Know your Azkals: Phil Younghusband is not perfect

Many guys dream to be Phil Younghusband, while many girls dream to be with him. But if you’ll ask Phil himself, he’s far from perfect. Physically, Phil looks like a guy cut out from a Benetton ad – green eyed with a tall and buff physique. Perfect, so to speak. Well he disagrees, and points to scars on his arm and knee. “I love football but I hate all the injuries I get from it, especially the cuts and bruises. I hate it because it’s always gonna be with you. It’s not really painful. It’s more of annoying," he says. They don’t really look so bad, and he probably realized that himself as he laughed at his complaint. Still a bachelor (maybe not for long) The 23-year-old may be considered one of the most in-demand bachelors in the country today, but he still gets turned down. Case in point: actress Angel Locsin declined his first date invitation via Twitter (and I can imagine girls everywhere sighed in relief). Asked what the real score is between them, he says, “There’s no update. So I’m keeping mum until something actually happens." Since he hasn’t quite bagged the girl of his dreams yet, the girls in his life are solely his mom Susan and sister Keri. In fact, he says the sweetest thing he’s ever done for a girl was actually for his mom. “My mum doesn’t like us giving her gifts on Christmas. She just wants a letter. So on every occasion, I write her a really sweet letter," he smiles. Going into showbiz? Phil is no newbie to showbiz. Aside from numerous endorsements and modeling stints, he was a contestant in GMA-7’s “Celebrity Duets." However, we won’t be seeing him as the perfect leading man anytime soon too. “If I would go into showbiz, I’d probably do action. Since I’m sporty, I can do my own stunts. Plus there’s not a lot of talking. The Tagalog is hard," he laughs. But if given the chance to host his own show, Phil says it will still be about football. He wants to make a documentary showing the state of football in the country, the politics, and the growing popularity of the sport especially among kids. Of course, going into the entertainment industry would only increase his already massive fan base. It shouldn’t be a problem as Phil says he adores his fans. “Filipinos are very conservative and respectful, so nothing really crazy. If anything, my fans are really sweet. One time, they gave me this scrapbook filled with letters by fans from all over the Philippines," he says. “Mas gwapo ako sa kanya" Phil and James have a mere 11-month gap. Because of this, they’re often taken as a pair even if they’re not twins. It’s probably because of this that Phil makes a conscious effort to differentiate themselves. Phil says his favorite movie is “Titanic," but quickly asks, “Did James say the same?" True enough, James did. “Okay now I’ll say something else. I don’t want to say what he said. Uhm, probably ‘Wedding Singer.’" Phil made sure he also gave a different answer for favorite Filipino statement. “Mas gwapo ako sa kanya," he said and then laughed out loud.

Phil Younghusband appreciates people saying he's perfect, but he says he has flaws just like us mortals. Photo: Mav C. Gonzales

Apart from football, James and Phil have distinct interests. James is the artsy brother, while Phil prefers academics. “If I wasn’t a football player, I’d probably be studying Math to be an accountant," he says. Quite surprised since Math and football are on opposite sides of the pole, I asked if he’s good in Math. “Well, I used to be good in Math. I’m not sure now," he laughs. A footballer-model-accountant all rolled into one – if that's not perfect, I don't know what is. -- OMG, GMA News