Sunday, January 30, 2011

Taking the positives from the heartbreak

As an Australian, today is a tough day.

But full credit must go to Japan. They came into the tournament as clear favourites and, despite a slow start, they showed why they were deserving of that accolade.

Australia will be left to rue their numerous missed chances, none better than Harry Kewell’s one-on-one with Eiji Kawashima.

What this loss does for Australia, though, is elevate the AFC Asian Cup to a higher level amongst the general public.

For the most part, Asian Football is still neglected and disrespected in Australia. Our arrogance had us thinking we’d waltz into the 2007 AFC Asian Cup and walk away with the trophy without getting out of third gear.

We were quickly shown up by Oman, Iraq and Japan.

This time around Australia was more humble and respectful, and it showed on the pitch with results falling our way.

However we have yet again come up short.

All this does is show the general public that the AFC Asian Cup is no Mickey Mouse competition that is easy to win. This is a serious, continental competition that is very tough to win.

I have a feeling that respect for the tournament and Asian Football will grow, by how much still remains to be seen, but it will grow nonetheless.

And with Australia hosting the 2015 AFC Asian Cup that can only be a good thing.

  

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Sukha sets a Thai-rific example

EXCLUSIVE: Melbourne may be 7000km south of Thailand, but for Surat Sukha Thailand is never far from his mind.

Sukha battles with Alex Terra in the Melbourne Derby
When you talk to Sukha, even if it is only via email and through a translator, there are two things that stand out – his shy, humble nature and his pride and passion for Thailand.

As a Thai footballer playing abroad, his outlook is quite profound. He is not just a mere football player; he is an ambassador for his country. And it’s not something he takes lightly.

“I’m very proud to be Thai, and as a professional footballer who plays abroad I am an ambassador for Thailand to Australia and the rest of the world,” he said.

“I take that responsibility very seriously.”

That responsibility extends all the way down to promoting Melbourne Victory and the A-League to the Thai communities across Australia.

“I really want to help the club to build more fans from the Thai and South East Asian communities in Melbourne as much as I can,” he said.

The 28-year-old started his career in 2001 as a 19-year-old in his home town of Sakon Nakhon, a town of 76,000 people in the north-east Thai region of Isan. They were humble beginnings but would lay the foundations for his move to Melbourne eight years later.

Sukha would play 96 games for Sakon Nakhon, scoring 12 goals along the way, before securing a move to Thai Premier League side Chonburi FC.

After a disastrous first season where The Sharks won only five games, the 2007 TPL season would turn out to be a career defining one.
Sukha plays against the Victory for
Chonburi in the AFC Champions League

Chonburi would win the title, qualifying for the 2008 AFC Champions League, and Sukha would cement himself in the squad, displaying the sort of form that would see him called up for the national team the following year.

It was in the 2008 AFC Champions League that Sukha would get his first experience of the A-League, when his Chonburi side surprised everyone by beating Melbourne Victory 3-1 in Bangkok.

It was his performance that night, and in the return leg in Melbourne two months later, that sparked Melbourne’s interest in him.

It would be almost a year before the Victory had their man, with Sukha signing a two-year deal in May 2009.

Sukha is the first to admit he knew little about the A-League or Australian Football before moving to Melbourne, but he and the city he would move to shared one common love – Mark Viduka!

“I didn’t know much about the rest of the league before I came to Australia,” he admitted.

“I knew the Socceroos from the World Cup and Asian Cup, even though I didn’t play against them.

“Mark Viduka is one of my favourite players.”

Sukha made his national team debut 15 months after Australia met Thailand at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, missing out on a dream clash with his idol, when new Thai coach Peter Reid named him in the squad for the 2008 T&T Cup in Vietnam.

It was a successful tournament for Thailand too, taking out the three-team event.

Representing Thailand is something close to Sukha’s heart.

“Playing football for Thailand is the greatest honour in my life,” he says proudly.
Sukha lines up for the Thailand national teams

It’s an honour he has had 16 times since making his debut, although injury kept him out of the recent AFF Suzuki Cup.

“I'm really sad that I couldn’t play in that tournament, because I want to represent Thailand at every opportunity I have,” he lamented.

Sukha could see the silver lining though, highlighting the fact it gave promising youngsters a chance to get valuable experience.

It was an experience they will want to forget though, with Thailand struggling and in a major surprise they were eliminated in the group stages.

It was a major disappointment for a nation that had made the final in five of their last eight attempts, winning three of them.

Sukha was circumspect when asked about their failure.

“As Thais we are disappointed with what happened, because we always set ourselves goals and we didn’t make it this time,” he said.

“However, from disappointment comes opportunity to learn from mistakes made.
Sukha in his time with Chonburi FC

“All the relevant departments are now paying attention to the real problems in Thai football and working hard at bringing Thailand back to being the strongest football nation in South East Asia.”

The shy and humble Sukha isn’t afraid to offer an opinion on how to improve Thai though, directing some not too subtle criticism towards the Football Association of Thailand.

“The improvement in Thai Football needs to come from the management and administration within the relevant departments of the FAT,” he said.

“Serious action shows better results than beautiful words, so departments need to work seriously and cooperatively to help improve all aspects of football in Thailand.”

Coming from Sukha they are stinging words, but no doubt words echoed by thousands of Thai fans across the world.

Sukha is doing his part for Thai football though, being the only member of the current Thai squad to play abroad. He is hoping that he can blaze a trail and inspire other Thai players to play abroad, especially in Australia.

When asked if other Thai players should move to Australia, he is adamant.

“Absolutely,” he said.

“More Thai players should come and hopefully by playing for Melbourne Victory I have shown some Thai footballers about what is possible.”
Sukha with fellow Thai international Sutee Suksomkit

Briefly in late 2009 another Thai player did come. Sutee Suksomkit, a regular for Thailand since 2000, joined Sukha at Melbourne Victory.

It was an important time for Sukha, who acknowledges that having a fellow Thai around helped him in the early stages of his time in Melbourne.

“Having Sutee here in Melbourne was a great time,” he recalled.

“My English isn’t the best, and I hadn’t fully integrated into Melbourne life yet, so having Sutee here to talk to and hang out with made me feel so much more at home.”

It obviously had an impact as Sukha’s form since has gone from strength to strength, to the point where he is now a valued member of the Victory, signing a contract extension in April 2010 that will keep him at the club until 2012.

“I’ll always be thankful to Melbourne Victory who saw both my ability and potential and gave me the opportunity to come to Australia and represent the great nation of Thailand in the great city of Melbourne,” he said.

Therein lies the two standout qualities of Sukha – humility and pride.

  
Asian Football Feast would like to thank and acknowledge Matt and Thaya Morris for their assistance in translating the interview with Sukha. This interview would not have been possible without them and we are grateful for their assistance.

  

Monday, January 24, 2011

V-League season kicks off for 2011

Ngoc Duy scores the opening goal for Ha Noi T&T
With the promise of more drama and greater professionalism, the 2011 V-League season kicked off on the weekend amid much expectation.

For the first time, all of the V-League's 14 clubs are officially recognised as businesses as required under AFC guidelines, which the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) hope will lead to an increase in the professionalism of their clubs.

Together with this, an increase in prize money and a new TV deal mean the 2011 V-League season is looking like being the best yet.

Last season's champions, Ha Noi T&T, opened their season at home against Hoa Phat Ha Noi. The match looked headed for a 1-1 draw before Argentine Gonzalo struck in the 90th minute to give the Champions a first up win in front of 3000 adoring fans.

Three second half goals to Lam So'n Thanh Hoa saw them account for Ha Noi ACB 3-0 and left them on top of the table after the first round.

Full results from the first round action are as follows:

Lam So'n Thanh Hoa 3-0 Ha Noi ACB
Da Nang 2-1 Hoang Anh Gia Lai
Hai Phong 1-0 Khanh Hoa
Ha Noi T&T 2-1 Hoa Phat Ha Noi
Binh Duong 1-1 Ninh Binh
Navibank Sai Gon 0-0 Dhong Thap
Long An 2-2 Song Lam Nghe An

The V-League Table after Round 1 is as follows:


TEAM
MP
W
D
L
F
A
GD
PTS
Lam So’n Thanh Hoa
1
1
0
0
3
0
+3
3
Da Nang
1
1
0
0
2
1
+1
3
Ha Noi T&T
1
1
0
0
2
1
+1
3
Hai Phong
1
1
0
0
1
0
+1
3
Long An
1
0
1
0
2
2
0
1
Song Lam Nghe An
1
0
1
0
2
2
0
1
Dinh Duong
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
1
Ninh Binh
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
1
Dong Thap
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
Navibank Sai Gon
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
Hoa Phat Ha Noi
1
0
0
1
2
2
-1
0
Hoang Anh Gia Lai
1
0
0
1
2
2
-1
0
Khanh Hoa
1
0
0
1
1
1
-1
0
Ha Noi ACB
1
0
0
1
3
3
-3
0



   

Sunday, January 23, 2011

The battle between East and West

Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein - recently elected
to the FIFA Executive Committee

The fortunes of Asian football on and off the pitch couldn’t be any more different.

Whilst off the pitch there has been a recent swing of power towards the West, on the pitch it is the East that is dominating.

At the recent 2011 AFC Congress in Doha, long time AFC ExCo member Dr. Chung Mong-joon of Korea was defeated by 35-year-old Jordanian Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein.

In the other major election to take place at the Congress, Japan’s Kohzo Tashima and China’s Zhang Jilong lost out to Thailand’s Worawi Makudi and Manilal Fernando from Sri Lanka for the coveted seat on the FIFA ExCo.

Makudi and Fernando and both close allies of Mohammed Bin Hammam, arguably the most powerful man in Football. It is the first time in a long time that neither Japan or Korea will have a representative on the FIFA ExCo, representing a seismic shift in power.

But while all this has been taking place, the battle on the pitch, which you could argue is far more important, has been trending in the opposite direction.

For the first time since 1974, no team from West Asia qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and now, for the first time since 1964, the final four at the AFC Asian Cup won’t include a team from West Asia.

In fact it will only be he fourth time since 1964 that a team from West Asia hasn’t won the tournament. And in all honesty, no West Asian team looked likely.

Only Iran looked like they had the cattle for a run to the title, however their dream was ended last night by a quality South Korean side looking to win their first Asian Cup since 1960.

Japan will be hoping to win their fourth
Asian Cup from their last six attempts
It’s not just a trend at national level either, a look at the AFC Champions League, Asia’s premier club competition, shows the dominance of East Asia over the last five years. The last five winners of the AFC Champions League have come from either Japan or Korea.

It’s an interesting situation given the increasing speculation that an East-West split might take place. The issue of FIFA World Cup allocations would arguably be the hottest issue of all. If the split absorbs in Oceania, it would increase the total allocation to five spots.

Would that be split evenly, 2.5 spots each, or would one side win out by claiming three spots leaving the other with just two. How would that be decided? Performances on the pitch suggest the East deserve the larger allocation, yet getting that through would require a lot of behind the scenes work.

That would be increasingly difficult now given the control that West Asia has over the AFC boardroom in Kuala Lumpur.

With FIFA World Cup qualifiers due to begin in earnest in September this year, it will be interesting to see if the East Asian dominance on the pitch continues and just what affect, if any, the West Asian dominance will have off the pitch.

It’s a battle worth keeping an eye on.