May 13, 2024

Azkals get new coach, fresh exposure in West Asia training camp

Azkals get new coach, fresh exposure in West Asia training camp
Barae Jrondi

The Philippine Azkals will be getting yet another head coach when they head to West Asia for a training camp later this month.

The Philippine men's national football team announced the appointment of Barae Jrondi, who will link up with the Azkals when they fly to Kuwait and Qatar.

He will be the seventh new face at the helm of the Azkals since Thomas Dooley's four-year tenure from 2014 to 2018. The list includes Terry Butcher, Scott Cooper, Sven-Goran Eriksson, Goran Milojevic, Stewart Hall, and Josep Ferreas well as Dooley's brief return in 2022.

According to the Azkals, Jrondi has been the Qatar Football Association technical supervisor of football clubs for the last three years. He also worked as a team analyst for Lusail FC, the assistant coach for Saudi Arabia's Ettifaq FC, and is the owner and co-founder of developmental squad Al Dafna FC. He also worked as a coach for the Arsenal Soccer School.

"Creating a competitive team is the main objective and it requires careful considerations," Jrondi told the Azkals media team.

He also expressed his happiness that former Azkals captain Stephan Schrock will be joining the staff "to get his point of view about players selection to get the right team dynamics."

On March 24, the world number 134 Azkals will face the 148th ranked Kuwait for a friendly match. They will next head to Doha, Qatar to take on world number 84 Jordan on the 28th.

Birmingham goalkeeper Neil Etheridge will be the captain. Young buck Sandro Reyes will be missing the camp as his German club Greuther Furth II will be doing its best to avoid relegation. Sebastian Rasmussen and Kevin Hansen will also be out due to injury.