Sandro, the Future Maestro

Photo Credits: Philippine Football Federation

He waved his baton as if he was conducting an orchestra, he made defenders dance to his music, and that night, he just announced, by the magic of his feet, that he is the new maestro in town.

In its first home game since the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, the Philippine Azkals put on a show in front of the home crowd at the fabled Rizal Memorial Stadium after putting five goals past Brunei to bounce back from their opening day defeat in the 2022 AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup.

However, it was Sandro Reyes who stole... no... Sandro Reyes was the show everybody came to watch. Yes, they won it as a team but his individual performance shone the brightest and gave us not just a glimpse into the future but also an idea of what things are to come for the Azkals in the next coming years.

In the last edition of the biennial regional tournament, Reyes barely played minutes and often started from the bench so his eagerness to make it to the starting eleven this time around surely is evident.

Then, the time for him to shine came. With the Azkals building up from the momentum they got after Kenshiro Daniels opened the scoring, Reyes, left the defenders stunned after receiving the ball from Mark Hartmann before firing a rocket from 23 yards out with his weak foot.

To think that Sandro wasn't playing in an attacking position against Brunei is a surprise as he's often seen in the attacking phase for the Azkals. "It was a bit different because I was playing in a defensive midfielder position but playing with Schröcky and Mark (Hartmann) gave me more freedom and Marky just stays a bit back," said Reyes.

The kid who we were rooting for to make it to the most prestigious La Masia in Barcelona, Spain, went back home and showed us what he learned overseas. His deft touches, tremendous vision, and passing skills really showed that he learned a lot from his younger years while he was still trying to learn more about the game. It is quite surprising as well that this young boy from Southridge is still clubless but surely after this performance, he'll be turning quite a few heads out there.

With the game against Cambodia being passed them, they'll now have a mountain to climb as they'll be facing the defending champions Thailand inside their stadium Thammasat Stadium in the War Elephants' lair.

Regardless of what's going to happen in this tournament, Reyes already showed the world that the future of football is safe with him and all the other youngsters in the group.