaking the midfield of Nepal to free off the wings who has pace to make it past their markers.

Five minutes after Gayoso's opener, Reyes almost made it past the entire defense through his dribbling skills but what caught my attention was how the play started. After Gayoso intercepted the pass from Nepal, he quickly ran down the wings before cutting it back to the middle for Mike Ott who then offloaded it to Reyes. Though Reyes would soon be crowded by red shirts, the build-up of the play screamed Blitzkrieg.

Though maybe referred to as offensive warfare designed by the Germans, it's often used in sports as a rapid and powerful attack. With Gayoso's pace on the wings, it allowed our midfielders to go up and join the attack and pester the backline of the opponents.

With the squad that we currently have, it is fitting to say that this tactic is the best way to go for now knowing that we have flashy wingers in Gayoso, OJ Porteria, as well Jesse Curran who played more of a wingback role in their first match back in the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

However, this kind of tactic exploits our backline which, historically connects with how the German offensive fell to the Soviets through counterattacks. Our backline as of the moment, despite having the height, might not be pacey enough to run back in defense and prevent a speedy counterattack from the opposition. This is just one of the problems that coach Weiss intends to fix over the course of his 12-month contract with the Philippines.

2) Pat is back

Photo Credits: RM Chua

After four years of plying his trade in the Thai League, Patrick Deyto showed that he's still one of the best goalkeepers the country has ever produced after putting on a massive performance between the sticks against Nepal. Named as the man of the match, Deyto proved the doubters wrong as he put on a five-star display to shut out the opposition.

"I'm surprised to be named man of the match, to be honest with you but I did what I had to do. I did my job. Yes, I also need to improve on other aspects of the game," said Deyto.

Coach Weiss also didn't waste any time in acknowledging his keeper's performance as it was the first thing that he brought up during the post-match press conference. "I want to thank Patrick for his excellent performance. I know I was critical during the game and in the run-up to the game, this is how I am, he can be a little more active, and talk a little bit more. He's trying but he saved us the game," said Weiss about Deyto's performance against Nepal.

For Deyto, it was more of showing what the local boys can do on the international stage. He's been to a couple of clubs in the Thai League and he wouldn't be plucked from the budding talents in the Philippines if he's not fit for the job. Deyto wanted to prove that if the foreign-based players can do it, so could the homegrown talents.

"Filipinos have the quality to play football. All we need is support, the support of the people for the federation, for the Azkals, maybe some sponsors to help the team, but sky's the limit for the Azkals."

3) The retired... Unretires... but for how long?

Photo Credits: RM Chua

When 2023 started, Stephan Schröck, in his usual alpha male fashion, shocked the fans with his announcement that he'll be retiring from being a player and would start focusing on helping the young ones as the new director of the Azkals Development Academy and to be part of the Azkals coaching staff.

In fact, he was already part of former Azkals coach Barae Jrondi's coaching staff when they went to their Middle Eastern camp. But, in a true Schröcky way, he shocked everybody again by donning the Azkals kit merely six months in his supposed retirement.

Be it as it seems but whenever a player feels the itch to step on the pitch and make a difference, they'll do everything he can to get back out there and show that they still have a lot left in their tank. And Schröcky did just that. He came on as a substitute in the 75th minute which garnered mixed reactions from the 3,000-crowd in the Rizal Memorial Stadium. Most of them were delighted but there were some who felt tricked into his announcement back in January.

Coach Weiss said, "He's (Schrock) getting on the nerves of the local people but in a good sense. He's trying to bring things forward." As for the duration of his appearance with the national team, it's yet to be determined based on the personnel that Weiss will be dealt with in the next coming windows heading into the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers but one thing's for certain, Schröcky may just be in for his last ride part two.

As the clock slowly got closer to the 90th-minute mark, Schröck tried to implement his style of play and tried to produce a couple more chances for the Philippines. His flashy dribbling skills also got the fans hyping up again and remembering what kind of player he was during his prime.

At 36, who knows what else Schröcky can do to help to the cause of the Azkals? Doubters may say that his time is up and it's about time to let the young ones cook. Believers would say that he still can contribute a lot to the team but the only thing that we're sure of is that he's not going anywhere... for now.

4) It finally feels like home again

Photo Credits: RM Chua

Since the Philippines' last home game in the 2022 AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup, the numbers were not as decent as it was 10 years ago back when the Azkals were at the peak of their form. However, the match against Nepal marked the return of the Azkals to the fabled Rizal Memorial Stadium which also welcomed the return of quite a mammoth crowd despite the heavy rains and the usual payday traffic.

During the final of the 2022 AFF Women's Championship in which the Filipinas won against Thailand, I believe the attendance was announced to be at around 8,000 making it the most-attended women's national football team game to date. That time, it felt like football is alive.

On the contrary, whenever the Azkals are being talked about, most of the comments were either negative or just outright demoralizing. This game against Nepal, though, became their claim to resurgence as a total of 3,250 spectators witnessed the return of Michael Weiss and, hopefully, the return of the good old days when the Akals can perform really well.

"I was very happy with the crowd. People told me it was a bigger crowd but if you remember when we had the big games before, it was so loud, it was a different time. No need to look back. I was very happy with the performance," said Weiss while reminiscing the days when the Rizal Memorial Stadium is packed to the rafters.

With the win, The Azkals and coach Weiss are expecting to draw more people in for their match against Chinese Taipei on June 19, 2023. However, their biggest obstacle would be the fact that it's the first workday of the week, and in true Filipino fashion, traffic would definitely be everywhere and might prevent the fans from coming in.

However, I believe the fans would do anything just to see the Azkals put up another inspiring performance and be part of the resurgence of the men's football program that has been down in the dumps over the past few years.

5) LOCAL TALENTS ARE A MUST MOVING FORWARD

Photo Credits: RM Chua

Yes, I meant for that to be in all caps for everyone to understand the importance of having local players to be called up in the upcoming international windows for the Azkals. Every time the Azkals produce a bad performance, the first thing that we always hear is how unprepared they were because of the number of days or weeks that they are together in a training camp or whether the unavailability of the players hampered the supposed performance of the team.

We must put an end to it now by trusting the talents that are being produced here on our home soil. As coach Weiss said, "As much as we respect the kids from Europe or from America, we need a strong base here. That is very important. I hope that the league, when it gets a better momentum, the league will be stronger."

Yes, there may be a disparity when it comes to talent but I'm confident enough to say due to the recent trends in local football, our homegrown talents can perform at the same stages as our foreign-based players. Not only it does give our local players the avenue to showcase their talents, it also solves a problem that we've been dealing with over the last five years.

Since the growth of Philippine Football started, so does the scouting of our neighbors on what kind of talent we are producing. Sadly, they get to enjoy our talents more than we do. And also, it pains me to see that our most talented players are just being benched overseas. By the time they're called up to the national team, they may have the training overseas but they lack their match fitness because of the lack of minutes as well in actual gameplay.

Take Jeremiah Borlongan and Daniel Gadia, for example. These two players alongside a formidable squad that Cebu Football Club has built for this season made it difficult for Kaya FC-Iloilo to win the league title this year. If only we have these players during this window, it could've given us a much better result compared to using players who were either on a holiday before the call-ups or simply waiting to step into the field because of the lack of minutes with their respective clubs.

With Weiss back in the fold, this should be the new norm. He said, "I will do everything, of course, they must have the quality. But what I see in training now, there's no extreme difference from the others. They can learn a lot."

There are a lot of local players aching to join the national team. They just need to be called up and let them show what they got. I remember during an open play in Bulacan, Ruben Doctora Jr. of Stallion Laguna FC told us how we felt when he don the national team kit. He said, "Siyempre, nakaka-proud. Tapos nung naka-goal ako, iba talaga yung pakiramdam kasi para sa bayan eh."

Not only can our local talents play, they also have the heart which is what coach Weiss is looking for in the new set of players coming into the Azkals. In an interview last June 11, 2023, at the Eat Sleep Breathe Football Show, he said, "We need players who are committed. We need players who love to play for the country and give everything. We don't need pickers who think they can dictate when we allow them to play or not. We will recruit the right characters."

With a longer spell now in the country compared to his predecessors, this should allow Weiss more time to go around the country, watch the upcoming Copa Paulino Alcantara, and scout local talents who could potentially play for the national team in the upcoming international windows and could soon suit up for the Philippines in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.