Kempter has high hopes for Philippine Azkals

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In a quick interview with Filipino-Swiss defender Michael Kempter, he shared to KICK OFF PH his personal goals for the Philippine Azkals and talked about what it is like living abroad in a Filipino community. 

Growing up in Schlieren, Switzerland, Kempter was aware of his Filipino roots, whose mother hails from Pasay City. "I grew up with a lot of half-Filipino friends and children of my mom's friends. We would eat a lot of sinigang and adobo or menudo," he told KICK OFF PH.


Michael Kempter in action for FC Zurich
                                               
                                                                                     
The FC Zurich skipper has been in the radar of the Azkals management for quite some time. Kempter admits he has been scouted at a very young age by the Azkals but admits that "it wasn't the right thing for him at that time." The 25-year old Kempter added that it was fellow Filipino-Swiss Azkals teammate Martin Steuble and Azkals head coach Scott Copper who brought him into the team. 

Kempter has yet to play for the Philippine Azkals as it took him some time to get clearance from Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). He was set to join the team last March but due to the COVID19 pandemic, Kempter has to wait again for a few months for his Azkals debut as the joint qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup was suspended.

Despite all the delays in his Azkals debut, Kempter is very upbeat and  shared his personal goal with the Azkals, "We have a very good quality in our team and so my goal is to have a World Cup and an Asian Cup appearance." 








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