An unprecedented number of footballers born and raised in the Philippines are plying their trade in foreign leagues. Read on to learn why it matters.
A quiet revolution is happening in Philippine football. This trend is embodied in goalkeeper Florencio “Junjun” Badelic.
The native of Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon had a brief collegiate career with Emilio Aguinaldo College before turning pro with Global. He had a baptism of fire with Global, keeping a clean sheet in an away AFC Cup game against Malaysian side Pahang, a 0-0 draw, in 2015.
Badelic played for Meralco Manila and most recently Cebu Dynamic Herb in the PFL. He also captained the U23 national team in the SEA Games once. But the Malaysians apparently never forgot about him. Melaka, one of the lesser lights in the Malaysian top tier, signed him last year.
He didn’t get to play much for Melaka, but he did get the start against powerhouse Selangor just before the new year, a 3-0 loss. The Pinoy made an error in the second goal, but had other smart interventions to prevent an even bigger defeat.
Badelic may not have played a starring role in Western Malaysia, but he was in a top tier league in ASEAN, and is surely experiencing a level of competition, and a pay grade, he would be hard-pressed to enjoy in the Philippines.
(Editor’s note: Melaka Football Club has published a post on its Facebook page thanking Badelic for his “dedication, commitment and professionalism throughout the first half of the season.”)
Filipinos playing in other leagues is nothing new. Pong Liman and Jason Cordova played in Australia many moons ago, and Freddy Gonzalez suited up for teams in Indonesia and Vietnam. But that was a while back. In recent times most of the Pinoys starring in ASEAN are born and raised in Europe, like Manny Ott and Kevin Ray Mendoza. Badelic represents a trend of Philippine-developed players who are leading a new surge. Clubs abroad are realizing that home-grown Filipino players are worth a look, too.
Another local Pinoy playing in Malaysia is Kamil Amirul. The Davao-born Don Bosco Cebu product left his hometown club, Cebu Dynamic, to join mid-table Penang in the Malaysian Super League.
Amirul, a defensive midfielder and defender, started in both legs of a Malaysia Cup tie against Kuching which they lost 2-1 aggregate. It is great that the Penang coaches put their faith in the 21-year old former Philippines youth NT player.
Miggy Clarino is yet another OFW footballer. Thai League 2 club Nongbua Pitchaya nabbed the utility defender from UP. He played in a recent game, against Mahasarakham SBT, a 3-1 victory. Nongbua are fifth in the standings in a league that promotes to the Thai top tier.
Also in that league is Bangkok FC, where Jarvey Gayoso plays. Bangkok is having a dire season, bottom of the table, with Gayoso scoring once all season. But Gayoso is one of the pioneers of this latest wave of homegrown Filipino footballers, along with veteran Amani Aguinaldo, now playing in Brunei, and Patrick Deyto, the former DLSU keeper who suited up for several Thai clubs. Gayoso previously had a successful stint with Phnom Penh Crown in Cambodia.
Like Clarino, Francis Tacardon used the UP Maroons as a springboard to greater things. The 24-year old transferred recently from Mendiola in the PFL to Champasak Avenir in the Laotian top flight. The hard-nosed wide player started in a recent 2-0 win against Ezra FC. According to the team’s Facebook page, fans get to choose the starting lineup for the squad and Tacardon seems to have won the favor of the supporters.
Some Filipino-developed players have gone beyond ASEAN. Pocholo Bugas, a full senior international for the Philippines, is on the books at HNK Vukovar 1991 of the Croatian top tier. The wide man from Nabunturan, Davao de Oro previously played abroad for Angkor FC in Cambodia. He, like his brother Paolo, is an FEU product.
Junell Bautista, a former youth national team member from La Trinidad, Benguet, was with Kaohsiung Attackers FC, a top club in the Taiwanese second tier as of December of last year. Bautista, a defender who previously played for Davao Aguilas, is not listed on the team’s current wiki so we are not sure if he is still connected with them.
Journeyman keeper Cedric Hodreal, who played for Ilocos United and is from Benilde’s program, is now contracted with Dynamic Futbol Tarpon Springs in Florida of the United Premier Soccer League 1, the second tier of the UPSL. That organization appears to be in the fourth tier of soccer in the USA.
Filipinas as well
Believe it or not, there’s more. The women will not be left out of this.
Tuloy FC has announced that five of their women players have snared contracts abroad. Isabella Bandoja and Lanie Ortillo, stars from the Filipina5 futsal team that played in the recent Futsal Women’s World Cup, have signed with TSL Football Club in Hong Kong. They will trade in their flat-soled shoes for spikes but will likely be just as lethal around goal. TSL considers Tuloy as a sister club according to their Instagram.
Another Philippine-developed female footballer, Alyssa Ube from UP, just helped Ayeyawady WFC win the Myanmar women’s league. This is impressive considering Myanmar is typically quite strong regionally in women’s football. For Ube to thrive there is noteworthy.
Meanwhile another three players from Tuloy, Jade Ann Jalique, Shien Payag, and Arjhane Bolivar, are beefing up XO United in the Cambodian women’s league.
The Tuloy ladies are following in the footsteps of Camille Rodriguez, who had a short spell with Lords FA in India three years ago.
What does this all mean? For me it shows that grassroots football has really started to level up in the Philippines, and we are starting to churn out players who are better technically and tactically, and can withstand the rigors of international play.
“It’s really about the access,” says Roxy Dorlas. The Dutch-bred former Philippine national team defender who is now coaching an NCRFA elite youth team that is about to play a tournament in China.
“When I came here (in the 00s) there were just a handful of programs. Now there are so many, and more fields,” he added.
The result is better skills. When I asked FEU assistant coach Albert Besa about how Philippine youth football had risen in the past few years he gave the biggest evidence of them all: FEU’s twelve-year reign in UAAP juniors coming to an end last year at the hands of UST. The standard has gone way up and the junior Tams can no longer lord over that competition with ease. With guest teams PAREF Southridge and Claret, plus the addition of Adamson, the UAAP juniors competition is growing from strength to strength.
There are more clubs, more teams, more licensed coaches, and crucially, more competitions in different parts of the country. The PFF is currently staging U16 and U19 national championships.
That means better players at levels like the UAAP seniors, and into the PFL, where players can further sharpen their skills against foreigners and overseas-born Pinoys.
I am conflicted about how many international club competitions Philippine pro clubs join. They are often compelled to bring in far too many foreigners than I am comfortable with. But they do provide a shop window for local talents who want to play abroad.
Rico Andes suited up for Cebu in the PFL and also in the Shopee Cup, a competition for ASEAN clubs. The Magallanes, Sorsogon native scored against Kasuka of Brunei and Selangor. His reward was a transfer to Pattani, a Thai League 2 side in southern Thailand near the border with Malaysia.
The speedy attacker is enjoying life in the kingdom despite the intense level of play. His last start was on January 18, a 1-0 loss to Police Tero.
“Dikit ang games at may rotation ang players so lahat may playing time,” says the former FEU star.
“Sobrang laki ang adjustment kasi iba pace ng games nila dito. Sobrang bilis, one-two touches talaga kailangan. At palagi kang may baon na 101% na hangin para makasabay ka.”
Like a true Bicolano, Andes is enjoying the spicy Thai food, especially red curry and Som Tam papaya salad.
Players like Andes provide inspiration and motivation to young Filipino footballers all over the country. If they work hard, stay humble, and keep on playing, they too can make a good living in football, just like Filipinos developed abroad. So often we see young talented Pinoy kids get day jobs after graduating from university teams instead of pursuing a professional career. This generation of players might push others to give pro football a try.
Theo Libarnes is one of FEU’s most lethal strikers, capable of unreal goals like this one.
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As a UAAP junior he was already called up to be in the senior squad by then-coach Tom Saintfiet. He dreams of one day making a name for himself abroad.
“Yan po talaga dream and plan ko po after ng college stint ko po. Na makapaglaro abroad,” says the second-year striker.
“Especially mula Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur po, na minsan lang po talaga may athletes na nakapunta ng Manila and sa international scene,” adds Libarnes, mentioning his hometown south of Dipolog City.
Philippine football has had many challenges over the years. But these brave Pinoys venturing abroad are a bright spot, and a clear indication that sometimes we do get things right.
Banner images from Rico Andes c/o Pattani FC
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