American coach Thomas Dooley on Thursday kicked out a European-based mainstay of the Philippines' national team and left the future of two other players in doubt following a highly public social media spat.
Midfielder Stephan Schrock and fellow mainstay Dennis Cagara declared on Twitter and Facebook this week they had played their last match under Dooley, amid speculation they were unhappy over a policy perceived to favour younger players.
Schrock got the boot, while the international careers of goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and left-back Cagara are in limbo after Dooley revealed neither was invited to the Azkals’ training camp for an invitational Peace Cup tournament in Manila next month.
Dooley accused them of being “selfish and putting themselves in front of everything”.
“If somebody does this it’s the worst thing that could happen to a team.... Even if the best player does something like this it kind of poisons the team, so we have to go against that,” Dooley told a news conference.
But the German-born coach reserved most of his venom for Schrock.
“You cannot have a player like this in the team. It makes a mess everywhere to me. So it’s clear to me: He’s not playing for me anymore.”
The row began in last May’s AFC Challenge Cup in Maldives, when Dooley said injuries reduced Etheridge and Cagara to bit parts.
The Azkals went all the way to the final, narrowly losing to Palestine after Schrock was substituted at half time.
After the final, Dooley highlighted the strong performance of younger players throughout the tournament although he insisted there was still a role for veterans.
Dooley said Thursday some senior players did not like it when he began to push younger players, as well as players based in the Philippines, into his starting 11.
“There’s no guarantee for playing in a national team because you’re playing overseas,” Dooley said, while conceding such players remained integral to his team for “as long as we don’t have a strong Filipino league”.
Etheridge, 24, has 37 caps and last played his club football for relegated English premiership club Fulham.
Cagara, 29, capped 13 times, played for Lyngby BK in Denmark, while Schrock, who has three goals in 17 internationals, is attached to the German Bundesliga’s second-tier club Greuther Furth.
They are among a large group of players abroad with at least one Filipino parent who were recruited to improve the fortunes of the Azkals.
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Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
RESULTS
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: Najem Al Rwasi, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
2.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Fandim, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Harbh, Pat Cosgrave, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
3.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Wakeel W’Rsan, Richard Mullen, Jaci Wickham
4pm: Crown Prince of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Jawaal, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
4.30pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup (TB) Dh200,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes. Portland is a 260 km drive from Seattle and Emirates offers codeshare flights to Portland with its partner Alaska Airlines.
The car
Hertz (www.hertz.ae) offers compact car rental from about $300 per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
Parks and accommodation
For information on Crater Lake National Park, visit www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm . Because of the altitude, large parts of the park are closed in winter due to snow. While the park’s summer season is May 22-October 31, typically, the full loop of the Rim Drive is only possible from late July until the end of October. Entry costs $25 per car for a day. For accommodation, see www.travelcraterlake.com. For information on Umpqua Hot Springs, see www.fs.usda.gov and https://soakoregon.com/umpqua-hot-springs/. For Bend, see https://www.visitbend.com/.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
