Number 11 magic with Kaya FC Iloilo in AFC Champions League run

The late Rudy del Rosario used to tease the youngsters trying out for a spot in the Philippine team for the 2011 Homeless World Cup.

“Gusto nyong makakita ng magic?”

Grabbing a football, he would mesmerize the crowd with his freestyle moves, juggling the ball from his left foot to his right foot before making the ball move in ways only he could do.

Coach Rudy was very good with kids, and maybe even better with the ball at his feet. The boys, many of whom came from underprivileged backgrounds, could not help but be in awe with the man.

I was not fortunate enough to watch Rudy del Rosario the football player, who represented the Philippines in the 1991 SEA Games.

But I was fortunate to get to know Rudy del Rosario the coach, who always had a ready smile for everyone while juggling a football and maybe even strumming his guitar at the same time.

Coach Rudy, one of the founders of Kaya Iloilo FC who would later on coach the team, passed away tragically last November 2020.

However, he was certainly at the hearts and minds of Kaya Iloilo FC players and coaching staff as the team embarked on perhaps the club’s most important game to date: the crucial one-game playoff against Chinese powerhouse Shanghai Port.

The winner would take the last slot in Group F of the highest level of club football in Asia: the 2021 AFC Champions League.

The team made sure that Rudy del Rosario would be part of this journey: His iconic number 11 jersey was in the Kaya locker room and later on the Kaya bench against Shanghai.

Worn only by del Rosario and long-serving former captain Aly Borromeo, the number 11 has been retired by Kaya Iloilo in a classy gesture.

Kaya had qualified to the qualifying playoffs for the Champions League by virtue of finishing in second place in the 2020 Philippines Football League.

But to get to the group stages of the main tournament, the Iloilo-based club would have had to beat A-League side Brisbane Roar in Australia, before traveling to China to face Super League powerhouse Shanghai Port FC, a very tall order to say the least.

However, due to Covid-19 and numerous complications, Brisbane Roar withdrew from the competition. Shanghai Port, who famously reached the semi-finals of the competition as recently as 2017, chose to field in an inexperienced squad to face Kaya.

Realizing that this is most probably the best opportunity of the club to reach the group stages of this tournament, Kaya took full advantage with a 1-0 victory against their more storied opponents.

Defender Audie Menzi proved to be the difference as he scored his very first goal after five years in the club, one he likely won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

“Napakasaya (ko) because yong goal ko ang nakagawa ng history for Kaya FC,” said the 26-year-old from Benguet.

“Ito ang pinakauna kong goal para sa Kaya at nandito na ako for almost 5 years na, at ito ang pinaka una kong goal. Ang sarap lang kasi dito pa na nasa big stage pa ako naka goal.”

Things will not get easier for Kaya though, as no less than the champions of Thailand and Vietnam await together with the easiest team in Group F, the defending champions of the tournament, Ulsan Hyundai FC.

Kaya, together with 2020 PFL champions United City Football Club, are the first two clubs from the Philippines to play in the group stages of the Champions League, and they will look to represent the country with pride and honor, as well as conjure up some magic along the way.

Magic that, Rudy del Rosario, watching approvingly from above, would undoubtedly enjoy.

Kaya Iloilo FC will play its first-ever group stage match in the AFC Champions League on June 26 against BG Pathum United of Thailand before playing Viettel FC on June 29. They face Ulsan Hyundai FC of Korea on July 2.

—JMB, GMA News