Philippines 2023 Home (OTT #8) Jersey/Shirt
£34.99
This is a JerseyBird Philippines national team 2023 home jersey featuring the name and number of star midfielder Mike Ott.
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.
Mike Ott is one of the leading players in the current generation of Filipino football and is also a notable example of the growing number of footballers from the vast Filipino diaspora to have represented the national team over the past decade. Ott was born & raised in Germany and came up through the youth ranks of 1860 Munich, eventually beginning his senior club career in 2012 with 1860 Munich II in the Regionalliga. He then joined 1. FC Nürnberg in 2014 but struggled to make the senior squad and mostly played for their second team. In January 2017, Ott made the move to Thailand, signing with Angthong FC, where he played for one season. In 2018, he transferred to Filipino giants Ceres-Negros, playing a key role over 4 seasons for the club as they won the 2018 & 2019 league titles. In August 2022, Ott signed for Indonesian Liga 1 club PS Barito Putera. At international level, Ott has played 34 matches and scored 5 goals for the Philippines national team since his debut in 2016, having been eligible to represent the team through his Filipino mother.