Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Manila: Former USA international skipper Thomas Dooley has been appointed head coach of the Philippines national team, with the 2014 AFC Asian Challenge Cup top of the agenda for the 52-year-old.
Dooley takes up the post following the surprise dismissal of German Michael Weiss, who enjoyed a successful three-year stint as national team boss during which time he led the Philippines to a third-place finish at the AFC Challenge Cup and semi-finals of the AFF Suzuki Cup in 2012 as well as taking the Southeast Asian nation to their highest ever position in FIFA’s ranking (127th).
As a player, Germany-born Dooley won the 1990/91 Budesliga title with Kaiserslautern and the 1996/97 UEFA Cup with Schalke 04 before captaining the USA national team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.
Prior to his appointment as manager of the Philippines on a one-year contract, Dooley’s only previous coaching experience was with German lower-division side Saarbrucken and a stint alongside US national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann in 2011.
“The potential that this country has in developing players is huge,” Dooley (pictured) told reporters at a Philippine Football Federation press conference on Friday.
“Technically they are pretty good.... Tactically I think that we have to work a little bit.”
The Philippines are in the draw for the AFC Challenge Cup 2014, which will take place on Wednesday at the Paradise Island Resort in the Maldives.
Joining the Azkals and the tournament hosts are two-time runners-up Turkmenistan, 2013 SAFF champions Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Palestine and Laos, who will be making their debut in the AFC Challenge Cup finals after booking their place as one of the two best runners-up from the qualifiers.
The eight-team competition will be held in the Maldives from May 19 to 30 with the winners of the fifth edition of the tournament for emerging nations also earning a berth at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
Photo: AFP