Asian Football

 

As always, an article about China begins with how the CFA is trying to leave it's bribery, corruption and violence scandals in the past, and to rebuild the national team's reputation after poor results in recent years.

The CFA has instituted a long term plan, putting young coaches into key positions in charge of the senior, olympic and women's squads. However, the Olympic squad was eliminated in the round of 16 at the Asian Games in Gwangzhou by what was effectively South Korea's U-21 squad. In group play, an U-21 Japanese team defeated China 3-0. As a result, coach Sun Wei resigned, and has been replaced by Croatian Miroslav Blazevic. The 75-year old coached Shanghai Shenhua to 3rd place in the recently completed Chinese Super League. He signed a 2-year contract on December 11th, and will work closely with coaching staff of the senior national side, including coach G** Hongbo. Blazevic's assistant will be former international forward, Li Ping.

Blazevic coached the Croatian national side to 3rd place in the World Cup 1998, and coached Iran to the World Cup 2002 qualifying playoffs , where they lost to Ireland.

China hope that this side can qualify for the London Olympics, and succeed there, providing a base for the senior side to enjoy success in the future as well.

 

The 16 teams that have qualified for the Asian Cup have submitted preliminary squads of 50 players to the AFC.

 

Ali Karimi has made himself available for Iran, and been named in their 50-man squad.

Karimi left the team during a training camp in Austria last August, and was sacked by his club, Steel Azin, for not fasting during Ramadan this season. Karaimi was part of the squad that came 3rd in the 2004 Asian Cup, held in China. "I am ready to rejoin the he national team and help them in the Asian Cup in any way. I believe that Iran has a number of players who are capable of winning the tournament. However, if the coach calls on me to join the squad and assist the younger players, then I am available".

 

Iranian coach Afshin Ghotbi, who will be stepping down at the end of the Asian Cup, has signed a contract with Japanese club Shimuzu S-Pulse for next year's J-League campaign. Ghotbi's previous experience includes spells as assistant coach of the South Korean national team under Guus Hiddink, Dick Advocaat, and Pim Verbeek. He was coach of Persepolis in the Iranian League, winning the title in 2007-08. He took over the national team last year, replacing former international Ali Daei. Ghotbi will replace Kenda Hasegawa at Shimuzu, who steps down after 6 years at the helm. Shimuzu were 6th in this year's league. Ghotbi's immediate task is improve this, so that the S-Pulse qualify for the Asian Champions League.

 

Nike have unveiled the T90 Tracer, which will be the ball used at the Asian Cup. This will replace the T90 Ascente as the official AFC ball.

 

Japan's coach, Albert Zaccheroni, has received good news. Injured defender, Yuji Nakazawa, is due to return to training, and should be available for the Asian Cup. The 32-year old was a key member of this year's World Cup squad. Nakazawa suffered knee ligament damge in trainng with Yokoham F Marinos. "I can run now, and my fitness is improving"  However, the news is not so good for Marcus Tulio Tanaka. The Nagoya Grampus defender is almost certainly out of the Asian Cup with a knee injury.

 

In the Iran Professional League, Hamid Estili, coach of Shahin Busheheer, has been sacked. The club have had a poor season, and currently are last in the league. Pas Hamadan have also sacked their coach Aliaskar Modirrusta, replacing him with Mahamood Yaowari. The team are currently 13th on the table, with 19 points from 18  matches, and Yaowari has another 12 weeks to turn things around. 

 

I think the Vietnamese claimed laser pointers were used on them in their away semi-final leg loss to Malaysia as well.

 

Indonesia's coach is Alfred Riedl, of Austria, who is getting a lot of credit for their current performances. He was with Laos before that, and is also getting credited with laying the foundations for their current form. David Booth's side won the qualifying competition, and then drew v Thailand (their first non-loss in 43 years against their neighbours). Booth looks to be moving on and is expected to coach Si Saket in the Thai Premier League next season.   

 

 

Also, with reference to my last post, David Booth has indeed taken the reins at Si Saket in the TPL

Feb 18-24 2011

Queiroz to Lead Iran to the World Cup?

 

After a month hiatus, the Asian Football column I follow is back. Lead story this week is that Carlos Queiroz is on the verge of being signed as Iran's new coach. 

The Iranian FA (IFF) is looking for a new coach, after Afshin Ghotbi stood down as arranged after last month's Asian Cup. Ghotbi is now in charge of Shimuzu S-Pulse in the J-League. Iran, 3-time Asian Cup winners, are looking to return to the top in Asia, as well as improving at international level, and a re looking for a proven coach to guide them through their World Cup qualifying campaign which begins this year. One of the names linked with the position is Carlos Queiroz. Abbas Torabian of the IFF claimed that a contract had been agreed to, worth 6 million dollars over 3 years, and it would be signed by the end of next week. It appears true that Queiroz has at least been in Tehran, and negotiating with the IFF.

Queiroz previously worked in the Middle East as manager of the UAE in 1999. While a large part of his reputation is built around his time as assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, he has been less successful as a head coach. He has been manager at Sporting Lisbon, & Real Madrid, as well as leading the national teams of the UAE, South Africa and Portugal. Most recently, he led Portugal to the last 16 at the World Cup 2010, before losing to eventual champions Spain.

 

Ali Karimi is set to return to Europe. The former Iranian captain is returning to Germany, where he will play for Schalke 04 until the end of the season. There was no transfer fee, as Karimi has been without a club since famously being sacked by Steel Azin for not fasting during Ramadan. At Schalke, he will be reunited with coach Felix Magath, whom he played under at Bayern Munich between 2005 & 2007 (42 matches, 4 goals). He will be the 3rd Asian player at Schalke, joining Atsido Ujida (Japan) and Hao Junmin (China).

 

Japanese football has been gaining international attention since the senior team won the Asian Cup.  The U-22 pre-Olympic squad played a couple of friendlies in the Middle East at the end of January. They lost Kuwait's senior squad 0-3, but beat Bahrain senior's 2-0.

 

25 February - March 3 2011

Park Chu-Young: South Korea's New Captain 

 

Following Park Ji-Sung's retirement from international football after January's Asian Cup, coach Cho Kwang-Rae has announced that Park Chu-Young will be captain of the South Korean national team. The choice of the Monaco striker was a slight surprise, as when Park Ji-Sung sat out the 3rd & 4th playoff, Cha Du-Ri was chosen to wear the captain's armband instead of usual stand-in Lee Young-Pyo who was also retiring. Park Chu-Young led Korea for the first time in a recent friendly against Turkey, which ended 0-0. 

In the same match, coach Kwang also played Park in a new role in attacking midfield, in place of Asian Cup star Koo Ga-Cheol, who was moved into Park Ji-Sung's old position on the left. The 25-year old Park Chu-Young has a great deal of international experience, despite missing the 2011 Asian Cup through injury. His absence gave Koo an opportunity to shine, and the Jeju Utd player subsequently transferred to Wolfsburg in Germany. Park was part of the team that won a bronze medal at Asian Games 2010 in November. He has 49 caps for the national team, scoring 15 goals. He was Asian Young Player of the Year in 2004. 

 

Yudo Nagatomo of Japan played his full 90 minutes for Inter Milan in a 1-0 win over Cagliari on 19th February. He made his debut the previous week as a substitute against Fiorentina.

 

The group stages of the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup (ASEAN Championships) will be hosted by Thailand and Malaysia.

 

The appointment of Carlos Queiroz as Iran's new coach still hasn't been confirmed, and things look lesscertain than they did a week ago.

 

Iranian internationals Javad Nekunam and Masud Joja-i helped their club Osasuna to a 4-0 win over Espanyol recently. The midfielders combined for the first goal, and Nekunam scored a second-half penalty.

 

Nagoya... Fuji Xerox Super Cup Winners

 

Nagoya Grampus kicked off the new Japanese season by winning the traditional Super Cup between the league champions (Nagoya) and the holders of the Emperor's Cup (Kashima Antlers). The match was played at Tokyo National Stadium on February 26th, and served as preparation for upcoming AFC Champions' League fixtures for both sides, as the J-League season didn't kick off until March 5th/6th. The match finished in a 1-1 draw, with Nagoya winning the penalty shootout 3-1. Former international 'keeper, Seiko Narasaki, was Nagoya's hero, saving 3 penalties in the shootout. He won the Man of the Match award. It's the second time Nagoya have won this cup, with the first occasion 15 years ago. Along with last season's league title, this is also Dragan Stojkovic's second title with the club as manager.

 

Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa is almost ready to resume training with his club, Borussia Dortmund. The 22-year old broke a bone in his foot while on national team duty at the Asian Cup.

 

The K-League season also kicked off on March 5th/6th. Defending champions Seoul FC have signed Uzbekistan captain Server Dyeparov on a permanent basis, after he played for them in the latter stages of last season, having already won the Uzbek title. Dyeparov's national teammate, Aleksander Geynrich, has also moved to Korea, signing with Suwon Bluewings.

 

Park Chu-Young celebrated becoming South Korea's new captain by scoring 2 goals for Monaco in a 2-2 draw with Caen. This is the 3rd time he's scored twice in a match for Monaco.

Matchday 1 Round-up

 

This week is mostly a review of the results from the AFC competitions.

 

For the first matchday of the Champions' League, 171,832 spectators watch 16 matches, at an average of 10,740 per match. Hangzhou Greentown of China, playing their first ever ACL match, drew the biggest crowd, with 28,674 fans watching them defeat J-League champs Nagoya Grampus 2-0. Other crowd figures include: 20,036 watched Shanghai Shenhua's 0-0 draw with Kashima Antlers. In West Asia, Estegalal drew 1-1 with Al Saad in front of about 15,000. Usually, the big clubs in Iran, such as Esteglal and Persipa Polis draw crowds closer to 30,000. Al Hilal had about 15,000 fans in Riyadh, and Paktakor drew a similar number in Uzbekistan.

Gamba Osaka thrashed Melbourne Victory 5-1 in front of 12,949, while Al Ittihad and Cerezo Osaka both drew crowds of about 10,000 for their games.

All ACL results:

Group A: Al Jazeera (UAE) 0-0 Al Gharafa (QAT), Al Hilal (KSA) 1-2 Sepahan (IRN)

Group B: Paktakor (UZB) 2-2 Al Nassr (KSA), Esteglal (IRN) 1-1 Al Saad (QAT)

Group C: Al Wahda (UAE) 1-1 Bunyodkor (UZB), Al ittihad (KSA) 3-1 Piroozi Athletic (IRN)

Group D: Al Rayyan (QAT) 1-1 Al Shabab (KSA), Zob Ahan (IRN) 2-1 Emirates (UAE)

Group E: Jeju Utd (KOR) 0-1 Tianjin Teda (CHN), Gamba Osaka (JPN) 5-1 Melbourne Victory (AUS)

Group F: Hangzhou Greentown (CHN) 2-0 Nagoya Grampus (JPN), Al Ain (UAE) 0-1 FC Seoul (KOR)

Group G: Jeonbuk Motors (KOR) 1-0 Shandong Luneung (CHN), Cerezo Osaka (JPN) 2-1 Arema (IDN)

Group H: Shanghai Shenhua (CHN) 0-0 Kashima Antlers, Sydney (AUS) 0-0 Suwon Bluewings (KOR)

 

NOTE: Adam Griffiths and Josh Kennedy featured on opposite sides in the Hangzhou-Nagoya clash, and Jon McKain was in the Al Nassr squad that drew with Paktakor

 

AFC CUP

 

The match was organised in part as an opening game for the new stadium built with assistance from China.

 

Not sure if too much can be read into this match. Can't find any match reports either.

 

 

 

Hangzhou Greentown: Adam Griffiths

Beijing Guo'an: Phoenix Reject Joel Griffiths

Liaoning Whowin: Dean Heffernan

Shanxi Chanba: Dino Djulbic

Jiangsu Sainty: Bruce Djite, Alex Wilkinson

Chengdu Blades: Adam Kwasnik, Brendan Santalab

 

Plus from NZ, Chris Killen is still at Shenzhen Ruby

 

 

Might be good to see if the Nix could play the Man City of China as a pre-season friendly.

 

Would like to see AW vs Sth Korea too at some stage not too distant.

 

 

March 18-24 J-League Stops Due to Disaster

 

It seems a bit trivial to be talking football at this time, but this week's column mainly looks at the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The opening few paragraphs describe what happened, and some of the damage.

On the footballing front, the JFA decided to postpone all J-League matches, and clubs were allowing players to return to their hometowns to assist their familes and friends. The league has been suspended for March at least, and a resumption date will be decided later. Stadia will also be checked for structural damage for safety reasons before any matches are played. THe AFC also postponed ACL matches to be played on March 15 in Nagoya and Kashima. Also, friendlies with New Zealand and Montenegro were cancelled. The JFA is in the process of deciding whether or not Japan will go ahead and play in July's Copa America (as a special invitee). National team coach Alberto Zacheroni and the rest of his Italian staff were allowed to return home to Italy for the time being.

Bin Hamman Announces Candidacy

 

This week was just a long report on AFC President Mohammed Bin Hamman's announcement that he will stand for election as FIFA President in June. He will oppose current president Sepp Blatter, who will be standing for his third term (and what he says will be his final 4 years) in the position. About the only thing of note is that Peter Verlappen (Malaysia), who preceded Bin Hamman as AFC President, has voiced his opposition to Bin Hamman becoming FIFA President.

Japan Must Choose... Copa America - To Go or not to Go?

 

In the aftermath of the recent earthquake, tsunami, and radiation leaks in Japan, the JFA is faced with making a decision on whether or not the national team will participate in this year's Copa America in Argentina. Japan had been invited to play in the South American Championship, which will be held from 1-24 July. Japan are currently drawn in Group A, with Colombia, Bolivia, and hosts Argentina (there are 12 teams in 3 groups).

The JFA postponed J-League matches immediately after the earthquake, and has now set a date for the resumption of the league on April 23rd. Traditionally, the league takes a break in or around July. However, this year they will play through, in order to make up the games lost in March. This means that if the national side goes to Argentina, many clubs will be weakened. The JFA are also aware that a decision needs to be made quickly, so that COMNEBOL have time to invite another side, should Japan pull out.

 

In other news, South Korea's U-23 side, coached by Hong Myeong-Bo, played a friendly against China's U-22 team, on March 27th. The Koreans won 1-0, with a goal from Gwangju FC striker Kim Tong-Soop. At this level, Korea are unbeaten against China, with 8 wins and 1 draw from 9 meetings dating back 19 years.

 

On March 25th, the South Korean national side defeated Honduras 4-0 in a friendly. On the same date, China drew 1-1 with New Zealand.

 

Japan's U-22 squad are preparing for Olympic qualifying. They were due to play home and away friendlies with Uzbekistan on March 26th and 29th. Due to the earthquake, both fixtureswere played in Uzbekistan. Japan lost the first match 1-2, and the second result was unavailable at the time of printing.

 

In Asian Women's Olympic qualifying, Vietnam and Thailand have progressed to the 2nd round.  Vietnam finished 1st and Thailand 2nd in Group A, held in Taipei. They will now face Iran, Jordan, and Uzbekistan in the 2nd phase. The winner of this group will progress to the 3rd round, where they will join Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea, and Australia. The top 2 teams in that group will go to the London Games in 2012. 

On (or around) March 29th, Japan, featuring all 12 overseas-based players, defeated a J-League All stars selection 2-1 in a fundraising match. IIRC, it was in Tokyo. Don't rmember who got Japan's goals, but the J-League's goal came from Kazoyuchi Miura, who I mentioned a few weeks back as the oldest player to play in the league (44 years old).

 

 

Also, wikipedia tells me:

 

The Copa America has had invitees since 1993 boosting the numbers from 10 to 12 for the reason El G gave. Usually the teams are from CONCACAF, most often Mexico (this year is their 8th appearance), but also USA, Kosta Rica (3 times each), and Honduras (once). Honduras famously eliminated Brazil, and went on to finish 3rd in 2001. Mexico have been runners-up twice, and made a number of semi-finals. This is Japan's second appearance (they were also invited in 1999).

 

It appears Japan have pulled out.

Unfortunately, it seems COMNEBOL think it'll be easier to beat Spain than us.

 

 

 

 

After all, Spain didn't go through the last World Cup unbeaten, did they?

 

(and Argentina stuffed them 4-0 post-World Cup)

Jonas Salley has joined Kwasnik and Santalab at Chengdu, and Lawrie McKinna is the coach there.

Carlos Queiroz - Can he take Iran to the World Cup?

 

Finally confirmation of something this magazine mentioned back in February.

Carlos Quieroz has signed a 3-year contract with the Iranian FA, taking charge of their national team from 4th April. The deal is believed to be worth 2 million dollars a year, and will expire when Iran's interest in the 2014 World Cup ends. Quieroz has been out of work since leaving the Portuguese national side after their elimination from South Africa 2010. Part of this was due to a 6-month ban for not cooperating with doping officials. He served as an assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United for many years, before taking the reins at Real Madrid in 2003-04. As well as Portugal, he has been a coach at international level with the UAE and South Africa. Iran's previous appearances at World Cup were in 1978, 1998 & 2006. Their path to Brazil 2014 begins with Asian qualifying matches in June.

 

In the K-League, Gangwon FC coach Choi Chun-Ho resigned on April 4th after his team had failed to register a win in the first month of the season.

 

South Korean captain Park Chu-Young scored his 10th goal of the Ligue 1 season in a 2-0 win against RC Avignon (April 2nd). The Monaco forward is just the 3rd Korean to score 10 goals in a European season, after Cha Bum-Keun and Seol Ki-Hyeon. Cha managed the feat 6 times between 1978 and 1986 while at Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen. Seol scored 10 goals for Royal Antwerp in 2000-01, and 12 at Anderlecht in 2002-03. Park previously topped 10 goals in a season while at FC Seoul, knocking in 18 in 2005, and 10 in 2006 before moving to Monaco in 2008.

 

The JFA and J-League clubs have agreed to alter the format of the Nabisco (League) Cup for this season, due to the time lost in the aftermath of the recent earthquake and tsunami. Usually there is a first round group stage, with two 7-team groups. The winners and runners-up of both groups progress to quarterfinals, where they are joined by the 4 teams already participating in the Asian Champions' League. This year, to help make up lost time, the tournament will be a straight knockout with the first round being ove two-legs (June 5 & 27).

The first round match-ups are:

(1) Urawa v Yamagata, (2) Kashiwa v Sendai, (3) Yokohama F Marinos v Kobe, (4)Kofu v Shimuzu S-Pulse, (5) Juibilo v Fukuoka, (6) Hiroshima v Kawasaki; Albirex Niigata and Omiya Ardija have byes.

 

2nd Round: (A) Winner 1 v Omiya, (B) Niigata v Winner 4, (C) Winner 6 v Winner 3, (D) Winner 5 v Winner 2

 

Quarterfinals: Kashima  Antlers v Winner C, Gamba Osaka v Winner D, Winner A v Cerezo Osaka, Nagoya Grampus v Winner B

 

The J-League has also confirmed that both J-League and J-2 matches will resume from April 23rd. The JFA confirmed that Japan will not compete in July's Copa America.

 

Alessandro Del Piero has designed a T-shirt, which is being sold at 15 euros apiece, in order to raise money to help Japan. On the front, it has an Italian flag combined with the Japanese flag plus the Kanji character "Tomo" (Friend), and the English words 'For Japan'.  

Del Piero's links with Japan go back to when Juventus won the 1995-96 Champions League, and then participated in the Toyota Cup in Tokyo against South American champions, River Plate. Del Piero was Man of the Match, and scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory. In 2002, he was part of the Italian World Cup squad that had their base in Sendai, Japan. Del Piero said he had many good memories from his visits to Japan, especially of the people of Sendai, and wanted to do something to help them. He is working with Inter Milan's Yudo Nagatomo to encourage Italian fans to contribute to fund-raising efforts.

 

Former Japanese captain Hidetoshi Nakata arranged and took part in an exhibition match to raise funds for Japan's relief effort. Nakata, along with former Japanese internationals Mazakiyo Maesono and Masaaki Sawanobori, joined Albirex Niigata's Singapore based club, and played against an S-League All Stars selection coached by Richard Bourke (Singapore Armed Forces). Nakata scored a goal in a 7-2 win for Albirex. 12,000 spectators attended, with proceeds going to Nakata's Take Action Foundation. A week earlier, Nakata auctioned a pair of boots and a football shirt in Taiwan to raise funds.

 

A German delegation visited North Korea between March 31st - April 3rd. I'm not sure why, but it seems to have something to do with the Women's World Cup in July. Germany is the host, and North Korea will participate. The group included DFB President (and FIFA Board member) Theo Zwanziger, former German captain and president of the WC Organising Committee Steffi Jones, and members of the press.

There's a 'Football Asia' column once a week, which I'm sure the author collates from many sources. He seems to have a fascination for Iran, and to a lesser extent Japan and Korea. I translate/summarise/plagiarise the column, and put it on here.

 

If I see any Aus/NZ news in the local press (Bangkok Post) or a Thai site (which is rare), I also throw it on

There's a 'Football Asia' column each week, which I'm sure the author collates from many sources. He seems to have a fascination for Iran, and to a lesser extent Japan and Korea. I translate/summarise/plagiarise the column, and put it on here.

 

If I see any Aus/NZ news in the local press (Bangkok Post) or a Thai site (which is rare), I also throw it on

In the meantime, something to bring a smile to Vaughn Coveny's ( and your) faces. About 2:10 in.

 

Coming up will be a top vs bottom clash - Hangzhou vs Shenzhen.

 

For those interested Tinajin have yet to play JIANG Chen in a CSL game.  But they do have YU Dabao (the national team striker who played against us and one year younger than JIANG) in the squad so would imagine he would start ahead of JIANG.

 

Season passes for Beijing fans are a mere 350 RMB (ca. $80 NZD) - lucky, spoilt b****ds.

 

 

The rapidly rising Guangzhou (2nd) take on their cellar dweller neighbours Shenzhen (with Killen).  Top of the table Hangzhou away to struggling Henan.

 

Interesting match will be Shanghai (5th) away to Tianjin.