DUBAI // Thomas Dooley, the new coach of the Philippines national team, says his first few matches in charge have given him the belief his side could have a successful AFC Challenge Cup.
The German-American, who represented the USA at the Fifa World Cup in both 1994 and 1998, was installed last month and has overseen two friendlies, the latest against Azerbaijan in Dubai on Wednesday.
The Philippines, ranked 127th in the world by Fifa, were more than a match for their more-experienced opponents, and eventually lost the game 1-0 to a first-half header from Elvin Yunuszande, the Azerbaijan central defender.
The narrow defeat follows last week's creditable draw against Malaysia, and reinforced Dooley's conviction that he has a squad talented enough to compete for the Challenge Cup title in May.
Should the Philippines triumph in the biennial tournament, to take place in the Maldives, they will qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup, and could potentially face a group comprising the UAE.
Dooley concedes much work is required in the interim, yet the former assistant coach of the US national team is confident his side is on the right track.
“Overall, I’m happy,” Dooley said. “Of course, I want to win, but I’m happy with how we played against a bigger team. This is the level we should be competing against and, while you never know how it is when playing in qualification, you always have to start with games like this.
“The way we played, the way everyone fought for it, was good to see. Like last week, too, I’ve never seen the team panicking, or heads dropping. They all wanted to help each other.
“Before I signed I watched the team, and I hoped they’d be the guys I saw then. And they are, so I’m very happy and very proud of them.”
Today, the Philippines return to their Manila base. They reconvene next month for a training camp in Qatar. Then, in May, they travel to Bahrain to put the final touches on preparations for the Challenge Cup.
The last time the Philippines contested the tournament they finished third, but with a first appearance at next January’s Asian Cup at stake, Dooley’s team are focused on leaving the Maldives with the trophy.
The coach, though, says they must show the application they have done during the past month simply to qualify from a group containing Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Laos.
“The Challenge Cup is a tournament, with all good teams,” he said. “So if you don’t take it seriously you’re out. You have to take it serious from the first minute, because the way you prepare is how you play.
“So we want to be ready, prepare to play as we have tonight, against the bigger teams. Whether people see us as favourites, I don’t know. I just think that every game we play we have to show that maybe we are better than the opposition, show that we want to win, and that we can. And in the end we’ll see how far we are going to go.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
