AFTER Alen Stajcic, another top caliber Australian tactician will call the shots for the Filipinas in the Asian Games and Olympic qualifiers, the Philippine Football Federation announced on its website yesterday.
Named to take Stajcic’s place as head coach of the national women’s football team is Mark Torcaso, 42, the reigning A-League Women Coach of the Year who steered Western United to the finals of the inaugural season of the league in early 2022.
PFF president Mariano Araneta, general secretary Atty. Ed Gastanes and national women’s team manager Jeff Cheng met with Torcaso in Sydney over the weekend to formalize his appointment, the report said.
Also named as part of Torcaso’s coaching staff is compatriot Sinisha Cohadzic, who will also coach the national Under-20 and Under-17 teams, and former New Zealand national player Andrew Durante, Torcaso’s deputy at Melbourne-based Western United.
“We welcome coach Mark (Torcaso) and his staff to the PFF family,” Araneta said, adding: “We are confident that they will continue raising the standards of the Philippine women’s national team in all aspects and take the team to greater heights on the back of a historic and memorable 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand.”
“It is important that we continue the momentum from the Filipinas’ historic FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign in New Zealand,” said Gastanes. “We have a motivated and accomplished coach in Mark Torcaso together with his staff, ready to lead our women’s teams in upcoming competitions.”
“We are all excited to start training and competing again. We welcome coach Mark and his team to Philippine football, and are excited to see them build on the Filipinas’ recent achievements,” Cheng noted.
Torasco said he felt “incredibly privileged to accept this position with the Philippines and I am very thankful to the PFF, particularly to team manager Jefferson Cheng, for making it happen.
“Watching the development of the team over the last couple of years has been amazing, from the AFF Championship to the World Cup, and I feel honored to be able to try to continue this growth.
“I am excited to take on this opportunity and I can’t wait to meet the players and the other staff in camp next week. I look forward to the challenge alongside Sinisha and Andrew.”
