Prolific Hartmann stands out in Azkals’ second-place run

SHAH ALAM, Malaysia—Mark Hartmann summed up taking part in 7-a-side, a different style of football which plays a pace that is in major contrast to the standard match he’s known throughout his career for club and country.

“I’m tired,” Hartmann said with a smile after leading the Philippine Azkals to the final of the Asia 7s Championship here.

Not that he’s complaining, though.

The Azkals settled for a runner-up finish after a 2-1 loss to Japan at EV Arena Elmina here, but Hartmann cemented his place as among the top players of the competition.

Following the Azkals’ 6-1 romp of Hong Kong in the semis on Saturday, Hartmann has compiled 12 goals, highlighted by a four-goal performance in a quarterfinal win over Vietnam and a pair of hat tricks that came in the Final Four and in the hard-fought 4-3 win over host Malaysia in the group stage.

“It’s great to score goals,” said Hartmann, before deflecting full credit over the Azkals’ run. “But it also comes with all players helping. I’m just in the right place at the right time and we have a lot of good players on this team.”

Japan repeats

Hartmann, Stephan Schrock, Misagh Bahadoran, Daisuke Sato, Patrick Grogg, Arnel Amita, Kenry Balobo and the rest of the Azkals 7s just failed in preventing Japan from scoring a repeat in the tournament, which is looking to grow following the second edition.

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The 32-year-old is enjoying his time in the Asia 7s while currently being unattached to any 11-a-side club. The national team veteran had stints in the Philippines Football League and with clubs in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

“I’m semiretired, but if the opportunity comes to sign and it happens, it happens,” said Hartmann. “If not, I’m happy to be in the 7s, and maybe I can go to a 7s team after this.

“Of course, it’s always great to represent the country, whether it’s the 7s or the national team,” he added.