Philippine Selection bows to German All-Stars 13-0

The Philippine selection bowed to German All-Stars 0-13 in their friendly match held today at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Fredi Bobic, who played in the German squad that won the 1996 European Championships, scored 8 goals.  Marco Reich of the 1998 Bundesliga champions FC Kaiserslautern scored a hat-trick. German-American Philippine Azkals Coach Thomas Dooley who was also a long-time player in the Bundesliga, scored a header while Martin Driller scored from a free kick. Guido Buchwald from the 1990 World Cup Champion Team was the captain of the squad

Former Philippine national player Bagets Piñero opened the attempts for his squad in the 1st half with a wide shot. Later in the 2nd half the Philippines gained momentum to set-up some scoring opportunities with Ali Go shooting from the attacking 3rd, John Carmona missing the far post, Norman Fegidero blocked by Deutsche Fussball-Bund (DFB) Technical Consultant to the Philippines Thomas Roy, and Bagets Piñero point blank shot hitting the cross-bar with a finger-tip save from Roy.

The 15-man German team was coached by Eckhard Krautzun who also managed the 1991 Philippine Team that advanced to the Southeast Asian Games Semi-Finals and defeated Malaysia 1-0. Filipino players from that team– Salmon, Baron, Piñero, Rosell, Dioso, Del Rosario and Sabacan reunited with their each other to face their former coach.

Aris Caslib, Technical Director of the Philippine Football Federation, and veteran national coach Salvador Salvacion rotated the 26-man selection in the open-substitution match.

Caslib remarked in the post-match press conference that the match gave Filipinos a good showing of modern football, and how German football should be the model as both nations enjoy continuing exchange of technical expertise.

Krautzun commented that the team gave a good demonstration on why Germany are world champions. Having also coached the Philippine team, he said that what the country needs is a sustained effort towards a professional league, a strong grassroots program, and continuing development of coaches for the sport to further develop in the future.

German Ambassador to the Philippines Thomas Ossowski graced the ceremonial kick-off with PFF President Mariano Araneta. The PFF was also represented by General Secretary Atty. Edwin Gastanes while Hans-Georg Moldenhauer attended for DFB.

This FIFA Tier 2 International Friendly Match is part of the series of events organized in celebration of 60 Years of Diplomatic Relations between Germany and the Philippines this 2014. The game is made possible through the cooperation of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and the Deutscher Fussball-Bund (DFB), and is supported by the German Embassy Manila, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), SMART Telecom, and the United Football League (UFL).

Germany, reigning FIFA World Champion and avid soccer nation, is a strong partner of the Philippines in the promotion of football in the country.

The DFB also annually sponsors 2 football trainers from the Philippines for a 6-week intensive coaching course in Germany.

Philippine Selection Players:

German All Star Players: