The Guardian - The Englishman on being national team coach in a country where boxing and basketball have traditionally ruled the roost
Until Lionel Messi, Paulino Alcántara was the top scorer in Barcelona’s history with 357 goals. But until the advent of the internet, many had forgotten that “The Net Buster” had been born in the Philippines and inspired the Asian team to their biggest win, a 15-2 thrashing of Japan in Tokyo in 1917. Alcántata’s history is talked about more these days in Manila and the provinces but it is the future that is really starting to excite.
It is not that surprising that his exploits were somewhat overlooked given the fact that the Philippines was an American colony at the time and that influence remains in a sporting sense. Basketball and boxing are still ahead of football but the beautiful game is catching up with a potential that is unparalleled in the region according to the national team’s English coach, Scott Cooper. “We can be competitive in Asia but we don’t know how far we can go and we are very excited.” Continue reading...