Philippines 2021-22 Away (SCHRÖCK #17) Jersey/Shirt

This is a Kelme Philippines national team 2021-22 away jersey featuring the name and number of star midfielder Stephan Schröck. 

The Philippines national team has been active since their first international match in 1913 and was initially one of the stronger teams in Asia, led by Barcelona legend Paulino Alcántara, who is arguably the greatest-ever Filipino footballer. Despite joining FIFA in 1930, the Philippines have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup. Basketball is by far the most popular sport in the country and football has often been plagued by a lack of development and fan support, although there have been major improvements over the past decade. After reaching an all-time low FIFA ranking of 195 in October 2006, the Philippine Football Federation looked to improve the national team by calling upon the vast number of footballers with Filipino heritage playing abroad. This strategy quickly led to unprecedented success for the team, which secured qualification for their maiden AFC Asian Cup appearance in 2019. Despite losing all 3 group stage matches at the tournament, the team played well in a tough group and will look to continue their development over the coming years.

Stephan Schröck is one of the highest-profile players from the Filipino diaspora to have represented the national team in the modern era, with the attacking midfielder having had been instrumental in the development of football in the Philippines. Schröck was born in Germany to a German father and a Filipino mother and began his career in the youth ranks of Greuther Fürth. He eventually debuted for their senior team in the 2. Bundesliga in 2004 and spent 8 seasons at the club, where he played a key role as the team won the league title and gained promotion to the Bundesliga in the 2011–12 season, his final year at the club. He then had stints with Bundesliga clubs Eintracht Frankfurt and TSG Hoffenheim before returning to Greuther Fürth for another 2 seasons from 2014-2016.  In 2016, at the age of 30, Schröck moved to the Philippines and joined Ceres FC (now named United City), where he had a very successful 5-year stint, winning 4 league titles as well as the Golden Ball award in the 2019 & 2020 seasons. He later joined the Azkals Development Team for the 2022-23 PFL season, having also been made part of their coaching staff. At international level, Schröck initially represented Germany at youth level, playing for their U18, U19 & U20 national teams before committing to playing for the Philippines in 2011. He has since won 59 caps and scored 6 goals for the Azkals, becoming the 8^th most-capped player in the history of the national team.