LOOKING to garner more silverware and experience after taking the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 79 Football Championship, the Blue Eagles flew to Taebaek, South Korea to participate in the fourth Asian University Football Tournament from September 18 to 28.
Arranged and hosted by the Asian University Football Federation (AUFF), the University-specific arm of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the tournament followed a group stage format with two groups of five teams each. After playing each team in the group once, the top teams of each group advanced to the finals while the second-placed teams in each group played for third place. The Blue Eagles were pitted against university teams from Korea, Japan, Iran, and Taiwan in Group B.
Having claimed the UAAP title last season, the Ateneo Men’s Football Team (AMFT) was the only university team from the Philippines to qualify for the prestigious invitational tournament. Multiple teams, however, from Korea, Japan, and Iran, composed of individually selected players from different universities, played in the competition.
Given the international experience of many of the teams within their group, AMFT Coach Jaypee Merida chose to deploy a similar side to their UAAP-winning lineup, making use of their favored 3-5-2 formation, but with a more defensive look.
Despite playing to their strengths, the Blue and White suffered a series of harsh defeats, losing to Japan B (0-12), Korea B (0-7), and Iran (1-4). The sole consolation of the tournament for the Blue Eagles was a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Taiwan.
Regardless of a rough set of results, the team was upbeat about the opportunity to experience top quality Asian competition. “It’s always good exposure to play in international tournaments, especially this tournament. We know that we won UAAP last year, but this tournament helped us to see what level we need to keep on striving for,” says Captain Julian Roxas.
The team was keen to point out the differences between football in the country and in the Asian University Football Tournament. Among other things, the Blue Eagles were surprised to experience more lenient officiating and more physical games.
“We watched the first game and there were times when you see those kinds of fouls in the Philippines, [when they] bump each other and [perform] sliding tackles, easy calls, but there were no calls,” says forward Rupert Bana. “The level [in international football] is different. They’re super strong, super fast, and physically more superior than [players] in the Philippines.”
Teammate Paolo Alilam, who travelled with the team despite not being able to play due to injury, adds, “The discrepancy is quite big, skill-wise and technique-wise. As football players we saw [the] realization that we are far from them and there’s a lot more to learn and work on.”
“[It was] a big wake-up call to realize that we’re not the best team out there. And it’s a learning experience for us to see different styles of play,” remarks Blue Eagle and UAAP Season 79 Best Goalkeeper AJ Arcilla.
As the UAAP Football season draws closer, the AMFT members have vowed to take extra measures to increase their physical ability and skillset. Captain Jayrah Rocha, who was awarded Best Player for the Philippines in the tourney, identified first touch as a department in need of improvement, while Bana both echoed Rocha’s insight and stated that the team could add a more physical edge to their game by increasing their work at the gym.
“Having been able to go against top teams, we were able to see what was lacking within our team. We now have a clear picture of what needs to be improved on if we would want to play at the standard of teams such as Japan and Korea,” states Rocha.
While the tournament has given the Blue Eagles much to ponder and strive for, the team remains focused on their primary target: Defending their UAAP crown in Season 80. The AMFT will continue to put in the work, hoping to take a second UAAP gold in as many seasons.
