Chuvahotness #33 – Askalz (Philippine Football Team) – Neil Leonard Dula Etheridge

The most recent win of Philippine Askalz versus Mongolia Blue Wolves just re-ignited Filipinos with their love for football. Whether you like it or not, football is here to stay. With recent the recent popularity of FIFA World Cup, I can assure you that the Philippines will have the chance to someday play the World Cup if given the proper training and funding.

With the rise of interest in the Philippine Football Team, comes the rise of fans for individual players as well. I, for one have a crush on Phil Younghusband. Mykumadre, likes Neil Etheridge and so do I. That’s the one thing I am about men, I have a wide range of taste. Both Phil Younghusband and Neil Etheridge fall inside that range. LOL! Since I featured Phil Younghusband on our Chuvahotness Series – - I was politely asked by my kumadre to feature Neil Etheridge as well….

So, who is Neil Etheridge?

Here’s a brief introduction from Wikipedia:

Neil Leonard Dula Etheridge was born in Enfield Town on February 7, 1990 (21-years old to be exact!) , in the London Borough of Enfield to an English father and a Filipina mother who is originally from Tarlac.He took up the sport of football at the age of nine and attended Court Moor School in Fleet, Hampshire where he also represented Hampshire Schools and the Aldershot & Farnborough district teams.

Etheridge is a former England U-16 international, having featured in the Victory Shield in 2005,[3] where England and Wales eventually shared the trophy. Despite representing England at youth level, he was still eligible to represent the Philippines through his mother.

“’It took me a long time to decide. Obviously every boy’s dream is to play for England at the highest level. But I thought, why not play for the Philippines? It’s mum’s side of the family as well.”

—Etheridge, on his decision to represent the Philippines

In 2007, Etheridge received an invitation to play for the Philippines but declined the offer as he wasn’t too keen on the idea and didn’t know the language or the players. He was again invited in early 2008, this time by the new Philippine Football Federation president Jose Mari Martinez. He eventually accepted the invitation after speaking to the new manager and learning about the set up,as well as being convinced by Phil Younghusband that he’ll enjoy the experience.

Etheridge made his full international debut in the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers playing in all three matches. He kept three clean sheets but the Philippines still failed to qualify with an inferior goal difference to group winners, Tajikistan.

He was called up again later that year for the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup qualification. In their opening match, Etheridge got his fourth successive clean sheet, as the Philippines defeated Timor-Leste 1–0. However, in their remaining three fixtures, Etheridge conceded five goals as the Philippines won another match, drew one and lost one. Similar to the Challenge Cup qualification, they would miss out on the Suzuki Cup. This time, they were level on points and goal difference but had an inferior goals scored record after finishing tied for second.