Coach admits Philippine men’s football is still far from reaching high level

Angiolino Frigoni, coach of the New Alas Philippine men’s team, served as head coach during the SEA Vleague. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines – Italy coach Angiolino Frigoni admitted that the Philippine national team is still “far from reaching a high level” a year before the Philippines hosts and competes in the 2025 World Cup. FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship.

Frigoni was delighted with his first win, saying he did not expect the Philippines “to play so well” as they prevailed over Vietnam 25-21, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23 in front of a home crowd in the first-round match of the ASEAN Football League at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Friday.

But the 70-year-old coach remains convinced that the national team will improve on the world stage, which will become the country’s biggest tournament next year.

Schedule: Philippine men’s football team to compete in first round of Southeast Asian Super League

“I think we are still far from a high level. We have to compete at this level now. Maybe in the future we can do better, but right now this is our level. Although we want to do better at another level, we have to win at this level,” Frigoni told reporters.

The Italian coach, who replaced Sergio Veloso, said ending a six-match winning streak in the Southeast Asian V-League was the beginning of a long process for the project.

“We are not going to get there right from the start. We have to take it step by step. If we play well, because it’s only the first game we play here and we have to play the other two games, if we show we can play against them, then OK, it’s a good start,” he said.

Frigoni, who twice served as head coach of the Italian women’s soccer team, leading them to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, said he could not predict the future of the young team, whose average age is 23, but he vowed to tap the potential of the Philippines team.

read: Philippines beats Vietnam in ASEAN League opener in Manila

“I’m not a god. I’m a coach, so I can’t predict what will happen in the future,” said the new Alaska coach. “Now, we’ll see. They are still young players, some of them are still playing in college. Now, I’m here, I’ll try to make them better, and we’ll see what happens in the future.”

Frigoni said all players must work together and in unison to achieve high performance in next year’s world championships and Southeast Asian Games.

“I think we have to get better, every single one of them, they have to get a little bit better in every situation. But I can see there is potential here. We didn’t have the potential to compete for world-class teams, but now we are at this level, there is the potential to compete at this level,” he said.

Frigoni and Alas will be hoping to win again on Saturday against defending champions Indonesia and at least get a silver medal.