Philippines coach: 'Vietnam is among the strongest in Asia'
* Vietnam - Philippines: 6pm on December 14, on MetaSports.
Josep Ferre has just assumed the position of head coach of the Philippines since December 8. Before that, this Spanish military leader worked in Thailand in the period 2013-2017 and gradually got to know Vietnamese football. Mr. Ferre's first impression was the rivalry between Thai and Vietnamese football.
"I have followed Vietnamese football and see very good development," Mr. Ferre said this morning on December 13, at a press conference before tomorrow's friendly match. "For me, Vietnam is one of the strongest teams in Asia."
Early in his career, Mr. Ferre worked at Barca's La Masia academy. After that, he wandered to many countries such as Hong Kong, India, Puerto Rico, Thailand but failed. This coach admitted that it was difficult when he had too little time to work with the Philippines team. In the five days that have passed since taking office, Mr. Ferre has mainly got to know the Filipino players and emphasized focusing on what is at hand towards the AFF Cup 2022.
The Philippines brought 23 players to Hanoi, but most of them were U23s. This is also the squad that will attend the AFF Cup 2022. The best and most famous Filipino players cannot attend for many reasons.
"The AFF Cup is not part of the FIFA Days calendar, so it is difficult for us to gather all the quality players who are playing far away at club level. But I think this is an opportunity for young players to play and mature. Not the time. they always have an opportunity like this," said Mr. Ferre.
Attending the press conference, captain midfielder Stephan Schrock considered the friendly match against a strong team like Vietnam as a good opportunity to review the Philippines' squad and preparation for the 2022 AFF Cup.
Schrock played with the Philippines against Vietnam in the 2018 AFF Cup semi-finals and lost both matches. At the age of 36, this midfielder is still playing at his peak in the ADT shirt in the Philippine national championship, and is an example for many young players. He said he still maintains the motivation to compete at the top at this age partly thanks to the inspiration from older players like Ronaldo and Messi.
Schrock shared: "I have watched the World Cup, where many players even older than me still play and succeed. This helps me to be motivated to play and hopefully show good form over time. next".
The Philippines meets Vietnam at Hang Day Stadium at 18:00 tomorrow, December 14, the only friendly match of the team preparing for the AFF Cup 2022.
