How love have brought Louie Casas back to football

Kaya-Iloilo goalkeeper Louie Michael Casas has no regrets to lay low back when he was nearing at the peak of his career.

Already cemented his place as the starting custodian in the early ages of the Azkals, he made a drastic decision to settle down in Bacolod in 2007, with the AFF Championship his most recent stint with the Azkals before returning to the side in 2018.

For him who was 20 years old back then, it was a move that is not driven primarily by the game of football itself, with the Cebuano already been a fixture with the national team set up and San Beda under Aris Caslib since his debut in 2004.

He told to Rick Olivares on Monday's episode of Usapang Football that it was all because of love, w

"Gusto talaga namin magkasama rin ng girlfriend ko nun," he said, as he only intended to go to the City of Smiles during the summer vacation after the end of every semester in the Mendiola campus.

Despite the acrimonious nature of his departure from the Red Lions' den, it was an already expected for him to move out knowing that football in the country is not yet more established pre-2010.

With it, he still owes the legendary coach everything that he learned from him.

"Nakuha ko na yung mga tinuro ni Coach Aris sa akin to lead the team. But because of love, lumipat po ako sa Bacolod," Casas added, as he wrapped up his collegiate career with St. La Salle after four years with the NCAA powerhouse.

As it turns out, it took a while for his name to return to the spotlight, and as a result he missed out on the country's miraculous run in the 2010 AFF Championship where it went to their debut semifinal appearance.

That team had some usual veterans such as former teammates Aly Borromeo, Chieffy Caligdong and the Younghusband brothers Phil and James, who were with him since 2005, when Bacolod hosted the Southeast Asian Games.

He even said that he was proud of Caligdong's achievements and contributions to the team, and was on the Panaad stands when he scored in a 2-0 win over Mongolia in the Challenge Cup qualifiers.

However, he had no thoughts of guilt of giving way to Neil Etheridge who shone on the tournament, as he was even in favor of having the former Fulham man on board.

To him, it will increase the level of competition as Etheridge presents a huge answer to the biggest goalkeeping question, which dogged them before.

But as we always said, when you love something, it will come back to you in the right time. 

That belief of Casas that he will get his chance back had bore fruit. After a decade since his last Azkals appearance, he was back on the fold in 2018 and played with the reserve side in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup in Bangladesh.

"Why not? It's time na ulit na i-represent ulit ang bayan."

By then, he already won two league titles with Ceres-Negros, being its standout netminder ever since its establishment before being released midway into the season when Roland Muller and later Toni Doblas came along.

Composed of almost exclusively of local-based players, his experience before came in handy as he and Misagh Bahadoran shared the leadership duties, as they went all the way to the semifinal after wins against Laos and the hosts, only to fall to Tajikistan in the semifinal.

Those performances in Sylhet was enough for Casas not to fear on missing out at all about his initial decision to momentarily step away from the game for the love of his life, even though he was nearing at the peak. 

"Wala naman po. Napakita ko rin naman nung pagbalik ko sa national team. Kuhang-kuha pa rin natin yung performance at pag-represent ng bayan," Casas said.

Photo: Jan Vincent Dayrit/Philippines Football League (FILE)