The life of a coach can be a tumultuous one.
A few years ago, Alen Stajcic, as head coach of his home nation Australia, was winning matches in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympics.
However, unforeseen circumstances forced the 48-year-old to leave his post. He then ended up with Central Coast Mariners, whom he led to the playoffs of the 20-21 A-League season. They finished third in the regular season.
Perhaps to the surprise of many who have followed Stajcic’s career, he then opted to become head coach of the Philippine Women’s National Football Team, a program that languished in the wilderness of Asian football. And he has brought it into the semifinals of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 and entry into the FIFA World Cup 2023 hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
“Of course, I would not take the job if I have not seen the potential I’ve seen in the group,” said the erstwhile Sydney FC women’s mentor. “I watched them play four years ago in Jordan, while I was scouting as an opposition coach.
“I knew there is something there – a potential from an extremely inexperienced group, one that hasn’t really competed in major tournaments, but for them to progress this quickly?”
From out of nowhere, Stajcic, his long-time aide Nahuel Arrate, and the rest of the staff took the Philippines from a team that only won four Asian Cup matches in 32 attempts into one that secured group stage wins against Thailand and Indonesia earned a penalty shootout victory over Chinese Taipei in the last eight of the competition, which brought their dream of entering the next World Cup into fruition.
(C) AFC
“I am just running out of superlatives to describe what an amazing achievement this is,” said the retired midfielder. “To be able to grow and mature, and play under this kind of pressure against all teams –except Indonesia – who are ranked significantly above us, and for us to compete against all of them showed how far this group’s grown.
“It’s an unbelievable achievement from the group. It’s a moment of history for the country. No one can ever take that away from the group. I know I spoke about it the other day that now, every young kid, girl, and boy, in the Philippines will be inspired to get into the World Cup themselves. So I know the group is proud of each other, but I know that they are even more proud that they’ve inspired the next generation.”
For the former NSW Premier League player, this milestone for the Philippines has been a long time coming.
For a nation that is still in the midst of developing its football programs and infrastructure, the fact that it found a way to enter the biggest competition in the world is a testament to the hard work of countless people.
“As everyone knows there are parts of the team: there’s a coach and the assistant coaches, and medical staff and players and managers, and we are just one cog in the whole wheel and everyone has played their part, and they have only been here for five minutes,” said Stajcic.
“To be honest, there’s so many people that could have contributed to this team along the way over the last 10 years, eight years, seven years, five years — and they all know who they are, the players know who they are — whether it’s their families, whether it’s their friends, whether it’s previous coaches, it is a testament to the hard work done by everyone,” continued Stajcic, whose contract is expiring after the tournament.
“Hopefully, I’ve helped and added value. We worked really hard as a group, but for this to happen, it does not happen overnight. So full credit to the whole country, to the PFF, and everyone who had put in the effort to any of these players over the period of time.”
With all the euphoria that came from achieving what was deemed impossible, it is easy to forget that the Philippines has a semifinals clash against South Korea. There is also the small case of plotting a way forward after this tournament with the challenges only getting steeper and steeper.
“But no doubt, I am the coach and I’m greedy, and I know how much we can further improve to be a competitive force when we do get into the World Cup, but again that’s another discussion for another day.”
Stajcic’s career has brought him insane highs and painful lows. But as the old saying goes, you just can’t put a good man down, and it is the Philippines’ turn to benefit from his services.
