Dan Palami stepped down as the manager of the Philippine national men's football team also known as the Philippine Azkals.
Palami explained on Tuesday, January 9, that he decided to leave the national team program to provide an 'elbow room' to the new leadership of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), led by newly-elected president John Gutierrez.
"I don't want to shackle (Gutierrez) with whatever agreement we had previously," Palami said during a press conference alongside Gutierrez.
"I want to give him the elbow room and free hand to do what he thinks is necessary for Philippine football to move forward, which includes the national team of course, which is a core component of the Philippine Football Federation program," he added.
Palami joined the national team program in 2009.
During his tenure as team manager of the Azkals, the national squad defeated Vietnam, 2-0, and entered the semifinals of the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, an accomplishment which has been called the 'Miracle of Hanoi' by Filipino football fans.
