Neil Etheridge Made Goalkeeping Cool, But His Legacy Extends Beyond That

On and off the pitch, Azkals goalkeeper Neil Etheridge made an indelible mark on Philippine football.

Last month, Neil Etheridge made official what many assumed: that he was retiring from international duty for the Philippines. The big fella has hung up his blue, red, and yellow gloves for good. 

This was, to be honest, inevitable. Neil’s final competitive performance in a Philippines jersey was in the AFC Asian Cup and FIFA World Cup joint qualifier match in June of 2024, when Vietnam defeated the Philippines 3-2 in Hanoi’s My Dinh Stadium. 

Fittingly, it was at the scene of the mythical Miracle in Hanoi in 2010 that birthed the Azkals fever Etheridge rode for years. It is believed Etheridge amassed 82 senior caps for the Philippines in a glittering 18-year international career. It seems he will continue playing club football, at the moment for Buriram in Thailand. 

We could list down all of Etheridge’s wonderful saves and enumerate every honor he achieved in his time between the sticks for the Philippines. But that would only describe a part of his legacy. 

Neil Etheridge’s first outing for the Philippines was way back in 2008, at the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers in Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo. Anton Del Rosario and Aly Borromeo were already in the national team then, and his other two defenders were Joebel Bermejo and Jason Cordova. Dodz Pasinabo was also in that starting eleven, as was Boyet Canedo. 

This was a time before the Azkals fever truly gripped the nation, when the national team had a distinct Visayan flavor, was obscure and operating in the fringes of the Philippine sports consciousness. And Neil Etheridge, a gangly, raw, but undeniably gifted shot-stopper, was there. 

Two years later the team stunned Vietnam in Hanoi, with Neil keeping a clean sheet. The Azkals revolution was on, and Etheridge was at the center of it all, making save after save as the Philippines made AFF semis, a Challenge Cup final, and the AFC Asian Cup. 

Etheridge is the Philippine Neuer: a larger-than-life figure who defined the role of goalie for a generation of new Filipino football fans. As the Azkals’ popularity waned during the pandemic, new management took over, the Younghusbands and other stars retired, but Etheridge was the constant. 

An underrated club career

Few Filipinos understood or cared about his club career, which itself is very solid. Neil Etheridge backed up Aussie legend Mark Schwarzer when Fulham was in the Premier League. Neil never got to play in the Big Show with Fulham since Schwarzer was The Man Who Can’t Be Moved in Craven Cottage. But Etheridge did play for Fulham in a Europa League game, the second tier of UEFA international club football, against Danish side Odense in 2011.

Side note: Julian Schwarzer, Mark’s son from a Filipina mother, is also a goalkeeper who has made the Philippines senior national team.   

Etheridge bounced around several clubs in England before finding his pathway back to the Premier league in Wales. He signed with Cardiff City, helping them win promotion to the top tier in 2018. On August 11, 2018, he made his Premiership debut in a 2-0 loss to Bournemouth, saving a first-half penalty. 

I remember watching that save live in Howzat Sports Bar in Poblacion Makati, with my football mates and celebrating the stop. I recall watching it on TV and thinking to myself, “wow, I actually know that guy.”

The season would be a tough one for the overmatched Cardiff, with Etheridge being given far too much work thanks to a lack of quality in the outfield. Help was supposed to come in the transfer window, when the Welsh side signed veteran Argentinian striker Emiliano Sala from Nantes in France. But Sala made the fateful decision to fly a small Piper Malibu plane to Cardiff from France. It disappeared in the English channel, and Sala’s remains were recovered a month later. 

Without adequate firepower up top, Cardiff City finished 18th, and were relegated back to the English second-tier, the Championship. Neil was named the club’s Player Of the Year award for his exploits in goal.

If Sala had flown commercial instead of a single-engine propeller airframe to his new club, who knows what might have happened. Perhaps Cardiff City would have stayed up, and Etheridge’s Premier League career would have blossomed into something truly legendary. But fate intervened. Neil would never play in the Premier League again, all because of some bad weather in the worst possible spot for a small plane. 

Etheridge would then see his career play out in the English pyramid below the Premiership before Thai giants Buriram United grabbed him in 2024. Etheridge has shone for that club in the AFC Champions League Elite, the highest level of club play in Asia. Last March Etheridge saved two penalties in a shootout that propelled Buriram United to the quarter-finals of the AFC CL Elite.

It is ironic that just when Neil began playing club football in Thailand, a three-hour flight to Manila, he stopped playing for the Philippine national team. 

Making a difference off the pitch 

But nothing can overshadow what Neil Etheridge contributed to Philippine football off the pitch. In 2015 he launched a goalkeeping school in the Philippines. Two years later a 12-year old Ico Mangaoang would enroll in that clinic, the NE1 GK School, and learn the finer points of keeping goal, plus everything behind the scenes the fans never see. 

“He shared a lot of his personal experiences, especially the difficult moments, setbacks, and how he picked himself back up,” recounts Mangaoang. 

“Learning how he dealt with pressure, mistakes, and kept moving forward really changed the way I approach goalkeeping and challenges in general. That psychological side and mindset is probably what stuck with me the most to be honest. When I was dealing with so much pressure he told me to just enjoy it.” 

Mangaoang went on to star for DLSU in the UAAP, play for the U23 national team, and is now a professional goalkeeper with Davao Aguilas. 

“He had a lot to share to be honest. What a guy. I really look up to him.” 

One of the other instructors at that goalkeeping school was Noel Marcaida, considered one of the Philippines’ finest goalie mentors. He also has his thoughts on Etheridge and what his legacy with Philippine football will be. 

“I just want to say thank you to Neil for bringing goalkeeping in the Philippines to life,” explains the Masbateño coach.

“Dahil sa presence niya nagkaroon tayo ng mga batang interesado sa goalkeeping at a young age.”

This is an important factor in Neil’s legacy. Very often, especially at a young age, the position of goalkeeper goes to the fat, weird, unathletic kid who would be useless everywhere else. (I think I have embodied this in my long and undistinguished career as a recreational goalkeeper.) 

But Neil Etheridge, with his dashing good looks, incredible athleticism, and strong presence on the field has surely changed the image of the goalkeeper in the Philippine context. Young Filipinos just getting into the game realized that you didn’t have to be the striker to be the main guy in football, and that goalie could be a sought-after position instead of one you slid down to.   No doubt the next generation of Filipino goalies were all inspired to don the gloves thanks to Neil. 

No proper goodbye

Unfortunately, we will likely no longer get to see Neil Etheridge in a national team shirt. There are reports that the relationship between him and the PMNFT management was strained near the end of his tenure. There are also some in Philippine football who believe that the team was looking for a different kind of keeper. 

Etheridge came from an era where shot-stopping was of paramount concern, and a strong kick was important. But in recent times teams are looking for keepers who are as good on their feet as outfield players. Keepers who are capable of controlling the ball and delivering pinpoint passes to defenders and midfielders under pressure, instead of hoofing downfield.  

Possibly for these reasons and others we may never know, Neil’s time in the national team is done. He deserved a better send off. A friendly match at home where he starts, and after an hour of terrific saves, is subbed off to a standing ovation. It will likely never happen. 

But we do have the memories, and the warm feelings for an extraordinary Filipino footballer. Stephan Schrock, who lined up with Neil for the Philippines on countless occasions, says it best. 

“Neil has been an inspirational presence in the locker room ever since the first day I met him. To me, he isn’t only the best goalkeeper this country has ever produced, he’s also one of the kindest human beings I had the privilege to share the jersey with.”

“The care he showed for the Azkals, their players, and everyone in the staff goes far beyond what anyone could reasonably ask of him. I truly appreciated every moment with him, both on and off the pitch.”

Images by Kieran Punay/KLIQ Inc.