Asian Football

 

 

 

Shanghai are now officially more munted than Spurs pre-'Arry (8 games, 1 point) after another loss to powerhouse Changchun *sarcarstic emoticon*.

 

 

 

DONG Xuechang's 3rd goal (#4 for Shenzhen) is a cracker.  Result still leaves them in 15th place and in relegation zone but now within touching distance of Nanchang and Dalian.  As expected Shanghai lose 1-0 to Tianjin while Beijing has an upset 0-1 loss to Qingdao, but Guangzhou fails to capitalise fully with a 1-1 draw away to Henan.

 

 

 

22-28 July - Japan Women Win World Cup

'nuff said really. A whole article on the first senior Asian side to win a World Cup. Captain Homare Sawa, in her 5th World Cup, won the Golden Ball (Best Player) & Golden Shoe (Top Scorer). USA lost a WC final for the first time.

 

29 July -4 August - The Case of Bin Hamman

Stuff about MBH copping a FIFA ban and his denial. A round-up of Asian WC qualifying (Rd 2, 1st leg).

Diego Olivera (21, Brazil) moves to Suwon Bluewing on 6-month loan from Brazil 2nd division side Noroeste, to replace compatriot Marciel.

 

August 5-11 - Fighting to Make Last 10

A look at the Asian WC qualifiers, (Rd 2, 2nd leg), and a preview of the 3rd round, looking at the 5 groups.

 

August 12-18 - Iraq & Qatar Change Coaches

- As the next round of WC qualifying approaches, former Brazilian great Zico replaces Wolfgang Sidka as coach of Iraq. There's another article on him this week, so I'll give more details there.

- Qatar sack Serb Milova Rajevic, and hire Sebastiao Lazaroni of Brazil. Lazaroni was coach of Brazil at the WC 1990. Asian experience includes titles in Saudi with Al Hilal, Shanghai (China), Yokohama in Japan, & Qatar SC.

- China's women to play friendlies with Holland as build-up to the Olympic Qualifying final round, to be hosted in Jinan, China Sept 1-11

- Lebanese coach Emil Rustom resigns despite guiding his team into next round of WC quals., after 0-2 defeat in Bangladesh. German Theo Bakker & Algerian Mahamud Kandus take over the reigns.

- Brazilian Wendel Ceraldo moves to Al Ittihad after 5 seasons at Ligue 1 side Bordeaux (156 apps, 35 goals)

- 25 yr old Jeonbuk Motors striker Kim Dong-Chan hit the fastest hat-trick in the K-league's 28 yr history (18 mins) in a 3-0 win over Gangwon FC on 6 August

 

 19-25 Aug - Comacho to Lead China

- Spaniard Jose Antonio Comacho replaces G** Hongbo as China's natioanl team coach.

- Lee Young-Pyo recommends 19-yr old compatriot Ji Tong-Won moves to Holland before trying his luck in England. However, Ji is already on the books at Sunderland

- Chengdu Blades have sacked Lawrie McKinna as coach, after 2 wins in 19 games.

-  Iranian 2nd Division players Milal Jahani (1yr), Sanat Saree (1yr) & Jasem Sadegi (2yrs) have received bans from football, for undisclosed reasons.

- Rah Ahan (Iran), have enlisted Iranian great Ali Daei as coach, despite him having offers from the Philippines natioanl side, and Persipolis (Iran)

- Harry Kewell left out of Aussie squad for Thailand for lack of fitness.

- Singapore defender Daniel Bennett rack up his 100th international appearance in a friendly with Thailand (0-0) on August 24th

 

P W D L GF GA GD Pts Guangzhou 21 14 7 0 44 13 31 49 Beijing Guoan 21 10 9 2 34 13 21 39 Liaoning Hongyun 21 10 5 6 28 17 11 35 Shandong Luneng 21 9 6 6 25 20 5 33 Changchun Yatai 20 7 11 2 23 15 8 32 Shaanxi Chanba 21 9 5 7 25 24 1 32 Tianjin Teda 20 7 9 4 26 22 4 30 Hangzhou Lucheng 21 8 6 7 21 20 1 30 Jiangsu Shuntian 21 9 2 10 27 21 6 29 Qingdao Jonoon 21 7 6 8 24 27 -3 27 Shanghai Shenhua 21 7 3 11 22 28 -6 24 Henan Jianye 21 4 10 7 18 22 -4 22 Dalian Shide 21 4 7 10 18 34 -16 19 Shenzhen Ruby 21 5 4 12 19 37 -18 19 Nanchang Bayi 21 5 3 13 12 29 -17 18 Chengdu Blades 21 2 7 12 14 38 -24 13

 

Draw:

Sat

10/09/11

Qingdao Jonoon

19 : 30

Chengdu Blades

 

 

Beijing Guoan

23 : 30

Liaoning Hongyun

 

 

Nanchang Bayi

23 : 30

Shenzhen Ruby

 

 

Dalian Shide

23 : 30

Henan Jianye

 

 

Hangzhou Lucheng

23 : 30

Changchun Yatai

 

 

Jiangsu Shuntian

23 : 40

Tianjin Teda

 

 

Shanghai Shenhua

23 : 45

Shaanxi Chanba

Sun

11/09/11

Guangzhou

00 : 00

Shandong Luneng

Aug 25 - 1 Sept - Lesson for Dual Nationality Players

 

- Syria have been disqualified from Asian World Cup qualifying, for fielding an ineligible player. 28-year old forward George Murad played in Syria's 2nd round matches vs Tajikistan on July 23rd & 28th. However, he (but not FIFA) had forgotten that way back in 2005, he played for Sweden in a friendly against Mexico, and was therefore unable to play for another international side. Syria beat Tajikistan over two legs, and were drawn in Group C with Japan, North Korea and Uzbekistan. After Murad's ineligibility was discovered, Tajikistan were awarded two 3-0 victories, and took Syria's place in Group C for Round 3. 

- Australia have named there 23-man squad to face Thailand and Saudi Arabia, but there's no place for recent Melbourne Vistory signing Harry Kewell

- Lebanese defender Yousef Mohammed has moved from Cologne in the Bundesliga to Al Ahli in the UAE, in order to be closer to his family

- Sebastiao Lazaroni's reign as Qatar coach got off to a bad start with a 0-1 loss vs Iraq

- Park Ji-Sung denied he would be coming out of international retirement to play for South Korea in the WCQs. This is despite media calls for him and Lee Young-Pyo to come back after Korea were thrashed 0-3 by Japan in a friendly. The Manchester Utd midfielder retired from internationals after January's Asian Cup.

- Korea's Hanhwa Group have signed a sponsorship deal with Bolton Wanderers

 

2007 Asian Cup champions Iraq appointed Brazilian Zico as their new coach on August 27th. Zico has a 1-year contract initially, with the immediate goal of getting Iraq into the 4th round of World Cup qualifying in Asia. His salary is reported to be about US$500,000 for the year, and will be extended if Iraq qualify for the next round. In Round 3, Iraq have been drawn with China, Jordan, and Singapore.

Some history about Zico:

- played 731 matches (468 goals) for Flamengo, before moving to Kashima Antlers. In his club career, he played a total of 897 games, scoring 578 goals.

- played at 3 World Cups for Brazil (1978, 1982,1986)

 

South Korean captain Park Chu-Young has transferred from Monaco in Ligue 1 to Arsenal in the EPL. The 26-year old forward has signed for 2 years. Park has been at Monaco since 2008, joining after playing at the Beijing Olympics. He made his senior international debut aged 19, and has played at the last 2 World Cups. What happens after his contract expires in 2013 is complicated by the fact that he is required to report for compulsory military service in Korea by the age of 28.

 

Former French international David Trezeguet has signed for Bani Yas in the UAE for 1.7M Euros/year. Trezeguet (33) was part of France's 1998 World Cup winning squad, and played in Spain last season with Argules.

 

Philippe Troussier is finally working his magic as coach of Shenzhen Ruby. Shenzhen won their first home match of the season on August 26th, beating Jiangsu Shuntian 2-1. Troussier has been in charge since February.

 

Other game of note is Shanghai squaring up with Guangzhou for the first time this season (at Hongkou) - a bad time for Shanghai although it did record it's first win in 9 matches, but Guangzhou unbeaten in 22 games.

 

 

 

Veteran midfielder Freddie Ljungberg has joined J-League club Shimizu S-Pulse. The 34-yr old former Sweden and Arsenal star signed a contract on 6 September, despite the transfer window closing on August 31, as Ljungberg was unattached at the time. 

Ljungberg was part of the Arsenal 'Invincibles', who won the English Premier League in 2003-04 unbeaten. He began his professional career at Halmstad in Sweden, playing 79 matches and scoring 10 goals from 1994 to 1998. Between 1998 and 2007, he played 216 matches (46 goals) for Arsenal, before moving to West Ham where he scored twice in 25 appearances. He retired from international football after Euro 2008. In 2009 & 2010 he played in the MLS, first with Seattle Sounders (37 games, 2 goals ) and then with Chicago Fire (15 apps, 2 goals). Last season he returned to Europe, joining Galsgow Celtic, playing 7 matches.

He will be trying to boost Shimizu's attack in tandem with with former Japan & Feyenoord star Shinji Ono.

 

Homare Sawa, captain of Japan's Womens' team, celebrated her 33rd birthday with teammates and coaching staff on 6 September, during their successful qualification campaign for London 2012 Olympics.

 

Senegalese forward Mamadou Niang has transferred to Al Sadd (Qatar) from Fenerbahce (Turkey) for 7.5 million euros. He has signed a 3-year contract with his new team. Niang also spent 5 seasons at Olympique Marseille, where he score 100 goals (including 71 in the league), and won Ligue 1 and French Cup titles.

 

The rest of the article is a round-up of World Cup qualifying results, which I've already posted elsewhere.

 

Japan's Women, fresh from their recent World Cup triumph, successfully negotiated the final round of Olympic Qualification to claim one of Asia's spots at London 2012. The 6-team tournament was played in Jinan, China from 1-11 September. Japan's 1-0 defeat of the hosts on the last day means China will not be at the Olympics for the first time since Women's football was introduced in 1996. For China this compounds the disappoint of missing the World Cup for the first time in history earlier this year. Unbeaten Japan will be joined in London by North Korea. North Korea defeated Thailand 5-0 on the final day, and denied Asian champions Australia, who had a 2-1 victory over South Korea. Japan topped the group with 13 points (4W, 1D), followed by North Korea with 11 (3W, 2D), and Australia with 9 (3W, 2L). Japan will being going to London with raised expectations, and more belief after their results in Germany. It is also likely to be 32-year old captain Homare Sawa's final international competition. Japan finished 4th at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, losing the 3rd/4th playoff 0-2 to Germany, but got revenge this year, eliminating hosts Germany on their way to the World Cup title.

The Thai women's team finished bottom of the group, having battled through qualification to join the 5 Asian heavyweights in the final round. They would have known it was going to be tough, but will be disappointed with results that saw them score just 1 goal, while conceding 18 in their 5 matches. It's difficult to say whether finishing 6th in Asian was a notable achievement or not, when the gulf in class between Thailand and the top 5 was so cruelly exposed.

 

Asian players returning to club football following the October 2-6 international break:

Shinji Okazaki (Japan) scored his 2nd goal in a Stuttgart shirt, helping his side to a 3-0 home win over Hanover 96 on 10 Sept. Okazaki had also scored Japan's equaliser v Uzbekistan in a 1-1 draw 4 days earlier. As he forward plays a slightly different role in Japan's system, he was particularly pleased to have quickly adjusted back to his role at Stuttgart.

Shinji Kagawa (Japan) played 90 minutes in Borussia Dortmund's 1-2 loss to Hertha Berlin.

Atsuto Ujita (Japan) also played for a losing side as Schalke 04 went down 1-2 to a Wolfsburg team featuring Japanese captain Makoto Hasebe and Korean midfielder Ka Ja Cheol.

Kicho Yanno's Freiburg side lost 0-7 to Bayern Munich.

Yuke Osu was an unused substitute for Borussia Moenchengladbach, who beat Kaiserslautern 1-0.

In England, veteran Yuki Abe (Japan) for Leicester City in a 1-1 draw with Barnsley in the Championship.

Chi Dong-Won (South Korea), scored his first goal for Sunderland in an 8-minute cameo, although the Black Cats lost 1-2 to Chelsea. He'd also scored 2 goals in Korea's 6-0 rout of Lebanon during the international window.

South Korean captain Park Chu-Young watched from the bench as new club Arsenal scored a lucky 1-0 win against Stoke City.

 

In the AFC Cup, both Thai sides suffered defeats in their quarterfinal 1st legs. League champs Muang Thong Utd lost 0-1 away at Kuwait SC, while FA Cup champs Chonburi face a difficult task after a home defeat to Uzbek outfit Nasaf by the same margin. In the other match-ups, Indonesian club Persipura Jayapura lost 1-2 at home to Arbil of Iraq, and Jordan's Al Wehdat belted Iraq's Duhok 5-1. The 2nd legs are on 27 Sept, except Duhok v Al Wehdat, which is on the 28th.

 

Finally, Vietnam is the latest Asian league to face a betting/bribery scandal, following China, Singapore and South Korea. Vietnamese police are investigating claims that match officials asked Hoa Phat Hanoi for 500 million dong (about USD 24000) to ensure they won their match against  Dong Tam Long An on August 14th. Hanoi refused to pay, but won the match 3-2 anywa

 

 

 

Up top there is still a contest for ACL spots 3rd & 4th.  Guangzhou and Beijing should secure 1st and 2nd and challenging for top four finish is a resurgent Jaingsu which beat Shanghai 3-2 in the local derby last night.

 

Shanghai as a result slip way down but still comfortably above the relegation zone (on points), but are still in the CFA Cup semi-finals so have a chance to salvage some pride.

 

 

 

In this year's quarterfinals, Suwon drew their 1st leg at home to Zob Ahan, Jeonbuk lost away to Cerezo Osaka 3-4 despite leading 3 times, and Seoul FC lost 1-3 at Al Ittihad. (Jeju Utd fell at the group stage). Note: Jeonbuk won their 2nd leg 6-1, progressing 9-5 on aggregate. Seoul defeated Al Ittihad 1-0, but lost 2-3 overall. Suwon won 2-1 aet (3-2 agg).

 

As for the AFC Cup, Thailand's two sides both lost 0-1. Muang Thong Utd have a better chance, as their 2nd leg is at home against Kuwait SC, while Chonburi have a diificult task defeating Nasaf in Uzbekistan. Note: Muang Thong drew 0-0 at home (0-1 aggregate), while Chonburi managed to get a 1-0 win, forcing a penalty shootout, which they lost 3-4. Thus ends Thailand's AFC Cup interest for 2011.

 

Asamoah Gyan of Ghana has joined UAE club Al Ain on a season-long loan from Sunderland. The 25-year old joined the Black Cats last season for a club record 13 million pounds from Rennes in France, but failed to impress. Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has allowed Asamoah to go, partly to make room for new Korean signing Ji Tong-Won.

 

Arsenal's new signing Park Chu-Young made his debut in the London side's 3rd round Carling Cup match against Shrewsbury on September 20. On the same evening, compatriot Park Ji-Sung started for Manchester Utd against Leeds utd in the same competition.

 

Another South Korean, Jong Cho-Guk has moved from Auxerre to Nancy in French Ligue 1. Auxerre signed the forward from FC Seoul in January, and he scored 2 goals in 16 appearances.

 

 

If I track down the first, I post it too.

 

???

 

Overnight in the CSL, 3rd to bottom Nanchang scraped a 0-0 draw with Tianjin to put them a valuable 4 pts above Shenzhen who take on outright bottom Chengdu tonight.  Shenzhen need to win this to have a chance of staying in the CSL next season with only 3 more matches remaining after this round.