With the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup just around the corner, the Philippines have been preparing not only to compete, but also to host the group stages of the tournament.
The Azkals played their last friendly match yesterday in a 1-0 win over Kyrgyzstan, a result that bodes well for the confidence of the team. It was another victory to savor against higher-ranked opposition, but Azkals midfielder Stephan Schröck is hoping to see more people the next time they see action.
“Everybody’s looking forward to the Suzuki Cup. We are all excited to have this big event at home,” said Schröck, who then lamented about the seeming lack of publicity the tournament has been having in the country.
“I didn’t read anything about the Suzuki Cup. A lot of the people don’t know that we’re hosting the Suzuki Cup. It would be a shame if we as a host having not enough fans in the stadium.”
Speaking about their last game, Schröck thought that the team had played well against a top caliber team in Kyrgyzstan.
“We can play better but with the quality of Kyrgyzstan you cannot expect to have a lot of possession. We were hungry for our chance to get the winner. We were patient with our game. We never allowed them to have too much pressure on our half,” he assessed. Despite the positive result, Schröck was quick to say that there is still plenty of work for the team ahead of the competition.
As for the prospect of playing in the Suzuki Cup for the first time in front of an expectant home crowd, Schröck played down the talk of pressure.
“We feel no pressure. To me it’s just another contest. We play to win. We don’t go there being third best in the group (or) second best in the group, we want to win every game. We feel excitement to get the trophy for the first time.
“We’ll go for the first game to the last game, we will put everything we have,” he vowed.
As one of the most experienced and most influential players in the team, Schröck will surely be one of the players to watch in the tournament. Once more, the Ceres-La Salle midfield maestro invites everyone to come see and cheer on the Azkals on the 19th, the 22nd and the 25th of November.
“We need the 12th guy. We need the fans. We need the excitement of the Azkal fans.”
