No home game for PHL Azkals in Suzuki Cup

It’s final: Indonesia will get the privilege of having homecourt advantage in both of its semis matches against the Philippines in the Suzuki Cup. The Asean Football Federation made it official Thursday night when it posted the final schedule for the semis matches between the PHL Azkals and the Indons, holding on to the original timetable of having the matches placed on Dec. 16 and 19. Both matches will be played at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta. But newly-installed Philippine Football Federation president Nonong Araneta said that the latest development won’t affect the Azkals, who are still in cloud nine following their semifinals entry. The Philippines secured a semis seat for the first time in the 16-year history of this most prestigious football tournament in Southeast Asia. Araneta said the team will be ready for its semifinals showdown with Indonesia. There were reports that the home game for the Philippine eleven might be played at the Panaad stadium in Bacolod City, which had hosted an AFF event in 2006. Buit this was doused by the AFF's official announcement. “The way I see it, mukhang malabo na tayo makalaro sa Panaad," Araneta told GMANews.TV in a telephone interview Thursday. “But that won’t stop our team from striving harder sa semis. Galit nga sila dahil the incentive we were supposed to get was to have one of the games be played here in the Philippines, yet mukhang hindi na mangyayari. But I’m sure they will use it as a motivating drive to beat Indonesia." The Pinoy Azkals, our newest sports heroes, arrived Thursday from Vietnam. The team will practice for three days beginning Saturday before leaving for Indonesia on Tuesday. "Indonesia is another game, but we will be a better team in the semifinals," said Azkals coach Simon McMenemy. The Pinoy football squad was supposed to play one of the two scheduled semis matches by virtue of the home-and-away format of the Suzuki Cup, but the AFF didn’t approve the idea of having one of the games played in the Philippines. “Jakarta has been appointed Thursday by the AFF to host the first game of the semifinals, because the AFF has deemed the stadiums in the Philippines as not up to international standards, including the one in Bacolod," said AFF secretary general Dato Paul Mony Samuel. The PFF had been batting for the Panaad Football Stadium in Bacolod City, which served as a satellite venue for the 2006 Southeast Asian Games and the Palarong Pambansa, to host one of the games in the Suzuki Cup. Araneta added that Mari Martinez, who is still recognized by the International Football Federation (FIFA) as the PFF’s president, was the one who made the Asian Football Confederation believe that Panaad Stadium doesn’t meet the international standard. Martinez was ousted by the board members of the PFF during its recent congress. He was removed for alleged mishandling of funds and falsification of documents. “I don’t know why AFC believed Martinez. They didn’t even confirm it first to us or even having the facilities inspected," added Araneta, who also informed FIFA that the board followed the right procedure after a total of 26 members voted for the ouster of Martinez as president. GMANews.TV tried to contact Martinez, but he could not be reached for comment. A 30,000-seater stadium with adequate lighting is the international standard venue for the Suzuki Cup, a standard which Panaad Stadium couldn't meet at this time. An offer was also made by Vietnam to have one of the games be held on neutral ground. Should the Philippines beat Indonesia in the semifinals, another appeal is expected to be made, and the AFF might just consider Vietnam as an alternative venue for one of the finals’ games. The dilemma for the Philippines will be if both the Azkals and Vietnam make it to the finals. Vietnam would then no longer be neutral ground but, after the stunning upset over the host team by the Philippines in Hanoi on December 5, the most partisan venue imaginable.- KY/HS, GMANews.TV