Ever since he was a child, Sandro Reyes commanded the headlines after he signed for the youth academies of FC Barcelona and Santboià in Spain.
For a time, people wondered what happened to his progress – only for the past few months to show that prodigy is alright.
Appearances in the recent AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification, AFF Suzuki Cup, and AFF U-23 Championship campaigns have brought the 18-year-old midfielder back to the consciousness of the Filipino public. In all the matches that he has played, he showed that he really has the potential to act as a mainstay for the Azkals down the line.
“At the end of the day no matter what kind of form I’m in, I just love playing for the country,” said Reyes. “It gives you that extra motivation especially when you feel you’re making the fans at home excited, especially the young kids.
“I’ve still got so much to learn and every tournament, whatever age group it is, I’m always trying to improve.”
Perhaps the standout moment of the Makati City native’s career so far was scoring a magnificent solo goal against Brunei in the AFF U-23 Championship. It capped off a fantastic individual campaign for him that saw him listed as one of the best 11 players of the tournament by Goal.com.
“I think that is what really drove me in this tournament as I was very confident while I played. This is because of a lot of things, including the coach (Stewart Hall) believing in me and telling me I have to be one of the leaders.
“My teammates also really pushed me in terms of them wanting me to be one of the leaders,” said the former Southridge student.
“But really the entire team stepped up, and that gave me the confidence to play my game. And seeing how they played – considering not many thought they could play well – really pushed me to be the best version of myself,” he continued.
“In the game against Brunei, the coach put me very close to the striker and gave me the freedom to make decisions and get in the box, which really gave me a huge amount of confidence. The team was able to play well from the back, which led to me getting a lot of chances and, of course, getting a goal.”
In terms of the U-23 squad’s overall performance in the AFF tourney, there is a sense of disappointment that the team failed to qualify for the knockouts. The players and coaches only had three weeks to prepare together and it showed. Those on the pitch suffered cramps and other injuries that occur thanks to a long lay-off.
Nevertheless, Reyes was still proud of what he experienced first-hand.
“The new players who were mostly local players stepped up incredibly and proved they earned the spot rather than being replacements. What made it more impressive was these players haven’t been regularly playing football due to the COVID-19 situation in the country. This was a huge worry in terms of a possible drop in technical and tactical ability, game fitness, and overall mentality,” he said.
“This showed how talented and hard-working these players are as they quickly recovered all that in around three weeks of training. It made me so happy to see local players competing on the bigger stage and proving they are worth just as much if not more than players coming from abroad.”
As of this moment, Reyes and his teammates from Kaya Football Club-Iloilo are in Australia and dead set in their preparations for their upcoming crunch 2022 AFC Champions League qualifier against Sydney FC.
If Kaya wins, then the club shall secure entry into the AFC Champions League’s group stages for the second straight year. Despite the immense pressure, the former Azkals Development Team star is just raring to go.
Photo from AFC
“Whether I play well or play badly, I try to forget about the next day. Especially staying away from social media after my games as the attention, whether positive or negative, can carry you away. But most of all, I’m just trying to be a kid as long as I can and have fun as if I were a toddler in Southridge just playing for fun with his friends. When you’re having fun you play with confidence and that’s the most important thing in football.”
The next international tournament Reyes is going to presumably participate in is the upcoming Southeast Asian Games hosted by Vietnam come May. The Philippines has never earned a podium finish in the regional tournament, which is something Reyes hopes to help change.
“I just want to continue to improve and be the best player I can be and get to the best level my ability can take me to. With the youth team I want to make the semi-finals for the first time in its history That would mean so much,” he said.
“I’m not trying to stress too much on accomplishing things, rather I just enjoy the moment and enjoy because I have the best job I could have ever dreamed of. Waking up playing football, in a healthy environment, traveling regularly for the sport, and everything in between.”
