A “miracle worker” has been tasked to pump life into the country’s national men’s football program.
The Philippine Football Federation formally announced the appointment of Belgian Tom Saintfiet as head coach of the national men’s football team.
In a news briefing yesterday, the 50-year-old Saintfiet expressed eagerness to handle the Filipinos, who also dropped the moniker “Azkals” to signal the start of a new era under the leadership of Philippine Football Federation president John Gutierrez.
Saintfiet arrived in the country last Sunday to replace Hans Michel Weiss of Germany. His contract will run up to 2027 but he will have a baptism of fire when the Filipinos face the Iraqis in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers on 21 March at the Basra International Stadium in Iraq.
Then, Filipino fans will get a chance to witness his coaching brilliance when the national squad faces the Iraqis in a home game on 26 March at the Rizal Memorial Football Field.
Saintfiet said he had already seen the Filipinos in action and he couldn’t wait to instill the technical knowledge and strategies that he gained from his long coaching stint in various African countries.
“I saw your previous games but the plan and how they wanted to succeed impressed me. I’m very proud to be here,” said Saintfiet, who was tagged as a “miracle worker” for making something out of very limited resources and manpower.
“I have a feeling that I am in the right federation.”
Helping Saintfiet will be assistant coach Norman Fegidero, goalkeeper coach Ed Sacapano, team coordinator Jose Mikkel Jethmal Paris, physical coaches Riedoh Berdien and Aristotle Andray, analysts Jani Sarajayi and Stephen Oonan, physiotherapists Tom Mertens, Joppe Vermeulen, Jamie Trespicio and Augustine Rivas, kitmen Alfe Sebuha and Joebert Reamon travel manager Allan Salvador and team coordinator Arnel Jamito.
Freddy Razon Gonzales will serve as team manager, a role that was handled by Dan Palami during the peak of the Azkals more than a decade ago.
Sideliners believe that Saintfiet will be a perfect fit for Philippine football.
In fact, he spent the majority of his coaching career handling African countries like Namibia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Togo and The Gambia.
He worked with the Gambians from 2018 to 2024, leading the Scorpions to two Africa Cup of Nations appearances in 2021 and 2024.
But his biggest achievement was in 2021 in which he led Gambia to the quarterfinals of AFCON, the best finish ever by the tiny West African country, before getting booted out by Cameroon, 2-0.
With Saintfiet calling the shots, The Gambia enjoyed its highest International Football Federation ranking at No. 120, prompting him to be nominated as 2022 Coach of the Year in Belgium.
Now that he’s with the Philippines, Saintfiet is determined to apply his magic touch when the Filipinos collide with the Iraqis in the second round of the World Cup qualifiers.
“The vision and dynamics they have, that was my main motivation here. I am a coach who wants to succeed everywhere he goes,” Saintfiet said.
“I have to see which players which are available. If everyone is on board and believes in this program, I’m sure we will be ready to compete against the best teams in Asia.”
Gonzalez said the PFF backs Saintfiet in his goal of building a long-term program for the Filipinos.
“We’re interested in a long-term and stable project. We don’t want to be changing coaches every one or two months. So we want to build this team and build our Filipino style of play,” said Gonzalez, who added that they will formulate a new moniker for the Filipino booters.
“The only way to do that is to give coach Tom and his staff time to build the team that they believe can help us achieve our goals.”
