Dan Palami steps down as PHL Azkals team manager
PHILIPPINE Azkals team manager Dan Palami has stepped down from the post he’s been handling since the 2010s, ending a tenure highlighted by the Filipino booters’ rise as Asean contenders after years in the doghouse.
Mr. Palami said his decision was meant to give new Philippine Football Federation President John Gutierrez a free hand moving forward.
“I thought it was time and as a courtesy, in deference to what Mr. John will be doing in the next four years,” Mr. Palami said in a presscon with Mr. Gutierrez.
“I don’t want to shackle him with whatever agreements we have previously. And I want to give him elbow room and a free hand to do what he thinks is necessary for Philippine football to move forward and that includes the national team, which is a core component of the PFF program,” he added.
Mr. Palami left after a management stint highlighted by the “Miracle of Hanoi” upset of host and holder Vietnam that cleared the way for a historic semifinal stint in the AFF Suzuki Cup in 2010, silver medal in the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup and qualification to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
It’s not immediately known if a coaching change is also in the offing for the Azkals. With Mr. Palami at the helm, German mentor Michael Weiss was signed last June to a one-year deal and steered the side to a draw and a loss in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers last year. — Olmin Leyba