(Photo by Ronin Bautista of Fullcourtfresh.com)
The just concluded UAAP Season 86 Football, where the University of the Philippines and Far Eastern University emerged as champion and first runner-up, respectively, not only showcased the level of collegiate football in the country but also revealed the skills of Filipino coaches.
Shepherding the champion squad for the first time as head coach was former assistant coach of the UP Men’s Football Team Popoy Clarino. In both the first and second round of the competition, the UPMFT Fighting Maroons placed second to the FEU Tamaraws. On May 16, 2024, the day of the final match, UP would snatch the crown from Season 85 champ FEU and break the latter’s attempt for a second consecutive treble as FEU earlier won in the juniors and women’s divisions. The last time UP won the UAAP championship was in 2018, in Season 80.
In the post-game interview, Clarino admitted that the Coach Albert Besa-led FEU was a formidable opponent. He said, “As expected we were up against the championship-caliber FEU team. It was a very good game, but I think we wanted it more. It showed on how we played.”
Clarino has been called up by the Philippine Football Federation as assistant coach for the youth national teams.
Marc Jessar Tobias from Bukidnon, who scored the lone goal for UP via penalty in the 50th minute, was the 2019 MVP of the UAAP juniors when he was playing for FEU Diliman High School.
Tobias, along with four other players of UP, were products of the FEU juniors program and were protégés of veteran coach Vince Santos.
Santos, now the Philippine Football Federation Director of Football, produced a number of UAAP titles for FEU: 12 consecutive for the juniors and 5 for the seniors.
“We congratulate all the players, coaches, organizers and supporters of UAAP 86 Football for giving the fans an exciting season. UAAP’s action-packed games and well-attended matches indicate the potential and the best practices for growing the game,” said Philippine Football Federation President John Gutierrez.
Gutierrez added that recent UAAP underscored the importance of youth development. “Behind every champion team are many years spent in talent identification, training and competitions. These all start when the player is very young.”
