“There are a lot of good Filipino football players, but they are in the provinces. I hope they can also be given a chance to play the sport by making it a part of the Physical Education curriculum so instead of playing computer games, children would play football.”
Before they kick off to Mongolia for the second leg of their pre-qualifier series for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup, Phil Younghusband, Chieffy Caligdong and Ian Araneta of the Philippine National Football Team — popularly known as Azkals — shared to the The Daily Tribune how they keep themselves fit for their many battles ahead.
The aztig diet
“What I eat is very important,” says Phil, one of the team’s senior players who dons jersey No. 10 as the team’s forward or striker, the most advanced player position in the field, setting him close to the goal.
Ironically, he eats everything he wants when he is on training because he knows he’ll eventually lose calories. “But when I’m not playing, that’s the time I watch what I eat,” he discloses. When keeping an eye over his weight, he shuns excess fat and welcomes a lot of protein, vegetables and natural sugars into his diet. A lot of vitamins and minerals are taken in the morning for better performance throughout the day, but no food supplements. “I don’t eat fish because I don’t like fish, but tuna from the can is okay,” he shares.
Chieffy and Ian, on the other hand, observe a healthy diet on or off training. “No fried food. Only steamed food and pasta, beef, whole-wheat bread, fruits, cereals and milk,” says Chieffy on his usual menu. Chieffy is positioned as player No. 13 as left-winger, but he also plays forward or striker.
As for Ian, softdrinks, fats and a lot of carbohydrates are a total no-no. If Phil goes for more protein, Ian prefers more fruits and vegetables than protein because protein makes him fat, and extra pounds are a disadvantage for a football player, he says.
“We have to maintain a 78-kilogram weight as a footballer. You’re quicker when you’re lighter,” Phil enthuses.
The aztig workout
Indeed, being lightweight is important for better speed, attests Chieffy. Unlike basketball, football is more about speed than height or big built, which is why it is perfect for Filipinos, he says.
Football, on its own, is a very good exercise if done regularly as it speeds up perspiration, thereby promoting the faster release of toxins, Chieffy adds. To avoid dehydration, Ian says they drink a lot of water before every game.
Because football entails a lot of body contact, Chieffy says they complement their six-hour-per-day training with bodybuilding. Hence, to minimize injuries in the field and to develop upper body strength, the team also undergoes a gym program twice a week. The program consists of exercises and push-ups designed to enhance the strength and flexibility of their chests and arms.
Since they train from 9 a.m. to before lunchtime and at 4 p.m. onwards, Chieffy, Phil and Ian are not so concerned about skin damage through sun exposure. “Our international matches are also scheduled at night so it’s no problem,” says Ian.
While Ian and Chieffy are not into other sports other than football, Phil’s other means to exercise is by playing tennis, a passion he shares with only sister, Keri. Since he and his brother James lived by the River Thames in England, he also enjoys swimming, the favorite sport of his showbiz crush, actress Angel Locsin.
The aztig relationships
When not playing football, Chieffy and Ian perform their duties at the offices of the Philippine Air Force. While football has become a part of Chieffy’s everyday routine even without an impending game, Phil and Ian, in contrast, rest from the sport when there are no training or matches. Ian goes back to his family in Iloilo and spends quality time with his four-year-old son. He says he has been teaching his son football since he learned how to walk, just as his father, a retired member of the Philippine football team, did with him as a kid.
Like Ian, Phil learned how to play football through his father, who used to take him and older brother James into a football field every weekend. After playing football, he recalls bonding with the other members of their Filipino community and feasting on Filipino delicacies like pancit bihon and adobo.
Until today, Phil spends the day with family and friends whenever he is free from training. His typical day usually starts with breakfast, followed by a two-hour rest or TV-watching, then a whole day to his other passions and pastimes like juggling, which he learned from a friend, who is a Danish clown. It’s easier to juggle on feet, he shares.
Phil and James are also now busy with their namesake football academy, their way of giving back to their supporters and raising awareness about football. “Now that the awareness has been raised, it is time to develop the sport and sustain its popularity,” says Phil.
The academy, he shares, has just finished touring the public schools of Palawan, Taguig and Tarlac, where they gave training and seminars to physical education teachers. Their efforts, so far, received a “great response and enthusiasm.”
“I can’t play football forever or be with the Philippine team always. This academy is something I see myself doing after playing,” he says.
“There are a lot of good Filipino football players, but they are in the provinces. I hope they can also be given a chance to play the sport by making it a part of the physical education curriculum so instead of playing computer games, children would play football,” muses Chieffy.
There might be an outpouring of endorsements, but Phil, a deadringer for Twilight star Taylor Lautner, clarifies that he has “no plans of entering showbiz” since football is his priority. In his advertisements, he says he has always been touted as a football player and he accepts these projects to promote the sport. This is his way of somewhat “bending it” like David Beckham, his football hero. “I want to be like Beckham, to have that kind of influence into football fans all over the world,” he confesses.
Like Beckham, is he also going to get himself a Posh Spice? “Beckham is a stylish footballer. I have my own taste, I’m not Beckham. I go for simple and comfortable, not too detailed, grand or classy,” he explains, believing that a stylish man is someone comfortable with what he is wearing.
His kind of date is also someone simple. “I don’t like extravagant things. On a date, I just watch a movie, have dinner, nothing too extravagant or adventurous on first dates, because I’m more into concentrating on getting to know the person than anything else,” he professes. “I would teach her football if she wants to,” he replied when asked if he and Angel play the sport.
Though simpler and more serious than his brother, Phil believes he got something his brother does not have. “Mas guwapo ako sa kanya (I’m more handsome than him),” he declares.
He is also said to handle popularity better than James. “We get letters from all over the country. So far, I have 60 unread letters in a scrap book,” he shares. “I enjoy popularity because it allows me to meet different people from different industries.”
While in the field, some girls would shout “Marry me!” but still, Phil thinks most Filipinos are not crazy and are “more sweet and sentimental.”
Chieffy and Ian affirm that most girls target the Younghusbands and not them. “We’ve been playing football for 10 years now and it’s only now that we’re getting attention. Popularity is very new to us so people think we are snobs, but we are just actually shy and not used to attention,” Ian explains.
They, nonetheless, do not feel any jealously or inferiority. “We don’t feel any competition with the half-Filipino imports like the Younghusbands. In fact, they are very helpful because we get a lot of tips from them since they are more advanced players than us,” says Chieffy.
Unknown to many, the Younghusbands also experience discrimination from enemy courts. “Everywhere you go, there’s discrimination. We grew up with it,” Phil frets, sharing that as kids, he and James received a lot of teasing because of their surname. “But instead of doing us harm, experiences like that strengthened us. Today, our family name brings us recall.”
Hope springs eternal
Even if he trained with Chelsea all his life and his father wants him to continue his football career in England, Phil chooses to be with the Philippine team for as long as it takes.
“You can’t really define what is Filipino. I am a Filipino and I represent Filipinos,” he says proudly.
Growing up, he believes in surrounding himself with the right people, and so he knows that he is right for the Azkals because they are the right ones for him. “The whole team has the same goals as I do,” he says.
If not into football or doing math as an accountant, Phil says he could have been dead. There were at least three times that he almost drowned and got hit by a car as a kid. “I got lucky. And so I believe with football, I’m on the right path.”
Losses like the recent one to Indonesia made him feel bad and “gobsmacked” (shocked). But in the end of the day, they would still continue playing and turning on their supportive fans for hope.
“We did our best in our previous matches. That’s what we are also going to do in Mongolia,” Chieffy assures, adding that their training in Mongolia would give them an idea on how it is to play in the winter-wrapped home courts of football giants like Japan and France.
Though many critics doubt if the Azkals would make it, Phil believes that if they were able to elevate themselves into the limelight in months, they, too, can drive their ball to the goal. “When we were just starting, there’s a misconception that football is for the rich and the tall; now, there is a growing acceptance for it,” says Ian.
For those dreaming to be a part of the Azkals, Chieffy advises constant practice and dedication to the sport. “Like in studies, you can be good at football by practice. It’s never too late to learn football,” says Chieffy, who, unlike Ian and Phil who grew up with the sport, only learned about it when he was already 19 years old.
As for Phil, it is important to have fun, enjoy running around, and take it as a passion, not a job. “The moment you feel it’s a job, that’s the time it becomes a pressure,” he says. His ultimate weapon to victory, he says, is what captures the hearts of girls from all over: a smile.
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The Daily Tribune (Deni Rose M. Afinidad, 3/10/2011)
