When the news of Alen Stajcic’s renewal with the Philippine Women’s National Football Team was announced, there was widespread relief and joy across social media. The man who led the country in its historic AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 campaign is staying on for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and Philippine football is blessed that a man of his caliber is leading the charge.
“I’m very excited actually to start this whole process and the journey to the World Cup,” said the 48-year-old Australian mentor. “Making it to the World Cup was unique, it was phenomenal, it was extraordinary, and it was real hard work, but now the real hard work starts.
“We really need to ensure that we do everything we possibly can from this point forward. We’ve got about 17 months now to prepare. I think it was 500 days just the other day to the World Cup so we have to make sure we use every single one of those 500 days to the best of our abilities to give this team the best possible chance of representing our country the best way we can,” he continued.
“They’ve already shown how much passion they play with. How proud they are to wear the jersey and now it’s up to us to give them the best opportunity to do it on the world stage.”
For a coach of his standing, Stajcic received multiple offers to take his talents elsewhere after defying expectations with the Philippines in the Asian Cup.
Despite the temptations to move somewhere else, the former Central Coast Mariners instructor followed his instincts to remain loyal to the country.
Photo from PFF
“I think as I have known coach Alen, he’s a professional,” said team manager Jefferson Cheng. “He has always been determined and committed to the Philippine Women’s National team ever since we had him on board last year. I think, of course, commercially, because of the success we had last year and also with his position as one of the leading coaches, not just in Australia or internationally, there are also a lot of other offers.
“But I think you could see that his heart is with the Philippine national team and I respect him greatly for that and I think that was what made him decide to extend the contract so to speak. We’re very fortunate to have coach Alen and his team with us because I could see they are the right coach and the right team to bring us through to the World Cup.”
On a personal note, Stajcic’s initial success with the Filipinas and the bond he and his lieutenants, assistant coach Nahuel Arrarte and strength and conditioning coach Luca Tonetti, have formed with those in the team, its management, and the employees of the Philippine Football Federation proved too strong to be left abruptly.
(C) AFC
“It definitely was a decision of the heart.
“There were other offers. There was a European club, there was a men’s national team, and even some interest here in Australia in the men’s pro league, but being just around some wonderful people, the players, and the staff, it was really a joy to be a part of that group,” he said.
“You know the executive staff of the PFF, it has really been a pleasure to meet everyone, be in touch with everyone, engage with everyone. For me, we started the journey so now it’s the process of really getting into the fun part and working hard to get to that World Cup so definitely a decision of passion and heart,” he added.
With Stajcic’s contract done and dusted, the focus now shall be on the PWNT’s upcoming campaigns in the SEA Games this May, the AFF Women’s Championship that will be hosted locally, and the Asian Games in China this September.
Competition for places in his squads for those tourneys is heating up as expectations for the PWNT will be higher from now on.
“Certainly the players who went to India, they earned the right to represent the country and did it fantastically well. For anyone who wants to challenge that spot, and I hope we have lots of challenges for those spots. As I said some people are unfortunate they couldn’t get visas to go to the camp or travel to India,” he said.
“Ultimately, no one owns that shirt. They’re just renting it so anyone who comes along and performs better and shows more skill, more passion, more dedication will earn the right to have that shirt but certainly, the 23 who wore the jerseys in India, it’s theirs to lose but for everyone else, it’s gonna be a tough challenge now to get that shirt. But it’s open to everyone,” he opined.
“That’s how national teams should be. It should be a competitive rivalry. We should have depth in competition and the competition should be done in a respectful way. We should have people who are banging down the door trying to get into that team… There’s a lot of interest now to try and get into this team which is great.”
