Thursday, March 31, 2011

Football leading the recovery effort in Japan

The players stand to observe a moments silence, while the
"Football Saves Japan" banner can be seen on half way
The banner on the half way said it all – Football Saves Japan.

It might be a little strong to say that Football has “saved” Japan, but Football is playing a leading role in the recovery effort currently underway in Japan.

At the forefront of that is the Charity Match between the Japanese national team and a J. League XI, appropriately named ‘Team as One’.

The match was the first significant entertainment event put on since the March 11 disaster and allowed the grieving nation an opportunity to put to one side the heartache of the previous two weeks and enjoy a game of Football.

Of course, given the occasion, the disaster wasn’t far from the minds of everyone at Nagai Stadium that night, but nevertheless it was an important milestone for the people of Japan.

The match and its associated fundraising efforts raised over ¥21,500,000 for the disaster relief fund, an outstanding achievement.

‘Team as One’ was an appropriate term for the J. League side given that since the disaster struck, the J. League and all its clubs have been just that.

No sooner had people started to get a handle of the disaster than the J.League clubs started fundraising efforts and organising charity matches and public appearances to raise much needed funds.

Urawa Reds started out with a donation of ¥2,000,000, Sanfrecce Hiroshima through a Charity Game and fundraising efforts had raised more than ¥3,200,000 in the first few days and are continuing to raise money.

Defending J. League champion Nagoya Grampus, who were on their way to Sendai for a Round 2 clash with Vegalta when the quake struck, hit the streets and raised over ¥3,000,000 from donations.

FC Tokyo players out in the community seeking donations
FC Tokyo held a Charity Game at Ajinomoto Stadium against JFL side Yokogawa Musashino, with over 9000 people attending, raising more than ¥8,000,000 through donations and an extra ¥2,000,000 from a charity auction.

One of the more touching moments came at the charity game between Kyoto Sanga and Cerezo Osaka.

Before the game both sets of supporters got together and decided that they would watch the game in silence as a tribute to those affected by the quake.

Hiroki Yoshida, the leader of the Sanga supporters said: “Today it was not about the result, so we and Cerezo's fans talked before the game and decided just to watch it quietly."

"Sport embraces a huge chunk of Japanese society," added Yoshida. "So through football we and the players want to send a message of hope, and that's why we were here today and we are planning more events."

It’s an attitude replicated right across Japan, with everyone, regardless of their stature, doing what they can to help out.

One fantastic example comes from a Japanese player that would be unknown to most, toiling away in the lower leagues of England.

Tamuki Ake, who plays his club football for Chelmsford City in the Conference leagues, was left horrified by the footage he witnessed on TV. He knew he had to do something.

Tamuki Ake (third from right) with volunteers
raising money for 'Tako's Fund' in Chelmsford
“Since the earthquake happened I’ve been thinking about which ways I can help Japan. After Saturday’s game I spoke to the Manager and the Chairman and they said they were happy to help me. Since then the members of the Supporters Club have organised everything. I’m just fortunate enough to play football in this difficult time. Everyone’s behind me and it’s an absolutely amazing feeling,” he told Chelmsford’s official website.

Chelmsford’s Chairman, Mansell Wallace, kick-started the fundraising by allowing buckets to be taken around at their home clash with Dover, with the original target of £1000 smashed after the first night.

At the time of writing this, over £3500 has been raised for ‘Tako’s Fund’, an amazing sign of how the football community right across the globe has come together to support Japan in this time of need.

Jun Nagata, a humble service industry worker from Osaka summed it up best when, on Tuesday night, he said: “Football may be a small thing in the grand scheme of things but it’s these little things that become the first step to build into something bigger.”

Football might not have “saved” Japan, but it has certainly helped set it on the course to recovery.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Asian Football Feast on FourFourTwo Australia

I am delighted to announce that I have started a new weekly blog on Asian Football for Australia's FourFourTwo website.

FourFourTwo is Australia's #1 football website and was awarded the Integrated Media Brand of the Year and Website of the Year Award at the 2010 Publishers Australia Excellence Award.

This is a fantastic opportunity to increase exposure of Asian Football to a larger audience and one that I am very honoured to have.

Be sure to check out my blogs each week - you can view them by clicking here.

The more hits the articles receive the more the guys at FourFourTwo know that there is a demand for Asian Football news.

My blog each week will go live usually on a Thursday or Friday. My first blog touched on the importance of the Japan vs J.League 'Team as One' Charity Match.

Make sure you check the FourFourTwo website later this week to read my latest offering.

 

Guangzhou Evergrande - Money made miracle or enemy of CSL

In his first article for Asian Football Feast, Zhang Bin looks at Guangzhou Evergrande and ponders whether they're deep pockets are good or bad for Chinese Football.

On February 21, 2010, during a series of actions against match-fixing and gambling China’s Football Association decided to relegate two teams - Guangzhou GPC and Chengdu Blades from the Chinese Super League (CSL) to China League Division 1. The charges included a series of match fixing scandals in the Division 1 matches in 2006 & 2007.

Just one year later, both clubs, Champions and Runner-Up of the Division 1, come back to the new CSL campaign.

Big changes have occurred at the Guangzhou club.

Suddenly they become the richest football club of China. Just one week after their relegation, Evergrande Real Estate Group, the biggest Real Estate Group of China, took over the club for just a fee of CNY100 million (AUD$15m). Their new chairman Xu Jiayin, Chairman of Evergrande Group, is ranked 200 in Forbes Global Wealthiest List for 2011.

Xu Jiayin said: “In the downturn of Guangzhou FC, Evergrande Group has the responsibility and obligation to help Guangzhou FC return to the peak, to let the football market of Guangzhou become hot again, to build the team for Guangzhou football fans, and to make contribution for Chinese football for a higher stage of development.”

Firstly, Evergrande invest CNY20 million (AUD$3m) into the club for paying the salaries and bonus to the players  and solving problems such as outstanding debts. They then paid big money and signed national team striker Gao Lin, former PSV Eindhoven player Sun Xiang and former Celtic player Zheng Zhi.

They paid an annual salary of CNY 5 million (AUD$750,000) to tempt famous South Korean coach Lee Jang-soo as head coach, and their signing of Atlético Mineiro striker Muriqui on a four-year deal with a fee of AUD$3.5 million set a new CSL record.

It's no surprise that Guangzhou became the strongest club in 2010 China Division 1. They would win the league with 17 wins, 6 draws and only 1 loss. Gao Lin scored 20 goals and won the Golden Boot and Muriqi scored 13 goals in 14 appearances.

Zheng Zhi (L) and Sun Xiang (R) when they
signed for Guangzhou last year

On 21 July 2010, Guangzhou trounced Nanjing Yoyo 10-0, setting a new record in Chinese professional football.

Obviously the goal of the new club is not only to return to the CSL, but also to play in the AFC Champions League.

The club announced a budget of AUD$76m, transfer expenses reached AUD$18m in pre-season of CSL 2011, five Chinese national team players joined the club and the club also signed three new Brazilian players together with Cho Won-hee, who represented Korea at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In a warm-up match against K-League side Ulsan Hyundai, Guangzhou Evergrande won with a score of 8-0, media use the word "dreadful" to describe the team.

Thus Guangzhou Evergrande has became a phenomenon of CSL, there are a polarisation of views between fans, as well as media. Some believes it is good to see more millionaires invest in to CSL, others see it as disruptive, that Evergrande is just trying to buy success.

There are other CSL clubs owned by millionaires, like Dalian Shide's Xu Ming, Shanghai Shenhua's Zhu Jun, Hangzhou Greentown's Song Weiping, and Shaanxi Chanba's Dai Yongge.

There are other clubs owned by some of the country’s biggest companies, like Beijing Guo'an owns by CITIC Group (China International Trust and Investment Company), Shandong Luneng who are owned by SEPC Group (Shandong Electric Power Coperation) and Tianjin Teda, owned by Teda Investment Holding Co. Ltd.

The difference is none of the clubs have ever received such a huge investment, it is reported the CITIC invested  CNY 1 billion (AUD$152m) into Beijing Guo'an club since was formed 1992. That is only two times Guangzhou Evergrande's 2011 budget.

As Guangzhou, with their bags full of money, attracted a number of star players to join the team, it is reported a lot of teams have formed an "anti Evergrande Union".

Dalian Shide's boss, Xu Ming, announced if Dalian beat Guangzhou in the season's opening match, the team will get a bonus of CNY 5 million (AUD$730,000). When talking about Guangzhou, Beijing Guo'an's big mouth chairman Luo Ning told the media: “Money? You believe Xu Jiayin is richer than the whole CITIC Group? Don't talk with me about who is the richest club in CSL."

"Money could not buy experience, after three or five years of investment, Xu Jiayin will sell the club."

It will be interesting to see how Guangzhou Evergrande, which is known as the Man City of CSL by some fans, perform in CSL.

In any case, Guangzhou should take lessons from Shanxi Chanba's failure in 2010, who also spent big to sign players in pre-season, but who could only manage a tenth place finish.

 

Monday, March 28, 2011

Setanta come to the party for Japan vs J.League Charity Match

Setanta Sports Australia has confirmed to Asian Football Feast that it will show LIVE & EXCLUSIVE coverage of the Japan vs J.League 'Team as One' Charity Match tomorrow night.

In a fantastic show of support for Japan and Japanese Football, the match will kick off at 9:20pm AEDST and will be broadcast nationally across Australia to those who subscribe to Setanta.

The teams for the clash are as follows:

Japan National Team

Goalkeepers - Eiji Kawashima (Lierse SK), Masaki Higashiguchi (Albirex Niigata), Shusaku Nishikawa (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)

Defenders - Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers), Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo), Yuzo Kurihara (Yokohama F. Marinos), Masahiko Inoha (Kashima Antlers), Ryota Moriwaki (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter Milan), Tomoaki Kajino (1FC Koln), Atsuto Uchida (FC Shalke 04), Maya Yoshida (VVV Venlo)

Midfielders - Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Yuki Abe (Leicester City), Makoto Hasebe (VfL Wolfsburg), Takuya Honda (Kashima Anlters), Hajime Hosogai (Augsburg), Yosuke Kashiwagi (Urawa Reds)

Forwards - Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble), Ryoichi Maeda (Jubilo Iwata), Jungo Fujimoto (Nagoya Grampus), Tadanari Lee (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Shinji Okazaki (VfB Stuttgart), Akihiro Ienaga (RCD Mallorca), Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow), Takashi Inui (Cerezo Osaka)

Coach - Alberto Zaccheroni (Italy)


J. League 'Team as One'







Goalkeepers - Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Jubilo Iwata), Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus)

Defenders - Toru Araiba (Kashima Antlers), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Nagoya Grampus), Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama F. Marinos), Takanobu Komiyama (Kawasaki Frontale), Teruyuki Moniwa (Cerezo Osaka)

Midfielders - Kunimitsu Sekiguchi (Vegalta Sendai), Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama F. Marinos), Ryang Yong Gi (Vegalta Sendai), Shinji Ono (Shimizu S-Pulse), Mitsuo Ogasawara (Kashima Antlers), Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale)

Forwards - Genki Haraguchi (Urawa Reds), Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe), Mike Havenaar (Ventforet Kofu), Hisato Sato (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Shoki Hirai (Gamba Osaka), Kazu Miura (Yokohama FC)

Coach - Dragan Stojkjovc (Nagoya Grampus)
 

Chinese Super League - 2011 Season Preview

Zhang Bin, a keen fan of Chinese Football, has put together this preview of the 2011 Chinese Super League season which kicks off this weekend.  
Guangzhou Evergrande striker Muriqui

The 2011 season of the Chinese Super League (CSL) will kick off this weekend.

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) also decided to re-establish the FA Cup in the 2011 season. The CFA hoped to build the FA Cup into a football gala that includes not only professionals, but also amateur teams.

Last years' Division 1 Champions Guangzhou Evergrande, became the team to watch in the upcoming CSL season as they spent the most money in transfer market, spending $17.8m in a series of dazzling signings.

Guangzhou Evergrande signed three new Brazilian players, including defender Paulo Marcos de Jesus Ribeiro (Paulo, 25 years old) from Gremio on a four-year contract worth $3.4m, Striker Cléverson Gabriel Córdova (Cléo, 25 years ols) from Serbian Superliga club Partizan on a a four year contract worth $4.3m, midfielder Renato Adriano Jacó Moreira (Renato Cajá 26 years old) from Botafogo on a four-year deal worth $2.2m, together with Brazilian Striker Luiz Guilherme da Conceio Silva (Muriqui 24 years old), who joined Guangzhou on a four year deal worth $3.4m last year, scoring 13 goals in 14 appearances for Guangzhou last season.
Lawrie McKinna will become the first Australian
to coach in the Chinese Super League

In terms of "AFC player", South Korean midfielder Cho Won-Hee (27 years old), who played for South Korea National team in 2006 World Cup, joined the club on a annual salary of $750,000 on a long-term contract.

Five Chinese National Team players joined Guangzhou in off-season, including defender Feng Xiaoting from K-League club Jeonbuk Motors, defender Zhang Linping from Shanghai Eastasia, striker Jiang Ning from Qingdao Jonoon, goalkeeper Yang Jun from Tianjin Teda and defensive midfielder Yangha from Beijing Guo'an.

Together with former Chinese National Team captain Zheng Zhi, striker Gao Lin and defender Sun Xiang, Guangzhou now has the most expensive squad in CSL.

Defending Champions Shandong Luneng signed Brazilian striker Manoel de Brito Filho from Atlético Mineiro on a transfer fee of $3.4m, and Brazilian defender Renato Assis da Silva from Sao Paulo with a transfer fee of $1.5m.

Fomer Nagoya Grampus Brazilian Striker Davi José Silva do Nascimento joins Beijing Guo'an on a one-year loan worth $1.5m from Qatari club Umm-Salal.

16 CSL clubs signed 65 foreigner players before the off-season transfer deadline as of March 24, including 22 "AFC Players", 21 players from Brazil, 9 from Australia and 8 from South Korea. Shenzhen Ruby signed Japanese striker Seiichiro Maki and midfielder Takashi Rakuyama, who become the first Japanese players to play in the CSL.

CSL 2011 Foreigner Players List

Shandong Luneng
DF Renato Silva (Brazil)
MF Roda Antar (Lebanon AFC)
FW Obina (Brazil)
MF Julio César de León (Honduras)
DF Ricardo (Cape Verde)

Tianjin Teda
DF Marko Zori (Serbia)
MF Kwon Jip (South Korea AFC)
FW Obiora Odita (Nigeria)
FW Luciano Olguín (Argentina)

Shanghai Shenhua
FW Duvier Riascos (Colombia)
FW Luis Salmerón (Argentina)
MF Facundo Pérez Castro (Argentina)
CB Abdulkader Dakka (Syria AFC)
DF Juan Camilo Angulo (Colombia)

Hangzhou Greentown
CB Adam Griffiths (Australia AFC)
FW Luis Ramírez (Honduras)
FW Matías Masiero (Uruguay)
MF Paulo Pezzolano (Uruguay)
MF Sebastián Vázquez (Uruguay)

Beijing Guo'an
MF Darko Matić (Coroatia)
FW Joel Griffiths (Australia AFC)
FW Walter Martínez (Hoduras)
FW Davi (Brazil)
FW Roberto (Brazil)

Dalian Shide
FW Martin Kamburov (Bulgaria)
FW James Chamanga (Zambia)
FW Ahn Jung-hwan (South Korea AFC)
MF Jeon Kwang-Jin (South Korea AFC)
CB Kim Jin-kyu (South Korea AFC)

Liaoning Whowin
MF Vladimir Bogdanovic (Serbia)
FW Valdo (Brazil)
LB Dean Heffernan (Australia AFC)
DF Kim You-Jin (South Korea AFC)

Henan Jianye
MF Lee Joon Yeob (South Korea AFC)
FW Leandro Netto (Brazil)
DF Fabao (Brazil)
MF Rômulo (Brazil)
MF Thiaguinho (Brazil)

Changchun Yatai
FW Nei (Brazil)
MF Savio (Brazil)
MF Radomir Koković (Serbia)
MF Anzur Ismailov Husanovich (UzbekistanAFC)

Shanxi Chanba
MF Fabio Firmani (Italy)
DF Dino Djulbic (Australia AFC)
FW Wilson Rodrigues Fonseca (Brazil)
DF Milos Bajalica (Serbia)
FW Tomá Oravec (Slovakia)

Jiangsu Sainty
DF Eleílson (Brazil)
MF Paolo de la Haza (Peru)
FW Bruce Djite (Australia AFC)
DF Alex Wilkinson (Australia AFC)
FW Cristian Danalache (Romania)

Shenzhen Ruby
FW Chris Killen (New Zealand)
FW Seiichiro Maki (Japan AFC)
MF Takashi Rakuyama (Japan AFC)
FW Rakovic (Slovenia)
MF Janez Zavrl (Slovenia)

Nanchang Bayi
DF Ko Jae-Seong (South Korea AFC)
FW J. Ramis (Uraguay)
FW D. Vera (Uraguay)
MF Johnny (Brazil)

Qingdao Jonoon
MF Ildar Magdeev (Uzbekistan AFC)
DF Leonardo (Brazil)
DF Gabriel Melkam (Nigeria)
FW Eber Luis (Brazil)

Guangzhou Evergrande
DF Cho Won-Hee (South Korea AFC)
DF Paulo (Brazil)
FW Cléo (Brazil)
MF Renato Cajá (Brazil)
FW Muriqui (Brazil)

Chengdu Blades
FW Brendon Santalab (Australia AFC)
DF Adam Kwasnik (Australia AFC)
FW Gyawe Jonas Salley (Australia/Cote d'Ivoire AFC)


Transfer expenses (according to Chinese media)
 

Club
Amount Spent (AUD)
Guangzhou Evergrande
$18.25m
Shandong Luneng
$7.6m
Tianjin Teda
$4.56m
Shanghai Shenhua
$4.56m
Shanxi Chanba
$3.6m
Jiangsu Sainty
$3.6m
Beijing Guo'an
$3m
Hangzhou Greentown
$3m
Liaoning Whowin
$3m
Nanchang Bayi
$3m
Henan Jianye
$3m
Changchun Yatai
$2.28m
Dalian Shide
$2.28m
Qingdao Jonoon
$2.28m
Shenzhen Ruby
$2.28m
Chengdu Blades
$1.52m



2011 CSL Coaches


Club
Coach
Country
Salary (per year)
Shenzhen Ruby
Philippe Troussier
France
$1m
Beijing Guo'an
Jaime Pacheco
Portugal
$800,000
Guangzhou Evergrande
Lee Jang-Soo
South Korea
$760,000
Shandong Luneng
Branko Ivankovic
Croatia
$500,000
Shanxi Chanba
Milorad Kosanovic
Serbia
$500,000
Changchun Yatai
Shen Xiangfu
China
$304,000
Hangzhou Greentown
Wu Jingui
China
$304,173
Jiangsu Sainty
Ján Kocian
Slovakia
$425,100
Tianjin Teda
Arie Haan
Netherlands
$400,000
Henan Jianye
Kim Hak-Beom
South Korea
$400,000
Dalian Shide
Park Seong-Hwa
South Korea
$400,000
Qingdao Jonoon
Chang Woe-Ryong
South Korea
$280,000
Shanghai Shenhua
Xi Zhikang
China
$121,000
Liaoning Whowin
Ma Lin
China
$121,000
Nanchang Hengyuan
Zhu Jiong
China
$60,835
Chengdu Blades
Lawrie McKinna
Australia
Undisclosed

 

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Why I follow...

Greg with fellow Muang Thong United supporters
In the latest installment of Why I follow... we hear the story of Greg, and Englishman living in Thailand who has developed a passion for his local Thai Premier League side Muang Thong United.

I follow Muangthong United because they are my local team, it really is that simple. How I came to discover them and understand the differences in Thai football culture compared to my home of England is a longer and better story.

Anyone looking at pictures of the crowds in the big Thai Premier League games might be surprised to learn that less than three years ago, the players would outnumber the fans in almost any fixture.

Even most successful teams would usually have little more than scarves or small flags for sale in a club shop that was often just a wooden table outside the ground, and even Thailand's fanatical footballing masses would often be blissfully unaware they had any kind of local team.

The reason for this was simple; there was no bond between clubs and locals. Most teams were corporate entities, run by large scale businesses or government branches purely for amusement of the big bosses.

A typical fixture for any weekend might include Thai Police Vs Bangkok Bank or PTT (Thailand's petroleum company) up against the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The appeal was equivalent to the idea of watching Natwest Bank Vs British Gas in the UK, with the standard of football to match.

When anyone back home asked me about football in Thailand, I'd tell them: yes we had football, but it was Sunday league standard with the crowds to match and no local teams to support.

When and what caused the change is a subject of debate but as a Muangthong supporter, I'll tell you my side of the story. Muangthong were taken over by Siam Sports, a media group with some shrewd marketing skills. Assisted by key personnel in the company - including Belgian coach and businessman Robert Procurer  - the group set about marketing Muangthong (previously known as Nonjork United) as Thailand's answer to Manchester United, complete with a real club shop selling club shirts, a stadium that looked like more than a run down sports centre, a fan club and promotion of the team in the local area.

Greg enjoys a Muang Thong United game
The explosion of support was truly remarkable. Within a year, the ground went from a single stand accommodating a couple of hundred fans to a four stand football stadium with a capacity of about 23,000. The surge of interest also had a knock on effect, prompting other new clubs such as Bangkok Glass to follow suit.

Yet all of this was lost on me until one day I opened a local newspaper and saw an advertisement promoting a weekend game for a club called Bangkok United. Surprised to see a team in Thailand bearing such a name and even more shocked to see them promoting themselves, my curiosity was tweaked.

I went home and searched online for information on other teams, particularly in my local province of Nonthaburi. It was Wikipedia that first informed me my side was Muangthong United. At the time I wasn't aware of their fashionable image, which is just as well.

As a life long Southampton fan, I had no love for the so-called 'trendy' teams. I may have been more at home following Bangkok United, who ran a miserable campaign and suffered relegation the following season.

But all I wanted to do was cheer my local side, so I went along to a game the next week and never looked back. The fans were, and are, some of the friendliest people you'll ever meet. The singing and chanting was as impressive as anything I've heard back home and almost every fan makes an effort to wear team colours, which can make for some truly impressive sights.

With the growth of interest and sponsorship, the standard of football has picked up. Games are certainly not to the standard of the EPL or even the CCC, but there are still plenty of moments of skill and excitement, and as MTU have won the TPL for the least two seasons, I've been lucky enough to see a higher quality of football than most.

That may change this year though, and it's certainly not my main motivation, I also follow local teams that play in lower divisions. But whatever the match, considering the price of a game out here varies from 50 to 100 baht (about 1-2 GBP or 2-3 USD) I'd say the value for money is one hundred times better than footie at home.

So why do I follow Muangthong United? Because they fill in the last gap of my life as an English expat - the need to follow a local football side and feel a part of a community in doing so, with all the cheering, ups and downs, opining, away day travels, bonding and friendships that come with it.

There are of course differences in local football culture, some for better, some I don't like so much, but that's to be expected. What matters is that at heart we all love our football.

Greg runs a blog on Muang Thong United which can be found at - http://muangthongunitedfc.blogspot.com.


Greg also wrote a popular piece comparing the Thai football culture to that of the UK, which you can read by clicking here.


Greg recommends that anyone interested in the growth of Thai Football read the thoughts of a Chonburi FC fan and the part his team played - http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/chonburifc/


You can also follow Greg on twitter @MTUTD_blog


  

Asians Abroad - Weekend Wrap

Shinji Okazaki is tackled during
Stuttgart's clash with Vfl Wolfsburg
For a comprehensive list of Asians Abroad from the weekend, please see below our latest update of all Asian players who did and didn't see action.

Park Ji-sung (KOR) was an unused substitute for Manchester United in their 1-0 win over Bolton in the EPL

Lee Chung-yong (KOR) was a 60th minute substitute for Bolton in their 0-1 loss to Manchester United in the EPL

Ali Al Habsi (OMN) played a full game in goals for Wigan in their 2-1 win over Birmingham in the EPL

Yuki Abe (JPN) was substituted after 61 minutes for Leicester City in their 0-1 loss to Portsmouth in the Championship

Kishi Yano (JPN) was a 90th minute substitute for SC Freiburg in their 1-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga

Son Heung-min (KOR) was a 60th minute substitute for Hamburger SV in their 6-2 win over FC Koln in the Bundesliga

Youssef Mohamad (LEB) played a full game for FC Koln in their 2-6 loss to Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga

Tomoaki Makino (JPN) was a 74th minute substitute for FC Koln in their 2-6 loss to Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga

Atsuto Uchida (JPN) played a full game for Schalke 04 in their 0-2 loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga

Hao Junmin  (CHN) was an unused substitute for Schalke 04 in their 0-2 loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga

Shinji Okazaki (JPN) played a full 90 minutes for VfB Stuttgart in their 1-1 draw with VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga

Makoto Hasebe (JPN) was substituted after 46 minutes for VfL Wolfsburg in their 1-1 draw with VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga

Koo Ja-cheol (KOR) was a 60th minute substitute for VfL Wolfsburg in their 1-1 draw with VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga

Hajime Hosogai (JPN) was substituted after 84 minutes for Augsburg in their 2-0 win over Rot-Weiss Oberhausen in 2.Bundesliga

Shao Jiayi goes in for the tackle for
Energie Cottbus against Bochum
Shao Jiayi (CHN) played a full game for Energie Cottbus in their 0-1 loss to Bochum in 2.Bundesliga

Takahito Soma (JPN) was a 74th minute substitute for Energie Cottbus in their 0-1 loss to Bochum in 2.Bundesliga

Jong Tae-Se (DPRK) was substituted after 66 minutes for Bochum in their 1-0 win over Energie Cottbus in 2.Bundesliga

Milad Salem (AFG) was a 75th minute substitute for Wehen Wiesbaden in their 0-0 draw with Sandhausen in 3.Liga in Germany

Ken Asaeda (JPN) was an unused substitute for Hessen Kassel in their 3-0 win over Memmingen in Regionalliga Süd in Germany

Takayuki Morimoto (JPN) was a 24th minute substitute for Catania in their 0-2 loss to Udinese in Serie A

Yuto Nagatomo (JPN) was an unused substitute for Inter Milan in their 1-0 win over Lecce in Serie A

Ilyos Zeytulaev (UZB) was a 66th minute substitute for Virtus Lanciano in their 1-0 win over Siracusa in Lega Pro Prima Divisione in Italy

Akihiro Ienaga (JPN) was a 60th minute substitute for Mallorca in their 1-0 win over Real Zaragoza in La Liga

Masoud Shojaei (IRN) played a full 90 minutes for Osasuna in their 4-0 win over Hercules in La Liga

Jung Jo-gook (KOR) was a 74th minute substitute for Auxerre in their 2-0 win over Sochaux in Ligue.1

Park Chu-young in action for
AS Monaco against Nancy
Park Chu-young (KOR) played a full game for AS Monaco in their 0-1 loss to Nancy in Ligue.1

Ham Tae-hee (KOR) was an unused substitute for Valenciennes in their 2-2 draw with Bordeaux in Ligue.1

Daisuke Matsui (JPN) played a full 90 minutes for Grenoble in their 1-2 loss to Laval in Ligue.2

Maya Yoshida (JPN) played a full 90 minutes for VVV Venlo in their 0-0 draw with Willem II in the Eredivisie

Robert Cullen (JPN) was substituted after 73 minutes for VVV Venlo in their 0-0 draw with Willem II in the Eredivisie

Michihiro Yasuda (JPN) played a full game for Vitesse Arnhem in their 1-3 loss to AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie

Ryo Miyaichi (JPN) played a full game for Feyenoord in their 0-3 loss to Roda JC in the Eredivisie

Bassem Abbas (IRQ) played a full 90 minutes for Konyaspor in their 0-0 draw with Antalyaspor in the SüperLig in Turkey

Ki Sung-yueng (KOR) was a 65th minute substitute for Celtic in the 1-2 loss to Rangers in the Scottish League Cup Final

Eiji Kawashima (JPN) played a full game in goals for Lierse SK in their 0-0 draw with Club Brugge in the Belgian Pro League

Daisuke Sakata (JPN) was a 60th minute substitute for Aris in their 3-1 win over Panserraikos in the Greek Super League

Kim Nam-il (KOR) played a full 90 minutes for Tom Tomsk in their 0-1 loss to Kuban’ Krasnodar in the Russian Premier League

Odil Akhmedov (UZB) was substituted after 86 minutes for Anzhi Makhachkala in their 0-2 loss to Zenit St Petersburg in the Russian Premier League

Sanzhar Tursunov (UZB) was an 83rd minute substitute for Volga Nizhny Novgorod in their 0-1 loss to Spartak Moscow in the Russian Premier League

Cha Jong-Hyok (DPRK) played a full game for FC Wil in their 3-2 win over Biel-Bienne in the Swiss Challenge League

Abdulla Omar Ismail (BHR) was a 54th minute substitute for Neuchâtel Xamax in their 1-2 loss to Zurich in the Swiss Super League

Takayuki Seto (JPN) played a full game for Astra Ploieşti in their 1-1 draw with Universitatea Craiova in Liga I in Romania

Tha’er Al Bawab (JOR) played a full game for Gaz Metan Mediaş in their 2-0 win over Pandurii Târgu Jiu in Liga I in Romania

Aziz Ibragimov (UZB) was a 46th minute substitute and scored the winner for Bohemians 1905 in their 1-0 win over Usti nad Labem in Czech Liga

Maksim Shatskikh (UZB) played a full game and scored the opener for Arsenal Kyiv in their 3-1 win over Illychivets in the Ukraine Premier League

Vitaliy Denisov (UZB) played a full 90 mins for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in their 1-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv in the Ukraine Premier League

Kazuo Honma (JPN) played a full game for BFC Siófok in their 0-0 draw with Vasas in Nemzeti Bajnokság I in Hungary

Kosuke Kimura (JPN) played a full 90 minutes for Colorado Rapids in their 3-1 win over Portland Timbers in the MLS

   

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Asians Abroad - Weekend Wrap

Lee Chung-yong heads home the winner for Bolton
As usual there were a number of Asian players who saw game time, and some who didn't, across Europe over the weekend.

Below is a complete wrap of all the Asians Abroad for the past weekend.

Yuki Abe (JPN) – played the full 90 minutes for Leicester City in their 3-0 win over Scunthorpe United in the Championship

Lee Chung-yong (KOR) was a 61st minute substitute and scored the winner in the 90th minute for Bolton in their 3-2 win over Birmingham City in the FA Cup

Youssef Mohamed (LEB) played a full game for FC Köln in their 4-0 win over Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga

Tomoaki Makino (JPN) was a 87th minute substitute for FC Köln in their 4-0 win over Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga

Son Heung-min (KOR) was an unused substitute for Hamburger SV in their 0-6 loss to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga

Atsuto Uchida (JPN) played a full game for Schalke 04 in their 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga

Ali Karimi (IRN) was an unused substitute for Schalke 04 on their 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga

Kishi Yano (JPN) was an unused substitute for SC Freiburg in their 1-2 loss to Kaiserslautern in the Bundesliga

Makoto Hasebe (JPN) played a full 90 minutes for VfL Wolfsburg in their 1-2 loss to Nurnberg in the Bundesliga

Koo Ja-cheol (KOR) was a 67th minute substitute for VfL Wolfsburg in their 1-2 loss to Nurnberg in the Bundesliga

Shinji Okazaki (JPN) was substituted after 83 minutes for VfB Stuttgart in their 2-1 win over St. Pauli in the Bundesliga

Hajime Hosogai (JPN) was an unused substitute for Augsburg in their 0-0 draw with Union Berlin in 2.Bundesliga

Jong Tae-Se (DPRK) was substituted after 80 minutes for Bochum in their 3-1 win over Alemannia Aachen in 2.Bundesliga

Shao Jiayi (CHN) was substituted after 72 minutes for Energie Cottbus in their 2-0 win over Osnabruck in 2.Bundesliga

Takahito Soma (JPN) was an unused substitute for Energie Cottbus in their 2-0 win over Osnabruck in 2.Bundesliga

Milad Salem (AFG) was a 67th minute substitute for Wehen Wiesbaden in their 2-1 win over Saarbrucken in the 3rd Liga in Germany

Yuto Nagatomo in action for Inter Milan against Brescia

Yuto Nagatomo (JPN) was substituted after 77 minutes for Inter Milan in their 1-1 draw with Brescia in Serie A

Takayuki Morimoto (JPN) was an unused substitute for Catania in their 1-0 win over Sampdoria in Serie A

Javad Nekounam (IRN) played a full 90 minutes and scored a penalty for Osasuna in their 3-1 win over Racing Santander in La Liga

Masoud Shojaei (IRN) was an unused substitute for Osasuna in their 3-1 win over Racing Santander in La Liga

Akihiro Ienaga (JPN) was substituted after 53 minutes for Mallorca in their 1-1 draw with Levante in La Liga

Jung Jo-gook (KOR) was a 76th minute substitute for Auxerre in their 0-1 loss to Nice in Ligue.1

Park Chu-young (KOR) played a full game for AS Monaco in their 1-0 win over Bordeaux in Ligue.1

Nam Tae-hee (KOR) was substituted after 78 minutes for Valenciennes in their 1-2 loss to Lille in Ligue.1

Song Jin-hyung (KOR) was a 71st minute substitute for Tours FC in their 0-1 loss to Metz in Ligue.2

Daisuke Matsui (JPN) played a full 90 minutes and scored Grenoble’s only goal in their 1-1 draw with Vannes in Ligue.2

Michihiro Yasuda (JPN) played a full game for Vitesse Arnhem in their 1-1 draw with Heerenveen in the Eredivisie

Maya Yoshida (JPN) played a full 90 minutes for VVV Venlo in their 1-2 loss to FC Twente in the Eredivisie

Robert Cullen (JPN) was substituted after 86 minutes for VVV Venlo in their 1-2 loss to FC Twente in the Eredivisie

Eiji Kawashima (JPN) played a full game for Lierse in their 1-1 draw with Lokeren in the Belgian Pro-League

Takayuki Seta (JPN) played a full 90 minutes for Astra Ploişti in their 1-1 draw with CFR Cluj on Liga I in Romania

Thaer Al Bawab (JOR) was an unused substitute for Gaz Metan Mediaş in their 1-0 win over Sportul Studenţesc in Liga I in Romania

Cha Jong-Hyok (in orange) in action for FC Wil
against Lugano in the Swiss Challenge League

Cha Jong-Hyok (DPRK) played a full game for FC Wil in their 1-2 loss to Lugano in the Swiss Challenge League

Odil Ahmedov (UZB) was substituted after 82 minutes for Anzhi Makhachkala in their 0-0 draw with Krasnodar in the Russian Premier League

Kim Nam-il (KOR) played a full game for Tom Tomsk in their 0-2 loss to Volga in the Russian Premier League

Daisuke Sakata (JPN) was a 46th minute substitute for Aris in their 4-3 win over Kerkyra in the Super League in Greece