By NIKOLE JAVIER 

Philippine women’s national football team head tactician Alen Stajcic and his assistant Nahuel Arrarte will be extending their duties to the U17 and U20 youth teams, respectively. 

Riding the momentum of the Filipinas’ historic run in 2022, the Philippine Football Federation has announced the development during a media conference at Acacia Hotel in Alabang on Wednesday, Jan. 25. 

The newly appointed coaches of the juniors level, who conducted an open tryout in the US, have recently returned following a successful turnout of about 110 hopefuls from Canada, Australia and America, among other countries. 

“It's very exciting, I think it's an opportunity to align the senior national team along with young players coming through and it's a similar process as we did with the senior team in regards to looking for the best Filipinas players possible,” said Arrarte. 

With the two coaches overseeing the juniors’ program, a spot in the Filipinas’ roster could be a lot more challenging to secure with the emergence of new talents from those levels. 

Despite the added duty to an already loaded calendar for the national team, Stajcic is just glad to extend his services to the grassroots level which would further beef up the lineup in the future. 

“Every time you’re involved in grassroots football, it’s that kind of feeling you see someone who hasn’t been able to do something , achieve something and it’s just a little bit fulfilling and rewarding to see players . And I’m just trying to work in that system for 20 years and seeing players who were 12, 13 and now playing for Chelsea or Lyonnais or traveling around the world or being voted for player of the year, it’s really rewarding,” said Stajcic. 

However, Stajcic’s prime focus remains on the Filipinas as they set sights on the 2023 Pinatar Cup in February where higher-ranked European teams in Iceland, Wales and Scotland will be posing the same challenge as those of their opposition at the FIFA Women’s World Cup group stage. 

“Hopefully we can lean on some of the success that we’ve seen on the national team. But ultimately, national team is about winning and more importantly it’s about development that’s playing a big foundation of the success of this team,” added Arrarte. 

Additionally, as Stajcic oversees the youth teams, he has started to get the full picture of what makes a good player and the climb one has to take to become a national team member. 

“For me, there is a lot of difference but at the same time, there’s not. Where they all learn, they all get better whether you are 15 years old or whether you’re 25. You’re dealing with human beings who are dynamic they are never the same every day. There are dynamics something that we really discuss a lot and talk about and as a group. We really work as a collective to ensure that we maintain a healthy culture within the group. And that’s something that I never take for granted,” Stajcic concluded.