2022 Copa Paulino Alcantara Primer Press conference takeaways, tournemant details, and quotes from Coach Yu Hoshide

Philippine club football makes its triumphant return tomorrow with the opening day of the Copa Paulino Alcantara. In yesterday’s press conference, all seven participating clubs were present and accounted for, each team eyeing the title and the nomination for next year’s AFC Cup.

Keen on bouncing back from last week’s loss against Sydney FC in the ACL Preliminary Round, Coach Yu Hoshide turns his focus to the domestic stage and bringing back-to-back titles to Iloilo.

“We are ready for the Copa Paulino Alcantara,” he stated. “I think all the clubs are getting to prepare better than last year, so it will be a good competition and we can’t afford to relax right now.”

Following a busy transfer window bringing in some new (and not so new) faces to offset several notable departures, this Kaya side is different from the one that won it all in 2021. Considering the roster turnaround, Coach noted that the team isn’t quite where he wants it to be yet, but that he intends to get there over the course of the tournament.

“First of all, we got some additional players but six already left this last year. We’re still a really, really new team. Communication is really important for us right now, so we’ve been focusing on that in training.”

“[Our players] especially are individually good, but we still need to come together as a group. We can get there with some more practice, and we’ll need to if we want to get the title,” he added.

The tournament will take place from March through May, operating as a single-round, seven-team round robin. The top four teams will advance to the knockout stage and the last one standing is crowned the victor. Kaya’s competitors have been hard at work too, making full use of the relaxed restrictions to ramp their squads up for the return to action.

The Azkals Development Team looks to stay competitive after scouring the country for the best young talent in preparation for the SEA Games in May. Dynamic Herb Cebu’s roster has the most continuity going into their second year as a club, but they’re reinforcing the coaching front through their partnership with Turkish club Hatayspor. Mendiola FC 1991 are reportedly bringing back key players from their 2019 squad, who helped bring the club to the semifinals of the Copa that season.

Maharlika Manila unfortunately missed the cup competition last year, but have now re-entered the fold with a revamped roster. Stallion Laguna have similarly reloaded their squad, fielding a healthy mixture of prospects and veterans. Two-time Copa winners United City FC were eerily quiet through much of the offseason, but have since returned in a flurry of activity and are going into this year with a change of team-building philosophy.

Every single one of these teams has their sights set on the defending champions, and Iloilo will have to bring their best in every fixture to fulfill the goal of repeating.

“I think all of them are challenging us, of course. As of now, all of these clubs will be targeting Kaya,” stated Coach Hoshi. “Until we get the Copa, we cannot afford to relax.”

Defending champions Kaya FC-Iloilo return to the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite to open the proceedings versus Maharlika Manila tomorrow, March 14. Kickoff’s at 5:00pm. Catch the Livestream on the PFL’s Facebook and Youtube pages.