To 'align' programs, Filipinas' Stajcic, Arrarte to coach youth teams

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine women's national football team head coach Alen Stajcic and his assistant Nahuel Arrarte will be taking over the head coaching duties in the U17 and U20 youth teams, respectively.

To further push for a streamlined program from the youth to the senior national team, Stajcic and Arrarte will be able to introduce their coaching style early on for Philippine women's football's next stars.

The announcement was made official by the Philippine Football Federation during a media conference at the Acacia Hotel in Alabang on Wednesday.

"It's very exciting, I think it's an opportunity to align the senior national team along with young players coming through and it's a similar process as we did with the senior team in regards to looking for the best Filipinas players possible," said Arrarte.

Both Arrarte and Stajcic have just returned from the US where they held tryouts for both the U17 and U20 teams in California and are also set to hold the same in Manila, Davao, and Cebu in the coming days.

"It's important to capitalize on a World Cup year... It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, it's the first time that we've qualified so it's very very important that we capitalize on that and extend the exposure of women's football, Philippine women's football, across not only the Philippines, but across the world as well. So I'm really excited," Arrarte said.

Meanwhile, Stajcic expressed his desire to be able to help the next generation of players. Though focused on his senior team duties, especially with the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup just months away, the Aussie mentor lives for the moment of helping the Philippines build for after the elite tournament.

"I love the fact of going to a park tomorrow morning, for example, and seeing 10 or 20 or 30 kids and seeing something new and different and exciting and seeing what freshness can come to a football pitch because you never know what you're going to get. You know, I love the opportunity of working with new players," said Stajcic.

"And in this case, it's not really a job I wanna do for myself, it's not really a job I need to do or have to do for myself as when you're a little bit younger, it's a job where you know, I'm hopefully gonna provide something for the players but more importantly the staff around for them to be able to carry the torch," he added.

After the tryouts, Stajcic and Arrarte are set to oversee the senior team in the upcoming Pinatar Cup in Spain where they are set to continue to build for the World Cup in their first-ever competition in European soil.

From February 15 to 21, the team will be facing Iceland, Scotland, and Wales.

Also on tap for the Filipinas before the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand are the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in April and then the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia in May.