MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Azkals welcomed back former national team standout Stephan Schrock as they brought in a new head coach.

Already retired from international competition, Schrock will join the coaching staff headed by Barae Jrondi for the Azkals’ West Asia training camp in Kuwait and Qatar later this March.

Jrondi said he wants to pick the brain of Schrock, who played for the Azkals for over 11 years before his retirement in January, as he aims to build a formidable squad.

“Creating a competitive team is the main objective and it requires careful considerations,” said Jrondi.

“I am really happy to have the former captain Stephan Schrock on the technical staff to get his point of view about players selection to get the right team dynamics.”

Jrondi, a Moroccan who is based in Qatar, signed a multi-year deal to mentor an Azkals side that dealt with multiple coaching changes over the past five years.

Since Thomas Dooley called the shots from 2014 to 2018, the Azkals were coached by Terry Butcher, Scott Cooper, Sven-Goran Erikkson, Goran Milojevic, and Stewart Hall.

Dooley briefly returned in May last year before Josep Ferre took over in December, although his stint as head coach proved short-lived.

“It is a big honor and responsibility for myself [and] the staff to take this challenge forward,” said Jrondi, who served as technical advisor for teams under the Qatar Football Association over the last three years.

Jrondi also worked as analyst for Qatari club Lusail and assistant coach for Saudi Arabian side Ettifaq.

Led by captain and longtime goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, the Azkals will face host Kuwait on March 24 and Jordan in Doha on March 28. – Rappler.com