Memories of Cutillas

The Moran brothers Danny and Mike were fixtures on the Philippine national football teams that Juan Cutillas coached in the 1970s. Today, they’re successful businessmen. Danny set up the Red Ribbon Bakeshop chain in 1979 and sold it to Jollibee in 2005. He now owns and operates the Amici restaurants with the Cara Mia Bakeshop. Danny remains involved with football, supervising the futsal program from elementary to seniors on a nationwide level. Mike is a well-known financial expert based in Australia.

In 1976, the Morans were part of the Philippine squad that upset Chinese-Taipei, 1-0, in the second match of a tripleheader at the Aloha Stadium in Hawaii. Pele starred in the main event, booting in four goals as the New York Cosmos blanked Team Honda of Japan, 5-0.

Last Monday, Cutillas died in his home in Benalmadena, a town in Andalusia, Spain. He was 83. The Philippine Football Federation described Cutillas as “a visionary, a pivotal figure in shaping and developing Philippine football through some of its most challenging periods.”

Danny also played in the Olympic eliminations at the Tokyo National Stadium and friendlies in China in 1976 with Cutillas at the helm. He shared this anecdote about Cutillas:

“In preparation for our match against Chinese-Taipei in 1976, part of the bicentennial celebration of US independence and the inauguration of the Aloha Stadium, coach Cutillas brought us to a public park near Waikiki Beach. It had a nice, wide-open field, perfect for training and even a full scrimmage. Midway through our game, a group of massive Samoan rugby players showed up and told us we were on their field. Now, this was clearly public space so the usual rule of ‘first come, first served’ should’ve applied. We could’ve easily asked them to wait another 30 minutes until we wrapped up. But as soon as they made their presence known and said, ‘Hey, this is our field so you guys get out,’ we all instinctively paused and looked to Cutillas for direction.

“Surprisingly, Cutillas didn’t argue and simply said, ‘Guys, let’s go.’ Now, if you knew Coach, a typically fiery Spaniard, always ready to stand his ground, you’d understand how unusual that was. So later I asked him, ‘Why didn’t you push back?’ He just grinned and said, ‘Are you kidding, did you see how big those guys were?’ I burst out laughing. Yeah, we definitely didn’t need anyone getting injured before the big game.”

Mike said Cutillas led by example. “He loved to push us to the limit,” recalled Mike. “One of his infamous training sessions was a five-kilometer run on Ortigas Avenue from Xavier to Meralco and back. Other drills plus a scrimmage would normally follow. If we did the 5k, he would do it, too and he wouldn’t finish last either. That’s how fit he was, a role model for us players. Cutillas was a fanatic for fitness and he used to ‘kill’ us at practice. He was always emotionally invested in every match we played. In fact, he received a few yellow cards for his outbursts, particularly when one of us was injured ‘illegally.’ He would have to sit away from the bench and in the stands. What impressed me is that he always made the effort to stay in touch with his players wherever he was. Another thing about Cutillas was before an important international match in the lockerroom, he would make us sing the National Anthem with our hands on our chests and it always got us fired up.”

Cutillas will always be fondly remembered by his players, adversaries and fans. His legacy lives forever.