Posted: 27 July 2011
Know yourself, know your enemy
And your victory will not be threatened.
Know the weather, know the terrain
And your victory will be complete.
–Sun Tzu, Art of War
After watching the first leg against Kuwait, I was silenced, besides my country’s loss to an established Football team, because I remembered my favourite lines in one of the most popular ancient books.
I cannot cover all the bases of the game so I will just have here what my memory allows me to remember.
Know yourself.
The Kuwaitis definitely know who they are, what they can deliver, and where they are standing in Asia, even in the world.
They have the advantage of experience and intimidation.
Know the enemy.
We are the enemy. I’m saying “we” because they have seen not just the players but also the Filipino supporters. They know the warmth of our people’s support, be it here in the archipelago or abroad. But, let’s begin with the players.
We all know that the Kuwaitis sent scouts during our home game against Sri Lanka. I wouldn’t be surprised if they also watched the first leg, be it live or just on TV/online.
The most obvious execution of everything they’ve known about our national team was to watch out for and disable Angel Guirado. We have seen the rough contacts he went through. The first one almost made me fly to his cousins, who also watched the game where I was watching. I wanted to at least comfort them and let them know that the Filipinos are concern. The other contacts Guirado had, to avoid dreadful memories, were just too much.
Warning: Gier does rob. Kuwait’s scouts have seen how Rob played last July 3. For them, there was only one way to get past the defenders, especially with Rob on the line: Stay away from Wolfgang.
With that warning in mind, the Al-Azraq, in my opinion, had to try entry through the player/s they haven’t seen. But the defender they haven’t seen doesn’t melt easily albeit the heat of Kuwait.
Retreat from the Iceman. I was impressed with their quick decision to stay away from our left back in the second half. They have learned during the first half of the game that Ray Jonsson wouldn’t allow them entry on his territory.
So what did the Kuwaitis do? They looked for other way, which was enough for them to break through, allowing Al-Azraq to gain ball possession and bombard the penalty area.
Although Kuwait had a foreknowledge of the Philippine National Football Team, the Kuwaitis expressed that they were challenged by the RP Booters.
While Kuwait’s squad was waiting for their flight to Manila, Rick Olivares had the chance to speak with Fahad Al Ebrahim. The midfielder said, “The Philippines made us think about our strategy and what we were doing wrong.” Fahad Al Enezi also added, “They made us work for our points.”
I hope this would help them understand why our national team is fondly called the Azkals.
More barks at Rizal. Having the Azkals back at home makes Al-Azraq put not too much confidence on their goals.. Besides the familiarity of home(land), there are the people’s support. And the Filipino people, in a way, is a threat to the visiting topdogs.
Every Football player knows what the support of fans can do, especially if you have your entire nation cheering for you. It can make things happen, but Kuwait doesn’t want miraculous things to happen for the Philippines.
Know the weather.
They have seen the outpour of rain during the second leg game against Sri Lanka. It’s still rainy season in the Philippines and weather forecast says it will be “cloudy with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm” on Thursday. It’s actually going to be rainy this week.
Rain is not common in Kuwait especially in July so there’s no place for them to practice under the rain unless they go somewhere abroad. This, I believe, prompted them to take full advantage of their home game should the rain disable their heads and legs from scoring when they come to play in Manila.
Know the terrain.
Kuwait is a Football nation. So why did they choose Mohammed Al-Hamad Stadium with a pitch that seems to be deprived of life? It can only accommodate 22,000 people compared to Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, home of Kuwait National Football Team, that can accommodate 68,000 people.
Whatever the reason they had, that reason had a purpose. And it’s always for Al-Azraq’s advantage. It’s probably the best stage for the Kuwaitis to score goals knowing that when it rains in Manila, the pitch will make it hard for them to play, be it in controlling the ball or securing it at the back of the net.
With or without the mastery of the art of war, what matters most is that Philippines will win against Kuwait, to qualify for the third round. Like what Niccolo Machiavelli said, “The end justifies the means.”
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