Younghusband brothers ‘delighted’ to be back in Azkals lineup

Philippine football stars Phil and James Younghusbands harbor no ill will toward the management of the national team over their non-inclusion in the Azkals lineup for the recently-concluded Philippine Football Peace Cup, calling the whole matter a “miscommunication”.




In a statement released to News5′s Chiqui Roa-Puno, the brothers said they are “delighted” to be back with the Azkals.



Earlier, Azkals team manager Dan Palami announced the return of the brothers to the lineup after being left off the Peace Cup roster over what the Philippine Football Federation called “economic and non-economic demands.”

“As a team, we take this time to bridge differences as we work towards a common goal: bringing honor and pride to the country,” Azkals manager Dan Palami said in a statement last Wednesday.

The Younghusbands said they want to work with Azkals management on schedules for the national team. Apart from being football stalwarts, the brothers also run their own football school and are in-demand product endorsers.

Despite the absence of the Younghusbands, the Azkals swept all of their three matches to win the Peace Cup last September 29 behind the team’s new faces led by tournament’s Most Valuable Player Denis Wolf.

The Azkals will face Bahrain on October 12 in its capital Manama and Kuwait on October 16 at Kuwait City.

The matches are part of the their preparations for the 2012 ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup this November, where they look to surpass their historic semifinal finish in the same tournament two years ago.

The full statement of the Younghusbands follows:

YH BROTHERS STATEMENT ON TRIP TO BAHRAIN

James and Phil Younghusband are delighted to be back with the Philippine Men’s Football National Team. They remain committed to the endeavors of the national team and chalk up their being dropped from the lineup for the recently concluded Peace Cup as “miscommunication”. They look forward to working this out with team management and their teammates. The focus right now is to help the Philippines advance deeper into the Suzuki Cup tournament this November and December.

As for the other engagements of the Younghusband brothers, they look forward to working with national team management on schedules and timelines.

They likewise remain fully committed to the Loyola Meralco Sparks and their own Business and Corporate endeavors.

source: interaksyon.com

Phil Younghusband hungry to do more for football

MANILA, Philippines - In spite of scoring a handful of goals at the recently concluded AFC Challenge Cup, Azkals striker Phil Younghusband would rather share the credit with his team mates than take it all for himself.

The six goals he collectively scored from the Azkals' matches against five other countries have merited Phil the Golden Boot award. He also ranked third in the International Football Federation of History and Statistics' World Top Scorer list for March, and joined the roster of Goal.com's Asian Best XI for March.

"Nagpapasalamat ako sa lahat ng team mates ko kasi kung wala sila then imposible to win the award," he told Bulletin Entertainment and other members of the press at the launch of Snickers' newest campaign on April 13.

The Azkals clinched third place at the Challenge Cup, held last month in Nepal, following the team's victories against Palestine, Tajikistan, and India. It is not surprising then that the Azkals climbed from 156 to 148 in the FIFA World Ranking.

"I think it's great because if Azkals have success then football in the Philippines has success. Hopefully it continues and hopefully we can sustain because we want it to be long-term," said Phil.

He is apparently extra inspired to play football because of his ladylove, actress Angel Locsin, has continued to express her happiness for him and that she is proud of him and his accomplishments.

"I think we've been very lucky and very blessed. She won an award (Best Actress at this year's PMPC Star Awards for Movies for 'In The Name Of Love'), I won an award, so I think we're good for each other. She offered her congratulations… She's been there all the way," the star player added.

Phil took a well-deserved break during the Holy Week, bonding with his brother-team mate James and their younger sister in La Union.

"Nag-surf ako… It was fun. It was my first time… And I was with my family, because I haven't spent much time with my family because we were in Nepal for three weeks. We went to La Union before for a trainers program, and we decided to go back because it was nice, we stayed at a nice resort," he enthused.

Although he didn't get to spend Holy Week with Angel as she was in Hong Kong, Phil assured that "we're in touch. We're always in touch."

His darling Angel

The Filipino-British footballer appreciates how Angel stood up for him amid the criticisms that the team got at the height of the sexual harassment issue involving two other members of the Azkals and match commissioner Cristy Ramos.

"Angel's amazing. She'll fight for everyone she loves and that's the sort of person she is. I feel very happy and very blessed and privileged that I have someone like Angel to defend not just me, she defended the team, she defended everyone involved. She's so supportive of me and the team. It's great to have her around," Phil said at length.

On a lighter note, Phil will work with Angel on the boob tube in his first mainstream acting assignment, a guest appearance on the latter's sitcom, "Toda Max."

"Mas kumportable ako sa loob ng field. It's more difficult to act. I admire the talent of actors. I admired Angel's before, but to see the things she goes through… I'm really proud of her," he related.

No amount of prodding will apparently make Phil define the true status of his relationship with Angel, as he maintained, "Right now, why change something when it's not broken? We're happy, everything's going well… Everyday I fall more and more in love with her."

Phil, along with James and Azkals captain Aly Borromeo, graced the launch of Snickers' latest campaign, "You're not you when you're hungry." The three are self-confessed fans of the brand.

"Sports is an excellent way to show that when you're hungry, you can't really perform at your best. As we know, football is a universal sport, it has become very popular especially in the Philippines with these guys," said Lizette de Guzman, national sales manager of Mars Philippines, Inc., the makers of Snickers.

source: mb.com.ph

Younghusbands positive about team's future; two Azkals players ready to face charges

MANILA, Philippines – Azkals players Phil and James Younghusband feel that, through sheer hard work, the country’s premiere football team faces a better future in the international sports scene.

According to Dyan Castillejo’s report on“TV Patrol,” March 21, “Pagod pero masaya ang Philippine team Azkals pagdating ng Maynila kagabi matapos ang 18 oras na biyahe mula Nepal.”

“Proud nilang ipinakita ang third place medal mula sa AFC Challenge Cup. May kaunting kainan ang team sa lounge habang hinihintay ang [mga] bagahe.”

She related that, “Masaya si Phil Younghusband sa nakuha niyang Golden Boot Award bilang player na may pinakamaraming goals sa tournament. Aminado si Phil na super inspired siya ngayon dahil sa suporta ni Angel Locsin.”

“Pumunta siya [Angel] sa first game namin laban sa North Korea. Sobrang supportive siya. ‘Good luck, galingan mo,’ things like [that, ang sabi niya],” Phil said in the interview.

“Proud si James sa kanyang kapatid. Naniniwala sila na kasabay ng patuloy na hard training, malayo pa ang mararating ng Philippine team sa football.”

“Some people say it’s a fluke, it’s a one-off set. The team’s really happy that we’ve done this and show that we can progress even more so we’re really happy,” James explained.

According to Dyan, “Dumiretso sa Europa sina Neil Etheridge, Rob Gier, Paul Mulders at Jason Dejong.”

As for the Manila-based players, they will continue their practice “sa kani-kanilang club teams sa UFL League.”

“Magsasama muli ang Azkals sa Mayo para paghandaan ang apat na friendly matches sa Hunyo at [ang] Suzuki Cup sa Nobyembre,” the report noted.

For Azkals’ Michael Weiss, the people’s view about football players has drastically changed.

“They have biggest respect for us now, and [before] that was not the case. And apart from the results, this is also something we can be proud of,” Michael shared.

Meanwhile, the two Azkals players that have been accused of sexual harassment by Match Commisioner Cristy Ramos are preparing for their testimonies.

“Ipapadala nila ito sa disciplinary committee ng Philippine Football Federation na humahawak ng reklamo,” Dyan reported.

Dan Palami, Azkals’ team manager, pled to the public not to pass judgment on the two involved players.

“Sana po huwag muna natin husgahan ‘yung mga team members po na medyo nasasangkot sa gulo,” he said.

The report said, “Ayon kay Lexton Moy, isa sa mga inireklamo, gusto niya talagang ihayag ang kanyang panig o kuwento sa kontrobersyal na pangyayari.”

“I can’t wait for the truth to come out, and when it does, I think the public will see a true, genuine side of what the team stands for,” Moy said.

source: mb.com.ph