The Philippine Azkals only tallied one point in their pair of home games.
The inclusion of Stephan Schrock in the 26-man roster of the Philippine Azkals in the first window of the second round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifying Tournament polarized fans, to say the least.
At 37 years old, some felt Schrock's spot should've been given to younger players. Others, however, stressed that the veteran booter's leadership will always be invaluable.
The latter is perhaps the reason why coach Michael Weiss still tapped Schrock.
Even though he sat out their game against Indonesia on Tuesday because of a pulled muscle, the Azkals still probably felt his presence on the bench, egging them on as they tried to salvage a win.
After the match, which ended in a 1-1 draw, Weiss spoke about missing Schrock.
"Schrock worked very, very hard for this qualifiers. (He's) very disappointed that he could not play. In the last training, his muscle was pulled, so he could not compete in the game, unfortunately," said Weiss, as shared by Radyo Pilipinas 2 Sports' Aaron Bayato.
The comebacking coach also admitted that he could've used Schrock as a substitute against Indonesia, who scored in the 70th minute to even things up after Patrick Reichelt's goal in the first half.
"He could've probably given us also the edge in the last 15 minutes because the opponent is not on the level of Vietnam," added Weiss, who returned to the Azkals after his first stint ended in 2013.
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Still, the Germany-born Schrock achieved another milestone by tallying his 61st cap with the Azkals when he played against Vietnam, entering the top 10 of the all-time list.
Some fans may believe that he's gotten too old for the Azkals, who will next face Iraq in March. But as Schrock has repeatedly said, representing the Philippines will never get old.