Azkals leave for Japanese training today

HAVING completed their first two tasks—playing at high altitude and on artificial turf—the Akzals now proceed to Japan for their probably their most important goal—to perform well in sub-zero weather.

The national men’s football team leaves today for Japan for the last phase of its build-up for its return match against Mongolia in their Asian Challenge Cup qualifying series on March 15 in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator.

"The weather is now very, very cold in Tokyo with strong icy winds, which is very similar to Mongolia," said German coach Hans Michael Weiss on the eve of their departure.

"It is about minus 7 (degree Celsius) in Tokyo but it be much lower where we will train, near the foot of Mount Fuji," Weiss added.

The Azkals will hold their training camp in Gotemba City in the prefecture of Shizuoka, 174 kilometers from the Tokyo capital.

"With the kind of connections and contacts that we have, I doubt if any other team will have the same preparations that we have," said Weiss, who once coached in the J-League and who is married to a Japanese with whom he has two children.

"Our main goal is acclimatizing to the playing conditions in Mongolia, especially the very low temperature in Ulan Bator," said national team manager Dan Palami in a separate interview.

"Hopefully, we will be able to assess their reaction time, their decision-making process, especially in low temperature," Palami said. "Hopefully, these are the things we hope to address during our training (in Japan)."

Palami added the team would leave with 18 players for the Japan training, with Filipino-Icelander defender Ray Jonnsson possibly joining them there.

"He (Jonnsson) is just fixing his schedule but he has already committed to play in Mongolia," he said.

Palami said the team’s starting goalkeeper, Fil-British Neil Etheridge, won’t be able to make it to Ulan Bator because of his commitments with English club Fulham, along with key defender Fil-Brit Rob Gier.

Local boys Eduard Sacapano and Jay Sabio have been tapped to fill in Etheridge’s and Gier’s shoes, respectively, Palami said.

/via Malaya (Bong Pedralvez)