Ott brothers give United City a killer midfield

MANILA, Philippines – United City Football Club (UCFC) co-founder Eric Gottschalk announced that the Philippines Football League’s newest side has signed up Filipino-German brothers Manny and Mike Ott.

Enthused Gottschalk, “We are happy to announce that two more former players have signed on to play for United City Football Club (UCFC) this season.  Both, Manny and Mike, bring a tremendous amount of experience on the club and international level to the team and this will be instrumental in our pursuit to defend the PFL title and to progress from the AFC Cup Group stages in September in Vietnam.”

“Experience and talent” is an understatement. Manny Ott made his debut for the Philippines in 2009 and was actually a part of the Azkals side during the qualifiers for the 2010 Suzuki Cup. But he was unable to suit up because of commitments with FC Ingolstadt at that time. 

However, the midfielder has been one of the Philippines’ most important players since that time with 50 international caps and having scored four goals in addition to his timely assists for teammates. He previously suited up for Ceres-Negros.

Mike is three years Manny’s junior, but his impact in local football has been no less telling. Mike, who also plays the midfield position, was a vital cog in Ceres-Negros dominance of the PFL scoring 21 goals. With the national side, he also has netted 21 caps to go with three goals.

The brothers are technically sound and have good field vision making them a vital cog in United City’s middle third.

United City Football Club co-founder Eric Gottschalk added that United City wasn’t done in its manpower build-up, “These two are not our final signings for the upcoming season with 4 more players to be announced shortly.”

UCFC took over Ceres-Negrosa few weeks ago and is focused on retaining the titles the latter has won in the PFL while building on previous successes with the AFC.