La Salle and Ateneo’s fierce varsity rivalry spills over into the pitch when the First Terry Razon Copa Filipina football tournament kicks off on Sunday at the Philsport field in Pasig City.
Barred from vying against each other in the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) football competitions, the two arch rivals are among the 12 top Metro Manila teams seeing action in the event organized by the National Capital Region Football Association (NCRFA) in honor of the late Terry Razon.
The mother of national player Freddie Gonzales, Razon was an avid football supporter who got involved in the world’s most popular sport in the 80′s through the encouragement of former Philippine Football Federation president Henri Kahn.
“The Terry Razon football is honor of one of local football’s great supporters. She was a soccer mom who helped inspire her son Freddie to take up football and become one of our best strikers,” NCRFA president Jose Vito Borromeo said in Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) forum at the function room of the Pantalan Restaurant in Manila.
“We are not only honoring Razon’s memory but also providing another event for our players in NCR who want to play the best in the region,” Borromeo said.
Joining Borromeo in the session sponsored by Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the Manila city government of Mayor Lito Atienza and the Manila Sports Council of Chairman Arnold “Ali” Atienza were La Salle coach Hans Smit, Ateneo assistant coach Aris Bocalan, NCRFA women’s committee head Cristy Ramos, NCRFA general secretary Jojo Rodriguez and football oldtimer Henry Beech Sr.
“Although we won’t be competing against Ateneo in the UAAP, at least we will have a chance to meet them in the Terry Razon Copa Filipina tournament. This should be an interesting match,” Smit said.
“But I have just taken over the team the past two months so I will not venture to guess how we will fare in the event,” Smit added.
Bocalan said Ateneo would also try to do its best in the tournament and use it as a tuneup series before the UAAP football competitions get underway in January.
“We know we will be up against strong teams the Terry Razon Copa Familia. This an opportunity to face our arch rival La Salle and prepare for the UAAP soccer season,” Bocalan said.
Ramos also credited the event for adding to the calendar of soccer events in NCR.
“What local football really needs is more events so having a competition such as the Terry Razon Copa Familia is always welcome,” said Ramos, who is the highest-ranking Filipino official in the International Football Federation (FIFA) and Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Ramos is a member of the FIFA women’s committee and the deputy chairman of the AFC women’s committee.
On the other hand, Rodriguez said the other teams competing in the event running until December are Kaya Football Club, the team of Gonzales, Navy, Air Force, Army, Pasargad, Far Eastern University, San Beda College, UAAP Selection and Union Football Club.
Hostilities in the Terry Razon Copa Familia will be ushered in on Sunday with the women’s match featuring La Salle and Ateneo, which are competing in the NCRFA’s Metro Manila Girls Football Association tourney, at 4 p.m. before the main match between their respective men’s teams at 6 p.m.
