Stajcic stays as Filipinas coach
DESCRIBING it as a “decision of the heart,” Australian tactician Alen Stajcic declined more lucrative offers and and decided to remain as coach of the Filipinas after steering them to the semifinals of the AFC Asian Cup in India last year that earned them a historic ticket to the FIFA Women’s World Cup kicking off next week in Australia and New Zealand.
“It definitely was a decision of the heart, there were other offers — a European club, a women’s national team, and even some interest here in Australia in the men’s pro-league,” Stajcic was quoted as saying in a story written by Sebastian Kallos that was posted on the Australian website World Wide of Sports 9 yesterday.
Stajcic, who was given the boot despite guiding the Australian Matildas twice to the quadrennial global football showcase, said the Filipinas’ run to the Women’s World Cup was not a stroll in the park.
“The environment with which Stajcic entered though was one where some players had not played for up to two years due to the (pandemic) lockdowns,” the story reported.
With his loyal deputy Nahuel Arrarte and strength and conditioning coach Luca Tonetti, who worked with the Aussie mentor with the Coastal Mariners, in tow, Stajcic sent the aspiring Filipinas to a grueling 10-week training camp in California in the build-up to the Asian Cup.
“We played our first friendly game at the end of week three, at that point we felt that each player was only able to play 20 minutes and we rotated the whole squad around,” Stajcic reminisced.
With the support of the Philippine Football Federation and national team manager Jeff Cheng, he and the coaching staff were able to whip his charges into fighting shape so they could last 90 minutes and beyond in the Women’s Asian Cup.
This was evident in the Filipinas’ epic quarterfinals showdown with Chinese-Taipei on January 30, 2022 at the Shiv Chhaatrapati Sports Complex that ended in a 1-all standoff and went into overtime.
In the end, it was the Filipinas, starring goalie Olivia McDaniel, who emerged triumphant in the riveting penalty shootout 4-3, with McDaniel saving three goals and scoring once to seal the deal, advance to the semis and clinch a ticket to the Women’s World Cup.
With Stajcic at the helm, the Filipinas reached new milestones, including clinching the AFF Women’s Championship with a thorough 3-0 beating of Thailand in the title match before a packed and lively hometown crowd at the heritage-rich Rizal Memorial Coliseum on July 17, 2022.
It was the first major international championship of the national football team in years since the Spanish colonizers introduced the beautiful game to Filipinos centuries ago.
They also bagged the bronze medal in May of the same year in the last 31st Vietnam Southeast Asian Games, beating Myanmar 2-1 in the battle for third.
