Isa na ang football sa mga kinikilalang laro ngayon sa Pilipinas.
Bagamat sa mas maraming bansa ay football ang pinakakilalang sport, at bagamat matagal na ang larong ito sa ilang mga unibersidad sa Pilipinas, hindi talaga ito gaanong nabibigyan ng pansin ng Pinoy.
Nagsimulang maging popular ang larong football ngayong taon nang maging tanyag ang Philippine National Football Team—o mas kilala sa tawag na Philippine Azkals.
Isa si Phil Younghusband, 24, sa mga sikat at iniidolong manlalaro para sa koponan na ito.
Nakapanayam kamakailan ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) at ilang entertainment press si Phil, sa ginanap na meet-and-greet event nila sa Kenny Rogers restaurant sa SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City.
Naikuwento niya sa amin kung paano ba nagsimula ang pagkahilig niya sa sport na football.
"I've always been athletic," umpisa niya.
"I've always wanted to run around.
"Even in my classroom, I didn't wanna sit down and stay still. I would want to run around and move around.
"So, I like to be active.
"Football gave me the opportunity to run around and be with my friends.
"And then I joined, and then I enjoyed it, and I thought to excel in the sport."
Dagdag pa niya, "Obviously, growing in England, growing up in England, there was a future for football in England.
"You can earn a good, good living and play football.
"[There's] good income for football in England, and I excelled in the sport and enjoyed the sport.
"I tried other sports when I was younger. I tried football, basketball, volleyball...[I'm] athletic.
"Only difference was, I did everything, but it was football, the sport that I really [liked].
"So, I think that was one of the reasons why I played football."
FILIPINO AT HEART. Nabanggit din ni Phil na maaaring maging trabaho ang paglalaro ng football dahil sa malaking kikitain dito.
Lumaki sa Ashford, Middlesex, England, si Phil.
Dito rin lumaki ang kanyang mga kapatid na sina James, na miyembro rin ng Philippine Azkals, at Keri.
Gayunman, mas pinili niya ang maglaro para sa koponan ng Pilipinas kaysa makipagsabayan sa mahuhusay na manlalaro sa England.
Paliwanag niya, "Although I grew up in England, I come to the Philippines every year for vacation, but I think I'm very Pinoy.
"I'm very proud to be Filipino and obviously I have family here in the Philippines.
"I mean, Philippines is my home, England is not my home.
"I always want to let everyone know I am Pinoy even though I grew up in a different country and I have a different accent."
Aminado rin si Phil na kung ikukumpara sa ating bansa, mas malaki ang potensiyal na mapansin ang kanyang talento dito at gayundin ay maibahagi ito sa iba.
"Of course in England, I'm just a small fish in a big, big, big football pond," nangingiti niyang sinabi.
"Whereas here, I could really set my priority, make plans, and try and improve football because it was a match here.
"Football in England is very ruthless, it's very competitive, it's very, [and] it's not...
"Although you can have a good career, it's very... I mean it's a lot, it's very intense.
"I just preferred life in here, and I could see that there was room to improve football in the Philippines, and I could really be a big part of change in that.
"But now, now obviously, who would've thought this time last year that a year later we'd be... Football would've grown in a way and the popularity of the team would have... It's the way it is now.
"It's a dream come true for me to see football grow like this.
"And now I'm glad I made the choice, and I my heart wanted to be in the Philippines.
"I hope that football continues to grow and become more successful."
FOOTBALL IS FOR PINOYS. Samantala, napuna ng magkapatid na Phil at James na nagsisismula nang magkahilig ang mga Pinoy sa football.
Kaya naman nitong taon, naisipan nilang itayo ang Younghusband Football Academy.
Ito ay isang proyekto kung saan nagsasagawa sila ng mga sports clinics sa iba't ibang lugar.
Balak ng clinics na magturo—nang libre—ng basic skills ng football sa mga estudyante at guro ng mga pampublikong paaralan.
Ayon kay Phil, naniniwala sila na magiging mahuhusay na manlalaro ng football ang mga Filipino.
Hindi kasi kinakailangan na maging matangkad sa football.
Ang importante raw ay "hardworking" ka at may "skills" ka.
Paglilinaw pa ni Phil, "Football has this image in the Philippines of being an elite sport.
"But actually it's a sport for the masses—you just play with the ball, it brings people together, it teaches values.
"In other sports, the coach tells you what to do.
"In football, you can't do that. It's self-expression.
"So it's up to the individual player to make the decision himself.
"If one player can defend it, then he has to make a decision when to pass.
"So it's often self-expression and that's the good thing about football compared to other sports.
"It's a team sport but it gives you the chance to express yourself."
Inihalintulad pa ni Phil ang paglalaro ng football sa buhay ng isang tao.
Aniya, "I think that it's similar to life.
"I mean, often you have to work in teams, in life, no matter what industry you're in.
"Whether you're in the office, on the playing field, no matter where you are, it's about working with others.
"It's about expressing yourself, and then people know who you want to be—and that's one of the things football's about."