Isang magandang alaala ang iniwan ng women’s football team ng Filipinas na lumaban sa kaunaunahang pagkakataon sa FIFA World Cup – may kinabukasan ng bansa sa larangan ng football.
Ito ang pinatunayan ng Filipinas matapos ang kahanga-hangang performance sa New Zealand kamakailan lang.
Bigo man ang Filipinas na umabante matapos talunin ng powerhouse team na Norway, na binalanka sila sa score na 6-0, hindi naman alintana ni Filipnas coach Alen Stajcic ang maari pang ipakita ng koponan sa mga susunod pang mga international events.
Napukaw ang atensyon ng buong bansa matapos gulantangin ng Filipinas ang New Zealand, 1-0, para sa kaunaunahang panalo sa kasaysayan ng Philippine women’s football sa World Cup.
“I hope we have planted the seeds of the future generations wanting to become footballers. It is a good step but a lot of things have to happen to maintain it because we are starting from a million miles back in reality,” ang sabi ni Stajcic.
“To bring football to life in the Philippines is a moment in history and one that you can’t turn back from following football, following women’s sport, unheard of and unprecedented.”
Nagtapos ang kontrata ng 49-anyos na si Stajic at wala pang linaw kung muli nitong gagabayan ang koponan.
Sa kanyang pagtitimon, malaki ang na-imporve ng Filipinas sa women’s football circuit.
“These players have really left their mark and left a legacy for future generations to come. For me, you can’t ask anything more as a coach. They gave everything they have on the field and today, we were outclassed by a better opponent. That’s just the way it goes in football sometimes,” dagdag pa ni Stajcic.