Former Matildas coach Alen Stajcic would never have thought after leaving the Central Coast Mariners that he would be guiding a nation to the upcoming World Cup, let alone the Philippines.
The Philippines had never qualified for a World Cup in either the male or female game with Stajcic’s involvement coming after former Socceroos goalkeeper coach Jim Fraser gave him a call to see if he might be interested in taking over the national women’s team.
Initially Stajcic agreed to three-month contract to prepare the team for the 2022 Asian Cup in the hope that they may qualify for their first World Cup. The environment with which Stajcic entered though was one where some players had not played for up to two years due to lockdowns.
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Stajcic’s first challenge was to prepare the team physically, so he flew the team to California for a 10-week training camp before the Asian Cup. He brought with him his assistant coach Nahuel Arrarte and strength and conditioning coach Luca Tonetti from the Mariners to help with the process and to ready the team for the upcoming tournament.
“We played our first friendly game at the end of week three, at that point we felt that each player was only able to play 20 minutes and we rotated the whole squad around,” Stajcic admitted to Optus Sport.
Stajcic along with his coaching staff organised games weekly ensuring each member of the team played 90 minutes leading into the Asian Cup. The true impact of Stajcic though would not be felt until the Asian Cup kicked off as the Philippines made a fairy-tale run to the semi-finals after a tense penalty shoot-out victory over Chinese Taipei and in doing so clinched their spot at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The historic moment for Philippines football is one that will be fully realised when they step out for their first World Cup game against Switzerland on July 21 at Dunedin Stadium in New Zealand. The growing support behind the team has gathered pace back home in the Philippines with the team’s representation on the world stage seen as an important stepping stone towards equal recognition and exposure for female athletes.
Stajcic’s contract with the Philippines ended after the Asian Cup but his desire to complete the journey at the World Cup saw him remain as head coach along with the team he had assembled.
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“It definitely was a decision of the heart, there were other offers – a European club, a women’s national team, and even some interest here in Australia in the men’s pro-league,” Stajcic told Spin.
The Philippines will take on co-hosts New Zealand on the July 25 and Norway on July 30 to round out their group stage matches. Stajcic will hope his team can create even more history for the Philippines in qualifying for the knock-out stages.
“We are grateful that we have earned the right for this opportunity and we are respectful of an event that brings together the best female athletes on the planet. We have also raised the bar so high in the past 18 months that none of us will put a ceiling on how high that bar can go,” Stajcic said.
Stajcic’s previous experience in guiding Australia to two World Cups and the quarter finals of the 2016 Olympics will prove to be valuable for a Philippines team short on tournament experience.
“He is one of the greatest assets of this team and we have come a long way because of him,” Philippines star striker Sarina Bolden said of Stajcic in a profile of the World Cup team preview for the Guardian
Stajcic has already admitted that this has been the greatest achievement of his coaching career but he will be hoping the team’s performance at the World Cup will further showcase to the world the quality and growth of football in the Philippines.
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