Believe in miracle

MANILA, Philippines - It’s a duel of haves and have-nots, David vs Goliath, multi-titled master vs upstart.

Add to the mix a huge deficit the host has to overcome to advance to the third round of the FIFA 2014 World Cup qualifier after a one-sided first leg showdown in the desert and a terrible mismatch is bound to happen.

But consider the passion of the underdog, the support of the home crowd and a venue pounded by a storm – and a miracle could also be in the offing.

It’s Kuwait’s Al Azraq vs the Philippine Azkals in a highly anticipated second leg where odds are heavily stacked on the home side.

But anything’s possible.

Remember this is the Azkals team rocked by earthquake and hounded by tsunami in Japan and literally exposed to E-Coli virus in Germany –  and survived them all. So, miracle is possible, particularly with the Philippine side going up against a 10-time Gulf Cup champion that is ranked 57 rungs higher than the Azkals in the FIFA world ranking.

The first faceoff between the two transpired last week with the Kuwaiti Al Azraq topping the Phl Azkals, 3-0.

Not bad a score considering Kuwait is a side known to show no mercy against hapless rivals, their 20-0 wipeout of Bhutan in 2000 was for a time, the most lopsided in international football.

So when the two sides collide for the second leg, it’s the consensus that it would take some miracle of near biblical proportions for the Azkals to do the unthinkable: topple Kuwait.

“They say it will take a miracle but (history will tell you) it will not be the first time that an underdog team or a team which is coming from 3-nil deficit has overcome the odds. Liverpool did it, many teams have done it before and I think with the tenacity that we will be showing, we have a chance to surprise them and pull off the miracle win,” said Azkals team manager Dan Palami.

The World Cup itself teems with tales of major upsets. There’s Senegal’s 1-0 reversal over holder France in 2002, Cameroon’s 1-0 upstaging of a Diego Maradona-led Argentina in 1990, and Northern Ireland’s 1-0 shocking of host Spain despite playing most of the match with 10 men in 1982.

The Azkals themselves pulled off their own star-making feat in last year’s AFF Suzuki Cup. Given little chance against the defending champions and hosts, Phl XI pulled the rug from under Vietnam en route to a semifinal appearance. The unexpected win even earned a spot in Sports Illustrated’s Top 10 soccer stories of 2010.

“That was a big upset but compared to the team that played Vietnam, we have a much better team that’s playing against Kuwait,” said Philippine Football Federation president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta.

“We saw the first game, we’re capable of scoring, we had our chances but just couldn’t convert. On a lucky day, we could have scored two or three goals against Kuwait. Hopefully with Aly Borromeo and Stephan Schrock back in harness, we can give them a good fight and upset them,” he added.

But while hoping for a “miracle” or Lady Luck to smile at the Rizal pitch, the Azkals know they have to do their homework against an Al Azraq side determined to finish the job.

“We’re going to be playing more aggressive, be more compact on the way up and move as a unit because in the last game, maraming gaps,” said captain Aly Borromeo, who watched the first leg on the stands while serving his one-game suspension for the two yellow cards he drew in the first round against Sri Lanka.

The boosting presence of Borromeo in the back and Schrock in the midfield is not all that the Azkals expect for tonight’s match. They will have the “12th man” on the pitch – some 12,000 supporters who could fire up the Azkals even more as they face their tough adversary.

“It’s really different playing for the crowd. I remember the Philippines’ 1-0 upset of Malaysia in the 1991 SEA Games at Rizal Memorial, the crowd fired us up,” said Araneta.

Palami said the Azkals thrive when their backs are against the wall, recalling how they responded to a must-win against Bangladesh (3-0) with a 2012 AFC Challenge Cup main draw slot at stake and the Suzuki Cup group stages where they upset Vietnam (2-0) and drew with Singapore (1-1) and Myanmar (0-0) for a semis berth.

“I think the added pressure of really having to perform well in a do-or-die thing plus the crowd factor and homecourt advantage will certainly play a very big role in the game,” he said.

“This is where they’re supposed to produce the result which is needed to get us to third round. And they’ll be there the whole 90 minutes trying to fight for the ball, trying to make sure the Kuwaitis won’t get through their defense,” he added.

The Azkals have to score a 4-0 win or at the very least a 5-1 victory to snatch the third-round berth from Kuwait on goal aggregate.

But a W over a certified football power like Kuwait, regardless of the score, is tantalizing enough for the Azkals.

“I have a good feeling we might just win this particular leg. As to whether we can overtake the 3-nil advatage of Kuwait, that’s another matter. But nevertheless, if we win a game against them that will really be a big upset in the football world and it will improve our rankings by a mile,” Palami said.

“Hopefully, we can pull off a miracle. If not, it’s not the end of the world for Philippine football. We have made great strides; we’re now considered a threat in Southeast Asia  and Asia,” Palami added.

And whatever happens, the step-by-step quest for international glory will go on for the Azkals.

“We have many other challenges to conquer and this is just one of the first steps towards that realization of our World Cup dream. If not it 2014, in 2018,” said Palami.