Asian Football Feast

Asian Football Feast launches new website

2011-07-18T11:21:00.001+09:30

After many months of hard work Asian Football Feast today launched our brand new website!

You can check it out at www.asianfootballfeast.com.

From now on AFF will be using the new website to update you on the latest news from across Asia. Please change any bookmarks you may have to the new site.

We look forward to continuing to give you the latest news from across Asia.

Supporters' pride dashed by baffling J. League decision

2011-07-16T13:26:00.000+09:30

By Daisuke Matsuura

The offending banner

The game against Albirex Niigata on Saturday 16th July is the first game for some S-Pulse supporters, including myself, to start their three game ban from S-Pulse games.

Though the first announcement about a punishment had been made in late June through the official website, S-Pulse finally reached their final decision to ban supporters, who got involved in the derby incident in May, from three consecutive games which include two home games (16th and 27th July) and one away game (23rd July).

On May 28th, Shimizu S-Pulse and Jubilo Iwata were meeting at Nihondaira Stadium for their clash, their 44th overall, and their first derby of the 2011 season. It was about 40 minutes prior to kick-off when the stadium broke into furious booing from Shimizu supporters towards Iwata supporters.

"To Ghotbi, stop producing nuclear weapons"

That's what it said on a banner hung in front of Progresso, a leading supporter group of Jubilo Iwata. A handful of S-Pulse supporters quickly reacted to the insulting banner against S-Pulse coach, Iranian Afshin Ghotbi, rushing towards the other end and running into the centre of Iwata supporters to ask them to give up and hand over the banner.

The banner was eventually collected by stadium security staff (not by Shimizu supporters) and the two genius Iwata supporters were banned right away from the stadium on that day.

That's brief summary of what happened before kick-off. The game started and carried on without delay.

The next day Jubilo Iwata officially apologised on their official website along with announcing the indefinite banning of the two supporters. Progresso also announced their own ban, since the two men were Progresso members.

After these two announcements from Iwata, it seemed that everything was over, although there were still voices which demanding heavier punishment for Iwata. However, a few weeks after the derby, no Shimizu fans could imagine what was going on between J. League and S-Pulse officials behind closed doors.

On June 30th, as mentioned in opening paragraph, S-Pulse released the following announcement on their website:

1. S-Pulse to pay fine 2,000,000 JPY, while there was no fine for Iwata.

2. S-Pulse to ban supporters who crossed the barrier to enter the Iwata fans sectrion for three games scheduled in July.

There were actually some rumors amongst the core members of Shimizu supporter groups that some might be banned for rushing into Iwata supporters' area. Some of us were ready to accept banishment from a few home games.

But a 2,000,000 JPY fine on our club was a totally unexpected decision by J. League, and what we couldn't understand was that Iwata weren't handed a fine.

On 2nd July before the game against Kashima, I was asked to come to a stadium office and sit at a table with S-Pulse club officials.

At this brief meeting, I officially received a notification of banishment from the club. I knew what would be coming out of his mouth, so it did not surprise me at all. I even knew what would happen to me from the moment I rushed towards the other end of the stadium on the derby day.

But I have no regrets whatsoever. I did that for our coach Ghotbi and for our pride. All S-Pulse staff knew what made us run towards Iwata supporters. An S-Pulse staff member told me that it took three full weeks to reach final agreement with J. League because they tried to protect us while J-League just focused on the result of what we had done.

There are still many supporters, not only those who are punished by this decision but also those who are not, feeling that this banishment doesn't sit right with them. This decision has created tension between club officials and supporters at the beginning, and it still remains unsolved. But at least I can accept it now.

But there were many things I was dying to know and I was given a chance to ask. Among many questions I've asked, the one I really wanted to find out was why was Shimizu fined, but not Iwata. Here is what I was told:

1. Fine of 2,000,000 JPY on Shimizu S-Pulse is for failing to control stadium security under authority as match host;
2. No penalty on Iwata because J. League officials deemed that the banner was not racist.

According to this S-Pulse staff member, S-Pulse must be responsible for everything that happens inside and outside the stadium on their home match day as the host team. Even if the trouble is caused by the away team supporters, like it was this time, S-Pulse will be the ones to accept responsibility.

He added that it was clearly stated under J. League rules, so there is no room for us to argue with J. League. They (S-Pulse) actually tried to convince J. League that responsibility should have been split with Iwata, but J. League didn't accept this saying that they had found that the banner not racially motivated, thus there was no fault on Iwata side.

It made me totally speechless. I believed and was totally sure that their banner would bring huge problems for them because it was a self-explanatory message written on the banner. But if J. League say it's not a problem, what did we fight for?

J. League must explain to all of their fans and supporters how they have reached a decision that this banner was not racially motivated. If you step outside of Japan, you will be instantly banned or even arrested if you put up such a banner in any football stadium. That's how the football world sees racial abuse or any racially motivated action. The J. League surely have drawn a wrong line between good and bad.

I can't help myself thinking like this now - what if we put up a similar banner or exactly the same banner with a different name of a player, a coach, or whoever from Iwata at the upcoming second derby in September. Who would be punished then?

After what I've heard, it would be Iwata if Iwata supporters take any action to try to stop us. If they decide to stay, doing nothing (maybe just booing), what would happen then? Yes, we can just keep hanging our insulting banner for the entire 90 minutes at their home stadium.

Don't get me wrong, I have no intention to do what they have done. But it is true that if there is a club you hate and if you are dying to see them sweat, you already know the best and the easiest way to achieve that. But do you really want to see football played in a stadium with such an atmosphere?

Of course I trust all supporters from all J. League clubs. They must be smart enough to judge what is good and what is bad. However, you never know when the same incident may happen again in some stadium by some foolish supporters.

Who is to blame then? That is to say, J. League have made it easy for such foolish away supporters to get everything their own way. Confronting such wicked away supporters, how can we protect our beloved club as home supporters? How can we fight for our beloved players, a coach, and family in the same shirt?

So let me say it again, J. League have drawn a wrong line. I will continue asking J. League through S-Pulse club officials.

NEW Asian Football Feast is coming!

2011-07-15T18:04:00.000+09:30

The brand new Asian Football Feast website will officially launch on Monday 18 July.

After many months of hard work and thanks to the contributions of many, the new website is finally completed and ready to be launched.

The new website will be a comprehensive, one-stop shop for your Asian football needs. League profiles, club profiles, results, tables and fixtures are just some of the new features of the new website.

Asian Football Feast prides itself on bringing you the best of Asian Football from right across the continent and we now have contributors from Australia, Japan, Korea, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, India and Hong Kong.

We are always looking for more contributors, so if you have a knowledge and passion for Asian football then we want you to write for us. Simply email asianfootballfeast@gmail.com with your details and the area of Asia you wish to cover and we will get in contact with you as soon as possible.

We will launch the site on Monday and give you the details you need to check out the new site here, on Facebook and on twitter.

To commemorate the launch of the new site, we will have a series of guest columns from some of Asian footballs best writers!

J2 throws up a few surprises

2011-07-12T13:19:00.001+09:30

By Ben Maxwell

JEF United Chiba top the table

While unfancied Kashiwa and Sendai have been getting all the plaudits for their stellar starts to the J1 season, there have also been plenty of surprises in J2, where several of the newer, lower profile clubs have proven through the first 15 games of the season they will be serious contenders for promotion to the top flight.

This is my first season paying much attention to the second division (full disclosure, I’m an FC Tokyo fan, we were relegated for the first time at the end of 2010) but what I’ve been struck by through the first 15 matchdays is the unpredictability of the league. As a fan of English football too, the best comparison I can make is with the Championship, which many fans find more entertaining results-wise and in terms of the even-ness of the league than the Premier League.

So, firstly, a little background on the second tier of the J.League for the uninitiated: J2 consists of 20 clubs, with a fairly rapid expansion having taken place in the past six years. The league has grown from 12 to 20 teams since the end of 2005, with Kitakyushu (2010) and Tottori (2011) the most recent additions.

The 20 current clubs can be sorted into four rough groups:

Fallen Giants: Chiba, FC Tokyo, Tokyo Verdy, and Oita were all well-established top-flight sides for most of the 2000s. Verdy and Chiba, in fact, were original J.Leaguers, and Verdy were undoubtedly the league’s first super club before falling on hard times in 2005, when they suffered their first ever relegation.

Yo-Yos: This group features Kyoto, Sapporo, Yokohama FC, and Shonan, who have all spent time in both tiers, with their stays in J1 generally short. This designation is perhaps a little harsh on Kyoto, who have spent 11 of their 16 J.League seasons in the top division.

The J2 Lifers: These are the teams who joined J2 the year it was formed (1999) or thereabouts, and have never been promoted. Tosu and Mito have this group all to themselves, having spent their entire J.League lives (since ’99 & 2000, respectively) in the second tier.

The Newbies: Half the league qualify here, an indication of the rapid expansion I spoke of earlier. Kitakyushu and Tottori are givens, obviously, but the other new teams are Tochigi SC, Toyama and Okayama (entered in 2009), Kumamoto and FC Gifu (2008), and also Ehime FC (2006). Kusatsu and Tokushima (2005) can be placed here too. All of these teams have never been promoted.

Tokushima Vortis have surprised many this year

Pleasingly, for the development and competitiveness of the league, five of “The Newbies” occupy positions in the top half of the table after Matchday 15. Tokushima and Tochigi, in fact, sit in the promotion places, second and third respectively, and have made great strides in 2011 after finishing eighth and tenth in 2010.

Tokushima have been on a tear, winning their last four, and are one of only two teams to defeat leaders Chiba. They’ve used a balanced attack paced by wingers Yusuke Shimada and Yoichiro Kakitani, and featuring dual targets Tomohiro Tsuda (16 goals in 2010) and Douglas. The two big blots on their copybook are a 4-0 home battering at the hands of Tochigi and a 1-0 loss at FC Tokyo, but the Shikoku club are sure to be there or thereabouts come December. The way they dismantled mid-table Kusatsu 3-0 on Saturday was a warning for the rest of the league, with Tsuda netting for the second straight game.

Tochigi have slipped from the summit after draws in their last two, (1-1s at home to Sapporo then away at Kyoto last weekend) but have gone eight games unbeaten and look set for a long stint in the promotion hunt. They also feature a 16-goal hitman from ’10, and Ricardo Lobo has carried on where he left off last season, bagging six so far including both Tochigi goals in a highly entertaining (and encouraging) 2-2 draw away at Chiba in Matchday 12.

Chiba are setting the pace, have been in the top two all year, and look determined to make amends for the disappointment of 2010, when they entered their first season ever in J2 as massive favourites for promotion but stuttered in the second half of the campaign and finished fourth.

They addressed things in the biggest (tallest!) way possible by signing 204cm Norwegian striker Tor Hogne Aaroy, the tallest outfield player in world football, to spearhead their attack with support from fleet-footed forwards Masaki Fukai and Koki Yonekura. Aaroy started out with a bang, netting in the season opening win over Kitakyushu and then bagging a brace as Chiba laid down a marker by thumping fellow “Fallen Giant” FC Tokyo 3-0 in Matchday 2 (the first game back after the six week suspension of play after the earthquake and tsunami).

In the games that followed, as teams naturally focused on how to stop Aaroy, the wee man Fukai has taken full advantage of his extra freedom and used his pace and predatory skills to full effect, his nine goals has him top of the scoring charts and he’s netted in three straight games on two occasions already. They were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Kumamoto on Saturday, but are six games unbeaten.

FC Tokyo were overwhelming favourites for promotion this season after they kept largely the same squad together following their stunning relegation at the end of 2010 (see my piece in J Soccer Magazine for more on that). That meant

Japan

internationals Yasuyuki Konno, Naohiro Ishikawa, Shuichi Gonda and others stuck around to try and make amends and get the capital club back into the top flight at the first attempt.

FC Tokyo face a battle
to earn promotion back to J1

The early loss to Chiba seemed to shake Tokyo’s confidence, and after two scoreless draws followed, with opponents adopting the same defensive tactics that The Gasmen found so difficult to break down last season, their home support grew restless as expectations were clearly not being met.

Results began to improve with a 4-1 away win over Kyoto in Matchday 8, which also marked the emergence of young midfielder Sotan Tanabe, who netted twice, and then from Matchday 10 Tokyo won five on the spin to climb to third, with that winning run finally halted in a 0-0 draw at Oita this past weekend.

The three other “Newbies” in the top half are Kumamoto (5th), Kitakyushu (7th) and Ehime (10th), and while Kumamoto have improved after finishing seventh last year, the big story amongst those three is Kitakyushu, who have won their last four and defied expectations after a horrid first season in 2010, in which they won only one of their 36 games, scoring just 20 goals. The reason for their improved results is clearly their improved defence: they’ve kept clean sheets in eight of 15 games this year, including in their 1-0 away win over Tottori on Sunday, after managing just five all of last season.

Sitting just above Kitakyushu are Tokyo Verdy, the league’s hottest team. The Greens are top of the form table after a remarkable turnaround that has seen them win five straight, leaping from 16th to 6thwith 18 goals scored and just four allowed in that time. Their most recent victims were bottom club FC Gifu, who were battered 3-0.

Elsewhere the other “Fallen Giants” and “Yo-Yos” have mostly struggled, although Sapporo have crept into the top half (9th) thanks to a five game unbeaten run. Kyoto, who were relegated along with FC Tokyo and Shonan at the end of 2010, are the worst off of this bunch and are mired down in 18th, while Oita are doing only marginally better and sit in 14th.

Shonan made a hot start, losing only one of their first nine, but suffered through a horror patch in June and into early July, when they lost five straight, and have completely fallen off the pace, slipping from second all the way down to 13th.

Yokohama FC have been huge disappointments for me, after I tipped them for promotion, and The Sky Blues lie just one place above Kyoto, although their Brazilian striker Kaio has run into some form, netting in four of the last six, including the winner in their 1-0 win over “Lifers” Mito last Saturday.

So, as we approach the halfway mark of the 38 game season, the main interest lies in whether the newcomers and recent additions to the league can sustain their challenges through the long, hot days of summer. Indications so far are that they will, but with three Fallen Giants in the top six, it shapes as a hugely entertaining battle for promotion.

You can read more about J2 and FC Tokyo on Ben's "On The Gas" blog and by following him on twitter @OnTheGas1999

Youth crisis facing Hong Kong

2011-07-12T11:21:00.000+09:30

By Yick Hong Lam - AFF Hong Kong correspondent

Xavier Chen scored a debut goal against Malaysia

After so many years, the atmosphere surrounding football in Taiwan is rising for the first time.

The national team has drawn more public support, President Ma Ying-jeou published a public encouragement to the national team before World Cup qualifying, with the second-leg home game against Malaysia attracting 15,335 on 3rd July 2011.

Even the result of the matches is positive. After being defeated 1-2 in the first round. The hard fighting Taiwan national team earned a 3-2 win against an opponent that used to be too strong for them to handle, a result has even impressed the football fans in Hong Kong.

There is so much to tell in the football history between Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Hong Kong have a proud football history, especially in the 1950s to 70s. The league standard was pretty high at the time. The best Hong Kong player of his generation, Cheung Chi-Doy, joined the England first division side Blackpool in 1960, and become the first ever Asian player to play in European professional leagues.

However, the Hong Kong national team have no great history.

Due to the historical and political reasons, many of the top rank football stars, who were born and grew up in the city, chose to represent Chinese Taipei (i.e. Taiwan national team) in the 60s, including Cheung Chi-Doy and many others.

Chinese Taipei were a notable force in Asia at the time, once finishing third a Asian Cup and even becoming two times champions at the Asian games. Before the agreement for the Taiwan national team to stop calling-up Hong Kong citizens to play for Chinese Taipei in 1971, Hong Kong football had arguably given its glory at international level to Taiwan for free.

In the 1980s the quality of football in Hong Kong dropped dramatically. Despite a short revival during late 80s to early 90s, everything has gone downhill again ever since.

Without the Hong Kong imports, the football desert Taiwan could not repeat the international level success they once had.

But now, Taiwan seems to be ready to go up again.

There are two outstanding players in the current Taiwan national team squad. Arguably the biggest name is Xavier Chen.

The Belgian-born Taiwanese has been an established player in Belgium first division for years, playing with local powerhouse club R.S.C. Anderlecht and also the Belgium national U19 side.

Chen has only recently given the nod to Taiwan as he had originally hoped for a call-up from Belgium national team. He had his Taiwan national team debut in the WCQ against Malaysia in the second leg and scored a goal on debut.

Local boy Chen Po-Liang has also demonstrated his ability to the Hong Kong fans last season. Having always been the only attacking threat in Taiwan national team, as a foreign player he may not be among the top players in Hong Kong first division, but he showed quality that not many Hong Kong players in the same position can match.

And if you consider his age, he is probably better than all of the Hong Kong players of the same generation.

Apart from the two professional players, Victor Chou, who was born in Spain and currently a youth player in Segunda División B side UD Salamanca, who sat on the bench in the two World Cup qualifying matches, has strong potential to become the third professional player in the Taiwan national team.

Whilst they are rare cases at the moment, they are also starting a trend for Taiwanese players.

Of course we cannot have any hopes of finding our own Xavier Chen, but how come the so called "Football Desert" of Taiwan can have a Chen Po-Liang and we can't?

The Hong Kong Sports Institute

The quality of Hong Kong football has been dropping dramatically since 2000. The exclusion of football as a "Focus Sport" at the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI, named Jubilee Sports Centre in the past), regardless of the popularity of the sport in the city, has always been regarded as the biggest factor.

Ex-South China star Yau Kin-Wai, who was also one of the notable HKSI graduates in early 90s, expressed his view in recent interview.

In his opinion, the reason the HKSI graduates were absolutely better was because they had four private football pitches to practice. They don't need to share it with the public. They can carry out intensive training plans at their young age. They could also do additional practice if any of them wanted.

Now the youth training at clubs level cannot provide the same facilities or environment as HKSI did in the past. South China youth coach and Hong Kong football legend Wong Man-wai has shared the same opinions, but also being critical on the attitude of the youth players.

Deceased legendary youth coach Lai Sun-Chuen had also pointed out in past interviews about the quality of the youth coaches in Hong Kong and also the responsibilities on youth training on clubs.

Now we don't have HKSI to train up good young players, what have the clubs have been doing since 2000?

If clubs and HKFA both cannot provide long term and well planned youth training, without a professional youth training, even if we have a professional leagues, is it a big surprise our players standard are being caught by players trained in an amateur environment? Our youth training is of an amateur status anyway.

There are so many aspects we need to improve, including:

- a better managed league;
- players with better attitude/determination or brings in better foreign players.

The Phoenix Project will focus on forming a new league structure, a better organised league and calls for more investment and capital from the clubs. In another words, a more professional league.

However, if we take the J. League as an example, apart from the investment in marketing or bringing top quality foreign players, the JFA and the clubs have never taken the focus away from youth development.

And whilst the foreign players in the J. League aren't of the stature they once were when the league was launched, the standard of the local players has never dropped.

If Hong Kong don't improve the structures and facilities for the training of youth players, is it really an unreasonable fear that the Taiwan National Team will surpass us one day?

And this time, without any import players from us.

India play out draw against Maldives

2011-07-12T10:31:00.000+09:30

Sunil Chhetri scored India's only goal

By Arunava Chaudhuri - AFF Indian correspondent

India were held to a one-all draw by neighbours the Maldives in an international friendly match at the National Stadium in Male yesterday. India went ahead through Sunil Chhetri, while Mukhthaar Naseer restored parity for Maldives before the break.

After the game interim coach Armando Colaco said, "It was a tough match. We did create our chances and I'm happy with the performance of the boys."

"The World Cup Qualifier against UAE stays our priority. There’s always a bit of experimentation in Friendlies and we tried to make most use of it," Armando added who did not make any substitutions.

After early chances on both sides India took the lead in the 18th minute through a Sunil Chhetri header off a Steven Dias corner. Thereafter India put pressure on their rivals with the Indian midfield in control with Jeje and Chhetri a constant threat. Jeje's missed a golden opportunity in the 43rd minute when he was send free by Chhetri but his shot hit the post. Only a minute later the Maldives equalised in the 44th minute when Mukhthaar Naseer curled in a nice shot past Subrata Pal.

After the break it was mainly the Maldives as the islanders put pressure on their bigger rivals, but India did have their chances with Jeje having the best. It stated one-all in the end.

India were the better side in the first half, while the Maldives had more of the game after the break and the final result is a fair account of the match.

India now travel to Doha to face Qatar on July 17 at the Al Sadd Stadium to continue their preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup - Asian Round 2 qualifier against the United Arab Emirates on July 23 & 28.

INDIA

Subrata Pal; Samir Naik, Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh, Raju Eknath Gaekwad, Debabrata Roy; Steven Benedic Dias, Climax Lawrence, Mehtab Hussain, Syed Rahim Nabi; Jeje Lalpekhlua, Sunil Chhetri

Fowler looking forward to Thai challenge

2011-07-10T21:39:00.000+09:30

By Kitinan Sanguansak - AFF Thai correspondent

Fowler at is first training session
as a Muang Thong United player

Former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler is looking forward to a new challenge after completing his shock move to Thailand Premier League champions Muang Thong United.

The 36-year-old dubbed the “God” by the Kop for his scoring exploits during his eight-year stay with the Merseyside club joined Muang Thong on a one-year contract with an option for an extension, with the club saying they spent around Bt20 millions for his services.

Fowler, who also won 26 caps and scored seven goals for England, was officially unveiled as Muang Thong’s marquee signing yesterday in a media room crammed by a big group of reporters at the the club’s home ground, Yamaha Stadium.

Even though the Englishman still has to wait for his first appearance for his new employers, with the second leg of the country’s top-flight league to resume at the end of this month, the club’s new recruit has already caused "Fowler Fever", with dozens of fans, several of them sporting shirts with his name, clamouring for his autograph outside the room.

Fowler greeted the local media, saying “Sawasdee Krub” which drew a big applaud before stating that he was happy to join the club which was as successful as Muang Thong, who have won successive league titles in the past two seasons.

“I want to say “big thank” to everyone involved in bringing me to the club. They have been a very successful club over the past few years. I hope it will continue after this.

“I’m looking forward to work with (Muang Thong coach Henrique) Calisto. It’s great challenge for me. I can’t wait to get back to the pitch and show you that I’m still good on the field,” said Fowler.

Fowler, who also played for Blackburn Rovers and Leeds United in England, dismissed a suggestion that playing in TPL was a step backward of his career.

“I think it’s unjust (to say the TPL standard is low). The league has progressed well over past few years and the teams got better. The professionalism of Muang Thong is fantastic.

“I’ve played for a few clubs and I think Muang Thong’s professionalism is unbelievable. I’m really impressed with that. Hopefully, with me now in the team, it gonna be better.”

Asked whether he was concerned with the humid conditions, Fowler believed he would have no problem in adjusting himself to the weather.

“Yeah, the weather is hot. I did play in Australia and I think the conditions were similar. It’s difficult to say whether you can adapt to the new conditions until you get there. But, I don’t see it as a problem.

“As a player, you should be able to adapt to wherever you play. I’m looking to play my football regardless of the weather.”

Having already had his first training with the new teammates, Fowler appeared relaxed on the adaptation to the team.

“It’s not totally difficult when you come to the new team. You come to know the lads with different names. I’ve changed clubs over past few years. I know it would take time to adapt to the certain things.

“But, I’m sure it would be fine. It’s good experience to train with them on the pitch and I’ll kick it on from that”

While admitting that scoring was what he loved to do, Fowler insisted the team would come first when asked whether he wanted to become the top scorer in the league, with the current leader on the scoring chart on 12 goals.

“It’s obviously good when you score the goals but as long as the team is successful. For me, the most important is the placing of the team in the table come the end of the season.”

Japanese youngsters shine in Mexico

2011-07-10T14:21:00.000+09:30

By Nobuyuki Tosey

Naoki Kawaguchi and Hiroki Akino
battle with Brazil's Adryan (Getty Images)

As the final whistle blew, many of the defeated Japanese players broke into tears. Consoled by the victorious Brazilian coaches and players, the two teams left the pitch to the applause of the fantastic Mexican crowd; a wonderful illustration of just how much Japan had impressed at this tournament.

Japan's World Cup had ended in the midst of the most unlikely of comebacks and that they had almost managed to pull it off made it all the more agonising. But what better indication of how far Japan had come, than the loss to Brazil in the quarter finals of the World Cup being met with such disappointment.

And they have come far. One win in six in the lead up to the tournament suggested that qualification from a group consisting of France, Argentina and Jamaica was unlikely. But not only did they qualify, they won the group; beating Jamaica and Argentina and arguably deserving a win in a draw against France, before a faultless 6-0 win over New Zealand in the last 16.

Japan had earned plaudits for not only their results, but the tactically mature manner of their performances. Coach Hirofumi Yoshitake had organised his team to focus on possession and collective effort all over the pitch, switching between a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-1-3-1 formation to achieve this. An average of 60% possession, 11 goals scored and 2 conceded across 4 games meant that Japan would enter their quarter final with confidence riding high throughout the squad.

Furthermore, unlike many other countries where the tournament was going unnoticed, the performance of this U17 team was making news here in Japan and for a country still so in awe of Brazil's football heritage, a win against them at any level would be seen as a significant step in Japan's ever-growing football reputation.

Brazil

Hirofumi Yoshitake

Coach Yoshitake had a hard job in balancing the confidence in his side and being wary of the threat of Brazil. But he was clever with his tactics: bold with the use of 4-1-3-1-1 formation that produced six goals against New Zealand, but conservative with his personnel; as he deployed the defensive minded Kida in the middle of the attacking midfield three and left the offensive minded Matsumoto on the bench.

But with so much of Japan's success this tournament stemming from their possession game, Japanese hearts sank upon seeing the state of the pitch. The heavy rain - that had already led to a game being abandoned this World Cup - had taken its toll and despite the attempts from the Japanese to stick to their passing game, it was clear from early on that the conditions wouldn't allow it.

As I have mentioned in my previous article, these tournaments are all about broadening these young players' footballing education and for the Japanese, their encounter with Brazil would prove to be a ruthless demonstration of the increased level of opposition that comes with the transition from youth to professional football.

In Adryan and Ademilson Brazil possess two scintillating talents; along with Germany's Samed Yesil and Ivory Coast's Souleymane Coulibaly they have been the most exciting players at the tournament and the pair would ultimately prove to be the architects of Japan's defeat.

After a scrappy start it wasn't long before Brazil got the opening goal. Adryan showcased his ability from set pieces with a perfect corner for Leo to head past Nakamura. The level of defensive organisation we had to come to expect from Japan was non-existent and the young team were perhaps slightly overawed by the occasion.

With a 1-0 lead, Brazil were happy to sit back and hit on the counter. Japan had experienced a similar scenario before; as France adopted a similar tactic having gone ahead in their group game. Although Japan were able to open them up with prolonged spells of possession on that occasion, this time the insistence to stick to their passing game was admirable yet naïve given the conditions and Japan struggled to create much before the interval.

It wasn't long after half time that Brazil struck again through a moment of sheer quality. Guilherme burst down the left wing, whipped an early ball into the box and despite Iwanami doing his best, the ball couldn't be cut out. Ademilson then showed exactly why he is deserving of his burgeoning reputation, as in one fluid movement he cushioned the ball and hit a precise shot in the far bottom corner with his left foot.

Japan found themselves two goals down for the first time this tournament. Desperation began to creep into their game and with it the assurance and discipline we had come to come expect began to disappear. Long and hopeful balls became the means of attack and previously reliant figures such as the captain Iwanami were making errors that Japan were lucky not to concede from.

Japan needed a moment of inspiration and Ishige almost provided it. Collecting the ball on the edge of the area, Japan's top scorer cut in on his left and hit a rasping shot that struck the bar. It was a moment that would ultimately prove pivotal. Had that gone in, with a one goal defecit and plenty of time left the momentum may well have swung in favour of Japan. But soon after Adryan produced a moment of brilliance to all but end the tie.

After Nakamura saved well from a Misael shot across goal, the stocky number 10 picked up the ball on the corner of the penalty area with not much danger in sight. Executing a Cruyff turn that the man himself would have been proud of, Adryan left Kawaguchi for dead and hit a thunderous strike with his left foot that beat Nakamura at his near post.

The goal seemed to settle Japan, with nothing to lose they looked relaxed and with around 15 minutes to go they pegged one back. Ishige lifted a ball over the top and for one of the first times in the match Japan got in behind the Brazilian back four. The two substitutes combined as Takagi crossed for the late arriving Nakajima to finish calmly.

Japan were giving all they had to get the necessary two goals, but it wasn’t until the 88th minute that they got a goal back. A deep corner by Ishige was cushioned back across goal and after it clipped the cross bar, Hayakawa was on hand to nod into the empty net.

You had the feeling that Japan would get one more chance and they did. Ishige burst into the area and somewhat erratically fired across goal. Reminiscent of Paul Gascoigne against Germany in Euro 96, Nakajima came so close to getting on the end of the cross-cum-shot to tap home the equaliser but failed to make contact.

Brazil held on for the win but the final whistle was met with relief rather than ecstasy in the knowledge that this Japan team had pushed them all the way.

Overall Review

With the group of players playing far beyond the level most had expected, in terms of performance there is little to criticise, neither is there much point in doing so given the age group. What should be looked at is the state of youth development, the consequent players it’s producing and what can be improved.

As I mentioned earlier, the influence of Brazil on Japanese football should not be underestimated. Brazilian players continue to play a significant role in the J.League today, but the influence dates back a number of footballing generations.

Fellow Asian Football Feast contributor Matthew Kenny wrote on the subject: “The likes of Zico, Dunga and Leonardo had a hugely positive impact on Japanese football, teaching their hard-working teammates the value of technique and good attitude”.

Indeed one of the best qualities that the Japanese possess is that they work so hard for each other and are so disciplined in their roles. This was apparent with this young team as the levels of physical fitness displayed by the players were incredibly high and allowed them to compensate for having lesser height and physique than their opposition.

But what has come on a lot in recent years in the Japanese game is the tactical nous shown by the coaches and players and this was by far the most encouraging sign given by this group. Yoshitake was one of the few coaches to use the entirety of his squad and the ease at which players came into the side and adapted to the changing formations was phenomenal. Having such a high level of tactical maturity and the fitness needed to put Yoshitake’s plans into practice meant that Japan were probably the most impressive 'team' at the tournament.

However, it seems that the 'value of technique' appears to have been lost along the way a little. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Japan have compromised technical ability over other attributes, as at the higher end of Japanese football the technique exhibited regularly by players such as Yasuhito Endo, Keisuke Honda and young prospects Takashi Usami and Ryo Miyaichi would suggest otherwise.

But the gulf between this U17 team's technical ability and their opposition was often telling. If you look at the goals Japan conceded this tournament, they were all examples of technically superior players undoing Japan's collective containment effort. Compare this to Japan's goals and even in the rout of New Zealand Japan had to work much harder for their goals to compensate for the lack of technique.

To paraphrase what Dutch coach Raymond Verheijen recently noted on twitter: developing football countries should focus on technical and tactical development to catch up with the top nations and not rely on fitness.

It’s something that is being addressed; Nobuyuki Uenoyama, head of the J.League's technical committee recently said: "Most of the people who trained the Samurai Blue into who they are today are high school teachers". Although increased numbers of pro-licensed coaches in recent years have improved the situation for this group of youngsters, its still evident that level of technique is not yet up to the standards of the leading nations.

Finally and perhaps this point is a little harsh, it appears that Japan suffers from the age old problem of pigeonholing players due to their physical attributes. Of course, the demographic of Japan plays a part in the type of players Japan produces and so to expect a Drogba-esque striker is pointless.

However, as the tallest players were the three goalkeepers and the two centre backs Ueda and Iwanami it seems to suggest that it’s true to an extent. Japan’s national team currently have a problem with a lack of a natural striker and this was very much the case for this U17 team. If Japan are to compete at a higher level they need to be producing a wider variety of attacking players, not just small industrious types that make intelligent runs.

Notable Individuals

Naomichi Ueda - The tall, ball-playing centre back was the only ever present player for Japan and outshone his centre-back partner, the captain Iwanami. Weak on the back foot, but strong in the air and a good reader of the game, he was often seen stepping up to dispossess deep lying forwards on a number of occasions. Furthermore, just as Ryo Miyaichi had done in the previous U17 World Cup, both Ueda and Muroya showed that the high school system can still produce high level players and it’s not surprising to see a number of J.League Clubs chasing his signature.

Naoki Kawaguchi - Although the full back didn't start in the first game against Jamaica, he took his chance against France and went on to be the most improved player during the team's time in Mexico. His ability to get forward gave the team the needed width to stretch their opposition and create gaps for the trio of attacking midfielders to exploit. Defensively he has the intensity in terms of closing down that is so often lacking in full backs of the attacking mould and positionally it all seems to come very naturally to him. I would say that he is the most likely to push on from this group.

Fumiya Hayakawa - The full back/winger was my player of the tournament for Japan. A good mix of industriousness complimented by end product, he finished the tournament with an impressive 3 goals and 2 assists. Would like to see more work done on his defensive qualities and see him develop as a full back as he doesn't have the ability to be a midfielder at the top level. If he does concentrate on that part of his game he and Kawaguchi could well be the left and right back pairing for Albirex Niigata in a couple of years.

The Coach

Hirofumi Yoshitake’s contribution to the team’s success at this tournament should not be underestimated. Getting such a young team to stick to such a patient approach is admirable enough, that he was able to get results with the system is quite outstanding. He is already looking ahead, stating that he “would like to work hard to narrow those gaps [between Japan and the top teams] and bring another team to the world championship with those who were born in 1996.” With Yoshitake in charge, the next generation will certainly be in good hands.

Djohar Arifin Husin elected new PSSI Chairman

2011-07-09T17:21:00.000+09:30

By Paul Williams

Djohar Arifin Husin was today elected as the Chairman of the PSSI, gaining 61 votes at the PSSI Congress.

Held at the Sunan Hotel in Solo, Central Java, the Congress has been shrouded in controversy for months with candidates pulling out late, claims of vote-buying and intervention from FIFA.

Djohar Arifin Husin is a current advisor to the Indonesian Minister of Sport, former Chairman of the North Sumatra Province FA and secretary general of KONI, the national sports committee of Indonesia.

The result is seen as a great one for Indonesian football, with the opportunity for actual change and reform now a real possibility.

More to follow...

Fowler goes Thai

2011-07-09T16:20:00.000+09:30

By Kitinan Sanguansak - AFF Thai correspondent

Fowler arrives in Thailand

Thai fans’ dreams of watching a familiar name on TV play in the Thailand Premier League is only a step away after former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler flew in yesterday to thrash out his shock move to TPL champions Muang Thong United.

The 36-year-old, who scored 183 goals during his eight-year stay with the Merseyside club, is set to become by far the highest profile player to have play in the country’s top flight, with some details on his contract still to be ironed out.

Fowler’s arrival was the vindication of the giant leap the league has taken over the past few years, which saw a sharp increase of attendance in the competition that not so long ago struggled to draw interest from the public.

Observers believe the signing of the player nicknamed the “God” for his scoring exploits would be a big boon for the league in term of its growth, a notion that was strengthened by positive reaction of fans in general not only a group of Muang Thong supporters, some of those already indicating that they wanted to watch the games featuring Fowler.

A group of fans wearing Liverpool shirts as well as a contigent of local media arrived at the Suvarnbhumi airport around an hour prior to the arrival of Fowler’s flight. He drew a flood of flash bulbs from the waiting photographers when coming out of the arrival gate, with fans belting out chants of “Fowler! Fowler!”.

Asked about his expectation with the new club, Fowler, with weary eyes after a long-haul flight, said he did not set particular targets but hoped to do well for the team.

Early reports suggested that Muang Thong offered Fowler only a short term contract, however, Wiluck Lohtong, the club’s deputy chairman, said the Englishman would initially sign for one year while refusing to disclose more details of the deal.

“I think the initial contract would be one year. We’ve to take many factors into our consideration. On his wage, we can’t tell you on the exact amount but it’s the high sum worth of a player of his status.

Wiluck revealed the club hoped the capture of high profile player as Fowler would help improve the team.

“We want to become one of the top teams, continentally and internationally. To have a player, who once was a star in the English Premier League, shows our capacity.

"I have no doubt on his ability despite his age as I believe he could play in our league without trouble ,"said Wiluck.

Fowler will undergo a medical check-up today before being officially unveiled as Muang Thong player tomorrow.

The roots of the Japan-Korea rivalry

2011-07-05T14:10:00.001+09:30

By Diarmuid Delaney

Football, a truly world game, transcends race, culture and history, and at times acts as a catalyst for reconciliation between people and governments. In a region as historically and culturally diverse as Asia, football has indeed played out this role.

The Korea-Japan rivalry has emerged as the greatest in Asian football. Both countries compete for the title of ‘Asia’s best’ whilst sharing a turbulent history that further ignites this rivalry. Understanding this history, as well as what significance the 2002 World Cup had for the football of these countries will reveal the depths of this great rivalry.

Japan

Korea

’s first contact with modern football as we know it today came through European influence in the late 19th century. However, as Dr Leonid Petrov of the University of Sydney and former translator for the 1994 South Korean Olympic team states, the roots of the game can be found deep in their national identity. Koreans recorded a ball-kicking game called ch’ukku in historic documents from over nine hundred years ago, taking their claim on an indigenous form of football.

Korea

’s annexation at the hands of

Japan

between 1910 and 1945 was a dark period in Korean and Japanese history that continues to be a source of tension between the two countries to this day. This period of occupation however, according to the Korean Football Association (KFA) website empowered football into a means of ‘alleviating the frustrations of the subjugated Koreans and fostering the hope of liberation’.

Football became a way for Koreans to sustain their nationalism, and soon enough they began to outperform the Japanese on the pitch. Select Korean sides toured

Japan

in 1926 and 1935 respectively, one side touring unbeaten and another, Seoul, winning the All-Japan football tournament.

The Japanese influence on Korean football during the colonial period can be summarised in the words of one Korean coach, who before a game against a Japanese opponent said ‘You are not just playing football. You are fighting for the independence of the Korean people’.

Japan

’s eventual defeat at the end of World War II did not change any resentment felt toward the former colonisers. This was also manifested in football.

Under Syngman Rhee’s Government, relations had not yet been normalised and animosity still remained. President Rhee was reluctant to have any sporting contact with

Japan

, however, Vice President Lee Ki-boong, also president of the Korea Sports Council, took advantage of

Japan

’s economic success and Rhee’s hatred of

Japan

, adding that there was one field we can always beat

Japan

: football.

He said “even before we were liberated we were always better than the Japanese at football”. Rhee allowed the 1954 World Cup qualifiers to go ahead on two conditions, that both games be played in Japan and that Korea return home triumphant or “drown themselves in the East Sea”.

South Korea

easily qualified, marking their first appearance in the FIFA World Cup.

Korea

’s dominance over

Japan

continued into the 1960’s with

Japan

’s well credentialed coach Dettmar Cramer’s team unable to yield a single victory over the Koreans.

The 1970’s and 1980’s proved equally successfully with

Japan

only managing four victories in thirty-one matches. However,

Japan

was beginning to make inroads into football and in a 1994 World Cup qualifier in Doha,

Japan

beat

Korea

and Seoul Sports ran the headlines ‘disgrace’. Despite the 1965 normalisation, the lingering resentment still continued to be manifested in media, politics and football.

The bidding for the 2002 World Cup provided another opportunity for

Korea

and

Japan

to play out the historical legacy. Hosting the World Cup became a matter of national pride with the dominating motivation ‘to beat

Japan

’. This was evident when the head of the Korean bidding team said “Our pride and history demand that we beat

Japan

. If we lose, it will hurt us greatly”.

With this in mind it was not a surprise that FIFA president Havelange considered the idea of ‘co-hosting’ the World Cup. Despite the economic successes of both countries and the successful adoption of democracy, both countries had failed to heal the wounds of history. Awarding the World Cup to one over the other would have unforeseeable consequences. On the 31st of May 1996, Joao Havelange awarded the 2002 World Cup hosting rights to Korea-Japan, in line with FIFA’s mission statement of using football as a unifying force.

Despite the historical legacy and strained relations between the two countries,

Korea

and

Japan

co-hosted a successful event dubbed by FIFA President Sepp Blatter the ‘World Cup of Smiles’. Although there were a few hiccups on the way such as the controversial Japanese textbook issue and the official order of the naming of the countries (i.e. Korea-Japan or Japan-Korea), co-hosting the event clearly improved the relations between the two countries, on a practical level and conceptual level. Chung Mong-Joon, chairman of the Korean Organising Committee expressed his deep gratitude that the ‘2002 FIFA World Cup has helped to bring the people of these two countries closer together’.

In a sign of the changing views of

Japan

and the rivalry,

Japan

defeated

Korea

in the semi-final of the 2011 Asia Cup in Doha. Instead of ‘disgrace’ on the front page of Seoul’s sports paper however, Koreans were lamenting the retirement of two of

Korea

’s 2002 World Cup heroes, Park Ji Sung and Lee Young-Pyo. Although the historical legacy between the two countries are the roots of the rivalry, the emergence of both countries as Asia’s football’s powerhouses continues to fuel the rivalry into arguably the biggest rivalry in Asian football.

Introducing Shimizu S-Pulse

2011-07-05T14:04:00.000+09:30

By Daisuke Matsuura

Shimizu's home ground - Nihondaira Stadium

Shizuoka prefecture is well known as the home of football in Japan. Many J. League players have thier roots in Shizuoka.

For Asian football fans, Kazuyoshi Miura, who is also known as the King Kazu is the biggest name from Shizuoka's football history and for those who are familiar with European football, Atsuto Uchida and Makoto Hasebe playing in Germany are two of the biggest current stars from Shizuoka.

Among many cities in Shizuoka prefecture, Shimizu (synoecized with the city of Shizuoka in 2003) had been the centre of Japanese football since 1970s by winning 13 high school titles in 20 years .

For Japanese people who didn't have a professional football league in their country, the high school football championship was the only and the biggest title in every year just like college football or basketball in the United States. With this brilliant record in high school football championship, Shizuoka and Shimizu started being recongnized as the home of football.

Shimizu S-Pulse is a club that establishes a base at this home of football, starting its history in 1991, one year before J. League. However, S-Pulse are still left uncrowned in the J. League after 19 years of J. League history and obviously never had a chance to play in AFC Champions League.

Although they have won three cup titles - Nabisco Cup in 1996, Asian Cup Winners Cup in 2000, and the Emperor's Cup in 2001 - for all football fans and S-Pulse supporters, winning the J-League championship is the earnest wish.

This is a brief background of my home town and the club I'm supporting. I will be writing articles on Shimizu S-Pulse in the eyes of the supporters from behind the goal.

Etoile shine in S.League

2011-07-05T10:22:00.000+09:30

By Chee Seong - AFF Singapore correspondent

Etoile FC put a nightmare loss to Courts Young Lions a forthnight ago behind them with two convincing wins over basement clubs Woodlands Wellington and Tanjong Pagar United.

The Stars (as Etoile are known) celebrated the appointment of a new Chairman in style as they picked up the maximum points on offer. This also puts a smile back on the face of Etoile's faithfuls who have been in the doldrums ever since the infamous brawl involving Etoile and Hougang.

New signing Kamel Chaaouane marked his debut with the opening goal in the win against Woodlands. It was Woodlands Goalkeeper who stole the headlines though, his blunders allowing the Stars to go 3-0 up at the break thanks to another brace by Jonathan Toto.

Woodlands battled back strongly but Etoile proved resolute in defence.

Geylang United picked up its fifth win in as many games after overcoming Woodlands and Tanjong Pagar with two 1-0 wins.

Striker Jung Hee Bong got the solitary goal against Woodlands while Mubarak Ahmad's first touch goal, seconds after coming on as a first half substitute claimed all three points for the Eagles. Mike Wong's side have gone 450 minutes without conceding a goal and they're now in 6th position on the ladder with 26 points.

Albirex Niigata (S) overcame a stubborn Balestier Khalsa side by a goal courtesy of Tatsuro Inui in the first half. Albirex further strenghtened their grip on fourth spot after this win.

The Japanese club, which is based in the West, are looking at the best ever finish in their S.League history.

Hougang United clawed back from two goals down to sink Gombak United who saw Wahlid Lounis sent off for a over the knee challenge. Ruhaizad Ismail and Park Kang Jin put the Bulls on top at the break.

The Cheetahs came back strongly in the second half however. Jordan Webb first rose highest to meet a Carlos Delgado free kick before Wahlid was given his marching orders. Substitute Sobrie Mazelan then scored a brilliant team goal in the 79th minute to level things up.

As the game looked headed for a draw, Jordan Webb capitalised on a defensive mix up to seal all three points for the Cheetahs. It was Jordan's 11th goal of the season.

Hougang gave full debuts to Vitor Borges and Shahril Alias who were signed during the transfer windows.

Results

Tanjong Pagar United 0-2 Etoile FC
Geylang United 1-0 Woodlands Wellington
Albirex Niigata (S) 1-0 Balestier Khalsa
Hougang United 3-2 Gombak United
Tanjong Pagar 0-1 Geylang United
Etoile FC 3-0 Woodlands Wellington

Round 20 fixtures

4 July 2011:

Gombak vs Albirex

5 July 2011:

Balestier Khalsa vs Tanjong Pagar United

6 July 2011:

Home United vs SAFFC

7 July 2011:

Albirex Niigata (S) vs Hougang United

Woodlands Wellington vs Courts Young Lions

8 July 2011:

Tampines Rovers vs Etoile FC

9 July 2011:

Tanjong Pagar United vs Gombak United

10 July 2011:

Woodlands Wellington vs Balestier

SAFFC vs Hougang United

Schaefer starts big task in Thailand

2011-07-01T23:39:00.000+09:30

By Kitinan Sanguansak - AFF Thai correspondent

German Winfried Schaefer and Worawi Makudi
Picture: Football Association of Thailand

German coach Winfried Schaefer wants his charges to fight fiercely like a “war elephant” as the new Thailand national football team coach started his work to revive the Thais’ fortunes following the slump of form during the previous regime.

In FIFA's ranking table announced earlier this week, Thailand dropped further down to the lowly 123th place and the former Cameroon coach Schaefer quickly made a point of it, saying the need to arrest such downward slide when he was officially unveiled as the new national coach yesterday.

“The responsibility is high. We want to improve Thai football consciously. The national team fell down below 120 so we have to stabilise.

“For us, that’s down to the hard work and the improvement needs to take a step by step,” said the German veteran who built his coaching reputation from his stint at German club Karlsruher.

Schaefer, though, stated that he could not reverse the Thai team’s downward trend on his own, making his plea to all coaches of Thailand Premier League clubs to make collective effort in taking the national team forward.

“All the league coaches and I, we have to work together. I cannot change everything in one week as I need the help from the club coaches. They work with players every day, while I have players only for one or two weeks.

“If we have the success with the national team, the players will go back to the clubs with big confidence. So, both the club and country can grow up together.

“We need to work together for the nation. If the football league is very strong, it would be good for the national team. That’s my task and challenge and that’s why I’m here,” said Schafer who occasionally switched speaking German during the conference that lasted around half an hour at the Football Association of Thailand headquarters.

With Thailand having the elephant in the team’s emblem, Schaefer, who took over the reins following the resignation of former Manchester United captain Bryan Robson last month, was hoping that he could instill bravery into his new charges to perform on field like the “war elephant” in the battlefield.

“I want every country around us watch Thailand with the great respect. The team’s symbol is the war elephant which strikes great fear at the heart of enemies. That’s exactly what we need to aim for.

“The players must be happy to get into the team. It’s the honour to play for the country. Pulling on the national shirt, the players should be proud of themselves, that’s our aim. We need confidence, courage and character,” said Schaefer, the third foreign coach during Worawi Makudi’s reign as the FAT president.

The experienced German went on to underline the importance of the youth to the national team and he wanted to create idol players like Germany’s Michael Ballack to inspire the local young generation.

“The base of all national teams is the youth. Young people need the idol, whom they can look upon. In Germany, we have Ballack and (Bastian) Schweinsteiger. That’s very important. The young should have shirts of players from our team, not of Ronaldinho or (Lionel) Messi.”

Despite the fact that Thailand have had several foreign coaches, some of which failed to achieve the substance success, Schaefer was confident he could succeed where the others failed by returning the country to the place where they belong.

“We need a good strategy. We have to work like the professional. After watching the DVD of the games against Japan and Singapore, I saw what we must do. The players fought very well but we have to work on the tactic. They need to be disciplined, tactically.

“I think the players need courage. I felt the players were afraid when they took onto the field. Like I said earlier, we must go out like a war elephant.”

Changes afoot in Hong Kong

2011-07-01T16:04:00.000+09:30

By Yick Hong Lam - AFF Hong Kong correspondent

A new Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) board was elected at the latest HKFA Annual General Meeting at 28 June.

Brian Leung Hung-tak was re-elected as the Chairman and the nine board members were automatically re-elected as they were no other candidates.

The Chairman expressed concern over the budget for the government's Phoenix Project - which aims to reform and enhance the local professional football - after the meeting. He estimated the running cost per year of the new league structure will be HK$30 million (US$4 million), which is a large sum that HKFA nor the investors in domestic football can afford.

Board member Steven Lo Kit-sing, who is also the owner of South China FC, pointed out the money issue in domestic football.

"Offer the champions a winning purse of HK$10 million( US$ 1.3 million) and there will be a lot of clubs who are willing to spend."

According to Steven Lo, increasing the winning purse will be a quick fix to promote domestic football. As clubs will invest much more money to pursue the championships, it will result a better quality league and attract fans.

The current HK$120,000 (around US$15,000) league champions bonus can hardly form the basis for a competitive league as clubs won't increase their spending to bid for such small return.

Under the guidance of Steven Lo, the domestic powerhouse South China spent HK$30 million (US$4.9 million) last season, while the other domestic clubs generally spent less then HK$10 million (US$ 1.3 million) a season.

However, the spending of South China will also cut to HK$20 million(US$ 2.6 million) next season due to the departure of two highly paid international football stars, Nicky Butt and Mateja Kezman.

Also, failure to win the league and Silver Shield Cup also meant the club did not qualify to play in next year's AFC Cup. The team has also been eliminated from the cup in group stage this year. All of this means the club has little need to establish a large and strong squad in the coming season.

On the other hand, the current Hong Kong league champions Kitchee SC have announced the budget for next season will be increased to HK$12 million (US$ 1.5 million), aimed to retain the championship and also go far in the AFC Cup.

In although South China have no plan to sign another high profile player, they did appoint a high profile head coach for next season and plan to add at least three foreign players into the squad.

Jan Kocian, former Czech international who played in the 1990 FIFA World Cup quarter finals, and former national team manager of Slovakia from 2006 to 2008, has already signed a pre-contract with South China. He will sign the contract in July to make everything official.

Jan Kocian only coached 5 games for Jiangsu Sainty before being sacked by the Chinese Super League side. The Chinese media listed the poor communication skills of the coach as part of the reason for his sacking along with the poor results, with 1 draw and 4 losses.

However, Steven Lo Kit-sing has high confidence in the coach with vast European coaching experience and considered the failure of the coach's first spell in Asia due to cultural difference.

He has met the coach in person and was impressed by some interesting ideas. Jan Kocian will also be responsible for recruiting the foreign players to fit his system and tactics, from a pool of 50 overseas players.

Steven Lo said the target of the club in next season is to challenge for all domestic titles.

Japan impress in Mexico

2011-06-30T22:57:00.000+09:30

By Nobuyuki Tosey

Japan have performed well in Mexico

The U17 World Cup is a competition where footballing education should really be prioritised over the demands of silverware. The idea is that it provides a first taste of international tournament football and high class opposition in an unfamiliar environment for those involved.

However, for developing footballing nations such as Japan - whose youth systems are still in relative infancy - these tournaments provide an important indication of how the level of the young players produced by the current system fair against the top nations.

Furthermore with Japan having had numerous foreign coaches for the national team over the last decade, there's an interest in whether Japanese coach Hirofumi Yoshitake could go toe to toe with his international counterparts.

Japan faced a tough task to qualify out of their group as they faced fellow underdogs Jamaica and two world heavyweights in France and Argentina. Coach Yoshitake hoped that the 4-2-3-1 formation exhibited in the past by both the full national team and recently the U22's, would be the system to help them to progress.

It's a formation that suits the type of ball playing, not so physical players Japan produces: focusing on possession, collective defending and requiring intelligent runs and quick passes to create chances. Having watched the National team be frustrated by a lack of penetration when using this formation it would be interesting to see if such a young side had the tactical awareness to utilise it to full effect.

Jamaica

Ishige in action against Jamaica
Getty Images

After a slow start it was the Jamaicans who came closest early on. Jamaica captain Omar Holness collected the ball, turned sharply and his shot from 30 yards struck the post with Nakamura beaten.

As Japan settled they saw more possession, but chances were few and far between for both teams and although Japan had a bright period towards the end of the half it didn't result in a goal. As is so often the case in tournament football, a substitution would change the shape of the game.

Yoshitake brought on Jamaican born Musashi Suzuki at half time to widen the attacking threat. It worked, Suzuki's width energetically supported by the left back Hayakawa often overlapping, stretched the Jamaican defence and resulted in more frequent chances for the Japanese.

The trend of Japan producing good attacking full backs as seen with Nagatomo, Uchida and now Sakai in the U22's, continues with this U17 team. A great run from the full back Muroya down the right gave the option for Matsumoto, who played a one-two with the marauding full back, took his first touch with his right and finished with his left.

With Jamaica searching for a winner, Japan nullified the threat with a mature display of possession football (61%) and the use of the physical, yet less technically gifted Suzuki as an outlet to close out the game. Although Japan hadn't been at their best and chances were scarce, their possession game and defensive organisation meant that they were unlikely to concede.

France

Suzuki - not the best technically but good on the ball
Getty Images

If the Japanese weren't wary of the French already, they would have had to have taken note when France destroyed Argentina 3-0 in their opening game. But in a sign of the growing belief that Japan is ready to compete at the upper echelons of world football, Yoshitake expressed his confidence of a positive outcome. Obviously impressed by what he had seen, he opted to use Suzuki in a central role and pushed Hayakawa up to the left of the attacking midfield three.

Despite a bright start, France's superiority in terms of individual talent and physicality began to tell. Lenny Nangis was giving Muroya all sorts of problems as he struggled to adapt playing left back and the strong and powerful Zouma was preventing much of an attacking threat. It wasn’t long until Japan found themselves behind; Zouma intercepted the ball just outside his penalty area, drove through the midfield and laid off the ball to Nkusu, he found Yaisien, who took a touch to set himself and from the edge of the area caressed the ball into the top corner. Japan seemed rattled and were perhaps lucky to stay in the game after not being punished for individual errors.

Towards the end of the half Japan were able to instigate their passing game, but Suzuki was struggling to be the focus of the attack and it was hard to see where the goal would come from. Yoshitake once again made a change at half time, moving Suzuki to the right and taking off Akino for the more natural striker Minamino.

With Minamino being able to provide a better focus for the attacking midfield trio to work off of Japan were impressing. After good work down the left from Hayakwa, Ishige burst into the box and was fouled for a penalty. He picked himself up and sent the keeper the wrong way for the equaliser. Japan were brimming with confidence and twice Ishige should have put Japan in front after both Suzuki (shot wide) and Hayakawa (shot blocked) managed to break down the left and cut back to the number 8.

They almost paid for not taking their chances, as but for a good Nakamura save from a Meite shot they could have lost. Having said that, Japan finished the game frustrated as after the interval they completely turned the game around, managed 62% possession and the better chances to get the winner.

Argentina

Ueda celebrates scoring against Argentina
Getty Images

Knowing that they only needed a draw to advance, coach Hirofumi Yoshitake took the bold step of making six changes for the game against Argentina, leaving out all of those on a yellow card. However it wasn't long before the decision paid off, as once again a Japanese full back showed attacking qualities. Kawaguchi burst past his opposite man and into the penalty area, managed to toe-poke at goal and with the keeper spilling, 15 year old Daisuke Takagi was on hand to open the scoring.

Argentina responded well for a 10 minute period and put the defence under pressure. But after holding out centre back Ueda rose highest to head Japan into a two goal lead from a well delivered Akino corner. The Argentinians were obviously frustrated and after Zarate was booked for catching Takagi in the first half, Montero was given his marching orders in the second with a nasty stamp on Akino.

With a 2-0 lead and a man advantage the game was pretty much sewn up. This was made sure of when, yet again, Suzuki (on as substitute) ran down the left, crossed for Akino and who buried the rebound after his first shot was parried. A clean sheet would have been good for confidence and despite flapping for a few crosses, second choice goalkeeper Niekawa had done well and made a magnificent save from an Ocampos header.

But it wasn't to be, as Bruno Ferreira beat him from all of 40 yards with a magnificent strike. The game finished 3-1 and thanks to France drawing 1-1 with Jamaica, Japan had won the group and faced New Zealand in the quarter finals.

New Zealand

Ishige in action against New Zealand

New Zealand proposed an interesting challenge for this Japan side. They too had only conceded two goals in the group stages and the coach Aaron McFarland emphasised the team ethic in his side as their main asset. The premise seemed to be that this New Zealand side would be tough to break down and with a quarter final against Brazil at stake, Yoshitake slightly changed the formation to be more attacking.

Mochizuki took up a sole holding role and Ishige was pushed up to play off of Matsumoto in a sort of 4-1-3-1-1. Iwanami and Muroya came back into the defence, meaning that once again Hayakawa was pushed up to the left of the midfield three.

The attacking intent was clear and after a scrappy start it began to be put into practice. Once again Muroya and Kawaguchi were tirelessly overlapping and Hayakawa was thriving in his advanced role.

The breakthrough came after Ishige, having already had one cross-cum-shot well saved by New Zealand keeper Basalaj, won the ball off the full back Colvey and saw his cross float over the helpless keeper and in off the back post. Soon after Japan were two up; the lively Hayakawa was played in over the top via a delightful ball by Mochizuki and he simply rolled the ball across to Ishige for his second. Japan's game plan to find gaps between the centre back and full back was working and it wasn't long before it was three.

Matsumoto dropped deep and played that same ball, this time on the right, and after Ishige rather selfishly shot at goal, Hayakawa tucked in the rebound. It got worse for New Zealand before half time, when a lovely one-two between Hayakawa and Mochizuki down the left resulted in his shot being palmed by the keeper into the path of Colvey, who could only watch it bounce off of him and go in for 4-0. Strangely, with no apparent injury forcing the change, Yoshitake brought off holding player Mochizuki for striker Minamino in the 44th minute. Perhaps he knew the game was won and was already experimenting for the Brazil game.

New Zealand were clearly intent on damage limitation but the second half continued in similar fashion. The fifth goal came when once again Matsumoto, doing well in his new role out wide, laid the ball off for the advancing Muroya and his cross was tapped home by Minamino. The Japanese showed no signs of seeing the game out and continued to foray forward.

Minamino was fortunate to see his pass come back to him off of the referee, found Akino, whose crisp pass was collected by Hayakawa who calmly finished. 6-0 and although New Zealand had been poor, Japan had been very good nonetheless and thoroughly deserved the chance to take on Brazil in the quarters. A nice touch towards the end saw goalkeeper Awaka brought on, meaning that Yoshitake has already used his entire squad in the tournament.

Summary

This Japan team has impressed a lot of people. They have averaged 60% possession and shown a surprising amount of tactical awareness and maturity so far. More importantly it's encouraging that the players and the coaches are addressing their faults after each game and consequently have improved and gathered momentum.

Despite having played well in the group stages the lack of clinical finishing was worrying - the scoreline against Argentina was largely glorified by awful goalkeeping and they should have beaten France but were wasteful. The changes in both personnel and tactics in the New Zealand game certainly addressed this issue.

Yoshitake has managed to find a system to accommodate the width Kawaguchi, Muroya, Hayakawa and Mastumoto all provide and in Minamino there is a lively goal threat. Akino is one of the more technically gifted players in the team and his new found role in the centre looks promising if the surrounding players can continue to give him options.

Perhaps most importantly, in Ishige, Japan have a player naturally gifted at arriving into the box at the right time and he could well be the source of their goals against Brazil.

Defensively the team looks good, yet bar the France game, they've been largely untested. They have looked most vulnerable when being hit on the counter and forced to run back towards their own goal.

With the talented pair of Piazon and Ademilson to deal with, they will certainly be tested in this area. Add to that that the set piece delivery from Adryan is probably the best at the tournament and it's clear that if Japan are to progress the back four will have to work harder than they have had to so far.

Finally, whether Yoshitake uses two holding players or sticks to the formation that served them well today will be crucial. So far he has been bold with both his tactics and confidence in pre-match build ups and it's a difficult balancing act as clearly this Japan side are on a high, yet Brazil will have to be respected for the quality they possess.

In that space in front of the back four Adryan will need to be kept quiet, as will Ademilson, who has shown his talent for shooting from range by scoring three goals from outside the box already.

However, Ivory Coast showed that the game can be taken to Brazil and Japan should take confidence from that, let alone the performances that they have put in themselves so far this tournament.

Not just a training match

2011-06-29T22:45:00.000+09:30

By Ray Gunawan

Kashiwagi in action for Urawa in their training match

So normally a training match isn't anything to get excited about, but sometimes it is.

Our training match against Niigata might just be one to get excited about. The final score of 3-0 is impressive; more importantly it shows that we might just have signs of life in our attack and our defense might not have to rely on Tsuboi and Nobu Yamada when either Nagata or Spiranovic is unavailable.

This was the starting XI:

GK: Yamagishi
DF: Ugajin; Aoyama; Tsutsumi; Noda
MF: Nozaki (Youth); Kashiwagi; Kojima
FW: Umesaki; Sergio; Yajima (Youth)

Sergio scored in the first half and Umesaki grabbed a double in the second half.

Since regaining full fitness after a string of injuries Umesaki has been in impressive form for the Reds. When healthy Umesaki has been impressive for the Reds, it's just that he keeps on getting injured. I just hope that his injuries are behind him, imagine a front three which includes Genki and Umesaki on either flank; sounds appealing doesn't it?

All we need is a striker to slot in between them; hopefully we can find one in the Washington mould?

Yes I know it's just a training match, and I shouldn't get overly excited, but it is encouraging every time we shutout the opposition. Having Tsuboi and Nobu Yamada as your CB will do that to you.

Seeing Aoyama playing well in defence along side our other younger defenders (Tsutsumi and Noda) is encouraging to see. I know Aoyama is naturally a defensive midfielder, but he does have the size and tools to play CB. Then we need to factor in Mizuki Hamada, who represented Japan U22 alongside Genki, can I start to hoping and believe we wont see Tsuboi and Nobuhisa in defense again?

What caught my attention the most from this training match was the performance of two individuals; Kashiwagi and Ugajin.

Both, from all reports, had solid outings after struggling so far in 2011. Coming into the 2011 season, both Kashiwagi and Ugajin were meant to be prominent figures, first team regulars but both haven't lived up to their expectation.

Kashiwagi came to the Reds at the beginning of the 2010 season from Hiroshima and was suppose to be our new playmaker. That didn't happen last year because Ponte was still pulling the strings; the offence went through Ponte as long as he was on the field. After Ponte left at the end of 2010 alot of us thought that the attack would be Kashiwagi's to run, but enter Marcio Richardes.

I wasn't too happy originally when they signed Richardes from Niigata as his game was similar to that of Ponte which would impede Kashiwagi's role on the team. I'm of the opinion that Kashiwagi's poor form this year is the result of bringing in Richardes, and Richardes hasn't been playing well this year. Is Richardes still on the field because we're paying him too much to be sitting on the bench? (Another time maybe?)

As for Ugajin, he was signed at the back end of 2009 from Ryutsu Keizai University and nothing was really expected from him. He was an ex-Urawa youth player so I guess it was an obvious choice for him to go back. When coach Finke gave him an opportunity he took it with both hands and didn't look back; that was until this year.

Americans call this phenomenon the "sophomore slump"; it happens to second year players who don't live up to the expectations (which are sometimes unfair), placed on them after a solid rookie season (first year). Ugajin exceeded everyone's expectation in 2010 and I do believe he will be back, hopefully sooner rather then later because he's an important piece to not only our defence, but our attack as well.

Imagine having Ugajin linking up with Genki on the left flank; the possibilities.

Ray runs the URDBLOG website focusing on all things Urawa Reds. Ray will contribute the occasional article to Asian Football Feast focusing on the happenings at Saitama.

Late goals punish teams in Japan

2011-06-29T22:26:00.000+09:30

By Matt Collard

Mazzolla scored a late equaliser for Urawa

This weekend was the fifth match day in 15 days for the J. League clubs, and the heavy workload seemed to take its toll on the players.

There was the least amount of clean sheets in this round of fixtures than the previous four – only Shimizu S-Pulse and Yokohama F Marinos managed to shut out the opposition – as well as a host of late goals on show.

Just under half of the goals scored this weekend came in the final twenty minutes of matches – 14 out of 29 – including five stoppage time strikes.

The lack of concentration is alarming.

Cerezo Osaka, Urawa Reds and Kawasaki Frontale all grabbed equalisers on the road in stoppage time – Urawa’s coming in the 99th minute – and the next few weeks won’t get any easier with the rounds missed earlier in the season due to the natural disaster set to be played.

For Urawa it was a point against defending Champions Nagoya Grampus that keeps their heads marginally above water. While a draw in a tough away game is a good result, with just two wins and six draws the Reds are losing the winning feel and are deep in a relegation battle.

For Nagoya, it was a chance to set up a siege on second place dropped. With a game in hand and just the two losses, Grampus will be confident of a Asian Champions League placed finish but need to be weary of conceding too many draws.

Fellow Champions League hopefuls Kashima Antlers will also be furious with conceding the three points in the 90th minute after holding a 2-0 lead.

Yusuke Tanaka and Yu Kobayashi closed the deficit for Kawasaki in the final twenty to leap ahead of Sendai into third place. Kashima, even with two games in hand, have a momentous task if they want to play in Asia next season. They sit 13 points behind leaders Kashiwa Reysol and are struggling to pull together a string of consistent form. The defence needs to be tweaked and tightened up before a surge up the ladder can be considered.

Gamba scored five
against Sanfrecce

Free scorers Gamba Osaka toppled Sanfreece Hiroshima out of the top five with another thrilling win. Last week’s six goal match was trumped as Gamba surged to a 5-3 win, with five of the games goals coming in the second half.

Sanfreece Hiroshima scored in half time and full time stoppage, but conceded in too regular intervals throughout the 90 minutes. Gamba struck in the 3’, 34’, 55’, 78’ and 84’ with five different goal scorers.

The goal scoring ability from all over the pitch is a positive sign for Gamba having lost Usami to Bayern Munich, with Adriano also leaving the club.

For Kashiwa Reysol, it was back to business with a routine 4-1 away win after falling to Gamba Osaka last week. Worryingly for Reysol, though, they’ve lost their last three home games while winning the last three away – leaving a form guide of LWLWLW.

But Yokohama F Marinos ensured the leaders had some pressure kept on them with a 2-0 win away to Montedio Yamagata – an important result that keeps Kashiwa in sight for the rest of the league after previously second placed Sendai lost their first match of the 2011 J. League season.

Alex Brosque scored the 83rd minute goal which condemned Vegalta Sendai to their first deflated trip back home of the year. It was his fifth goal for S-Pulse and it delivered a win that typifies the unpredictable nature of their season.

The loss bundles Sendai out of the top three, as their draw tally is the highest in the top half of the table. All the matches where the spoils were shared have left Sendai with the worst goal difference out of the top four – only their rock solid defence making up for an average attack – and it costed them when they finally lost.

Omiya Ardija and Albirex Niigata are also prone to draws, and the two both had 1-1 results at home in their respective matches on the weekend. Omiya struck in the 83rd to draw with fellow mid-table side Vissel Kobe, while for Albirex it was dropped points they may come regret, with Cerezo Osaka’s equaliser coming in the 93rd minute.

Cerezo scored late against Albirex

The last-gasp equaliser cost Albirex a huge chance to grab their first win since early May and go ahead of Cerezo, putting a bit of distance between themselves and the relegation zone. But, instead they find themselves just one point above relegation with their J. League division one status far from safe.

For Avispa Fukuoka, though, the situation is much more dire. Two goals in the first half for Jubilo Iwata was a deficit to big, and their 73rd minute goal didn’t spark any sort of comeback. The loss, Avispa’s 12th out of 13 games, makes for continued embarrassing reading as they show no signs of earning some respectability.

Jubilo continue to score wins in between losses frequent enough to keep them in touch with the top four, and this victory ensures they stay ahead of arch rivals S-Pulse and sit just five points off second place.

Title race wide open in Singapore

2011-06-29T22:02:00.000+09:30

By Chee Seong - AFF Singapore correspondent

Mislav Karoglan scores the opener for SAFFC

Week 18 of the Great Eastern Yeos S.League saw 11 matches played. The unusually high amount of games played was due to the rescheduling of ties involving Etoile FC and Hougang United, who were investigated for an unpleasant incident.

Results were as follows:

Tampines Rovers 5-0 Woodlands Wellington

Courts Young Lions 0-1 Tanjong Pagar United

Hougang United 0-2 Geylang United

Gombak United 2-0 Balestier Khalsa

Tampines Rovers 1-2 SAFFC

Woodlands Wellington 1-5 Home United

Balestier Khalsa 2-4 Hougang United

Etoile FC 1-2 Courts Young Lions

Geylang United 1-0 Albirex Niigata(S)

SAFFC 2-1 Gombak United

Home United 2-0 Tampines Rovers

Week 18 of the S.League saw Tampines Rovers lose its lead at the top of the table. Two consecutive defeats against chasing duo Home United and SAFFC meant that the title race is wide open once again.

Etoile FC, who will be deducted five points for their involvement in the infamous "Hougang Brawl", also lost to Courts Young Lions. Hougang United, the other victims of a point deductions, had mix fortunes in their two games last week. They lost at home to the Eagles, but defeated Balestier after coming back strongly from two goals down.

Woodlands Wellington, who occupy last spot, had no answer as they suffered two drubbings by Tampines and Home respectively. Nothing seems to be going right for the nothern based club.

Title chasing Albirex also suffered a set back as they went down 0-1 to Geylang United. The Eagles, on the other hand, are on a 3 game winning streak and the other positive for them is they havent conceded in those last three victories!

SAFFC are on a high as they cut the lead at the top to just three point, with a game in hand. The top of the table clash on 6 July, between Home United and SAFFC will be one to watch as it will have a bit impact on the title race.

Fixtures this coming week:

27 June

Tanjong Pagar United vs Etoile FC

Geylang United vs Woodlands Wellington

28 June

Albirex Niigata(S) vs Balestier Khalsa

30 June

Hougang United vs Gombak United

1 July

Tanjong Pagar vs Geylang United

2 July

Etoile FC vs Woodlands Wellington

Hong Kong gallant in defeat against Uzbekistan

2011-06-26T10:00:00.001+09:30

By Yick Hong Lam - AFF Hong Kong correspondent

Hong Kong and Uzbekistan do battle
in the second leg of their 2012 Olympic Qualifier

With a hard fought effort in the first leg in Uzbekistan, the Hong Kong Olympic managed to get a 0-1 result.

Considering the difference in ability between the two teams, the coach and fans all agreed the result was indeed a good one, if somewhat lucky. Coach Liu Chun-Fai praised the team effort, and called for support in the second leg at home.

Attendance at Hong Kong football matches is always heavily affected by the weather, due to the lack of hardcore fans base.

A typhoon had been approaching the city two days before the match and came really close on match day.

2,782 is not a very good attendance in Hong Kong, but it's not that bad either. Strong wind and heavy rain would create very poor conditions for their passing game and the humidity and temperate will be difficult to adapt for the Uzbekistan players.

Therefore, discussion among the local fans was the weather was one of Hong Kong's secret weapons. The other, is James Stephen Gee Ha.

Nicknamed "The Bullet", the quick winger shared the best youth player of the year with the U23 striker To Hon-to and has just joined the league champion Kitchee during the off season. Fans and the coach hoped his absence in the first leg could see him surprise the Uzbek's with his pace on the counter.

However, James Ha was not included in the starting line up. The coach opted to deploy a defensive 4-5-1, similar to the first leg in Uzbekistan, which arguably only has three attacking players.

The idea is clear, keep the scoreline unchanged and a fresh James Ha would hurt the opponent when their stamina went down.

However, the tactics didn't work out as planned, with Uzbek captain Fozil Musaev scoring for Uzbekistan from 20 yards in just the 8th minute. Hong Kong U23 started the match slow and with a lack of confidence to hold the ball against the technically superior opponent.

Uzbekistan scored another goal in the 19th min, which meant Hong Kong had to score 4 goals to progress.

As the task had become a mission impossible, the Hong Kong players finally digested the pressure and started to press. In the mean time, Hong Kong substituted the ineffective number 10 Au Yeung Yiu-Chung with the secret weapon James Ha.

The weather didn't work out as the fans hoped, as the rain have stopped in the morning. Neither did James Ha.

The quick winger did add some pace to the team. But the two defensive midfielders didn't give the team any creative ideas. With the lack of support, Hong Kong's two best young players of the year didn't pull off anything up front, even though the Uzbekistan defense was not as assured at the passing game.

Still, the players fought hard in the entire second half, possibly thanks to the half time team talk. Uzbekistan didn't find it easy to split up the defense and couldn't pull off the attacking performance they had at home.

Both center halves for Hong Kong are not natural defenders, but their fighting spirit kept the team in game. Uzbekistan had two more chances to score but both were no real threat to goalkeeper Yapp Hung-Fai.

With this 0-2 loss, Hong Kong are now out of the 2012 London Olympic as most people expected.

Now all Hong Kong fans can turn their eyes to the new season, the last Hong Kong first division league before the Hong Kong super league project begins.

Worawi looks for a fresh start in Thailand

2011-06-26T09:44:00.000+09:30

By Kitinan Sanguansak - AFF Thai correspondent

Worawi Makudi might have been relieved to retain his post as the Football Association of Thailand president for a third successive term but he will face the most difficult time in the seat he has held since 2007.

Even though the change of regime that many people had expected failed to materialise, the doubt on whether Worawi was a man who could take Thai football forward, still persisted in the public despite the emphatic nature of his victory in the voting barely two weeks ago.

A total of 123 from a total of 168 votes that Worawi received in the rescheduled election appeared inconceivable for people, who doubted whether the FAT chief would have been given such overwhelming support had the poll not been postponed last month.

Back then, it appeared a defeat staring on Worawi’s face after a secret survey suggested the incumbent fell behind his main challenger Virat Chanpanich, which was believed to be a real reason behind the controversial postponement of the election.

It proved difficult to think otherwise when looking into the association’s handling of the duplication of the member club’s authorisation letter. Worawi cited the problem as a reason to call off the voting last month. But, even though the rearranged poll was marred by a repeat of such controversy, it was allowed to proceed this time when the association acted decisively by stripping a voting right of a member club in question.

The question was why they did not do so a month ago?

That was because Worawi was certain that he could win this time around after resorting to his connection with a national politician to accrue more votes. In fact, he owed much to the political influence which allowed him to hold an election beyond a period stated by the law after his previous term ended in December.

So powerful was the political influence that Worawi received a number of votes that nearly tripled the amount Virat got (44), while another challenger Pichate Munkong received only one. What a pleasant man Worawi, who also sits in the FIFA's executive committee, would be after surviving from personal storm unscathed with another term in the FAT office and having his name cleared of bribery allegations relating to the World Cup voting process.

Realising that he has much work to do to win his support back in the public following the Thai side’s miserable run of results in international tournaments during his reign, Worawi vowed to lead a reform of the national team setup.

Although Worawi did not elaborate on what he planned to do to revive the Thais’ fortunes, it was good sign that he eventually knew where the root cause of the team’s malaise lied.

Unfortunately, it was relatively late since many of the neighbour countries, most notably Malaysia following its double successes in SEA Games and the ASEAN Championship, have made huge progress while Thai football came to a standstill.

Worawi marked the beginning of his third term with a decision to hire German trainer Winfried Schaefer as the new national team coach, with the two parties yet to sign a contract. Although the veteran tactician did not enjoy such glittering a playing career as his predecessor Bryan Robson, the reaction to his proposed move was positive since fans now realised fame on the field count for nothing following the former Manchester United captain’s ill-fated reign.

With Worawi now away in Germany due to his FIFA commitments at the Women’s World Cup, no one knows when the German would start his work despite the World Cup second round tie against either Palestine and Afghanistan looming next month.

That did not augur well for a new dawn he promised. And, it showed he was not aware of the potential risk that his tenure was only one poor result away from a fresh round of savage criticism from those people still unease with his prolonged time in the office.

Prince Ali visits Indonesia

2011-06-24T14:36:00.000+09:30

By Milad Yaumil Karim

Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, the newly elected FIFA Vice President, concluded a trip to Indonesia last week to find out the status of the PSSI elections which has been shrouded in controversy.

“I am here to listen to all concerned parties in Indonesian football in order to help resolve the situation and allow Indonesian football to advance and take its place,” Prince Ali said.

While in Jakarta Prince Ali met several parties including the Chairman of the Normalisation Committee, Agum Gumelar, Chief of the Indonesian National Sports Committee Rita Subowo, members of the Appeal Committee, PSSI members representing different federations across Indonesia as well as General George Toisutto and Arfin Panigoro.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter, according to Prince Ali, declared the election PSSI July 9, should be open and transparent. Zhang Jilong, the new President of the AFC, made comments along a similar line. Both agreed to ensure the smooth running of the PSSI Congress."I have discussions with FIFA President Sepp Blatter and AFC President Zhang Jilong. I believe it is essential to ensure the selection process must take place openly, transparently and in accordance with the statutes of FIFA and PSSI," Prince Ali was quoted as saying in the Jordan press.

Setanta confirms J.League schedule for July

2011-06-24T12:20:00.000+09:30

Setanta Sports Australia has confirmed their J. League schedule for the month of July, and it is another feast for fans of the Japanese games.

The J. League was originally scheduled to take a month of in July, however due to the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country in March, the postponed games were rescheduled in July.

Together with their live action, Setanta continue to show the J. League Highlights Show each Thursday night.

Be sure to tune in and show your support for the J. League!

02/07/2011 - Cerezo Osaka v Kashiwa Raysol
03/07/2011 - Kashima Antlers v Vengalta Sendai
13/07/2011 - Yokohama F Marinos v Montedio Yamagata
16/07/2011 - Kawasaki Frontale v Kashiwa Raysol
24/07/2011 - Yokohama F Marinos v Vissel Kobe
31/07/2011 - Jubilo Iwata v Gamba Osaka

Goals galore in midweek J. League action

2011-06-23T15:41:00.000+09:30

By Matt Collard

Shoki Hirai celebrates Gamba's second goal last night

If last season’s top four were reliant on a run of mid-season form to catapult them up the table, they were handed a rude shock on Wednesday night.

While Nagoya Grampus, Gamba Osaka and Kashima Antlers all picked up three points on the road – with Cerezo Osaka suffering another loss and displaying the consistency more true to the relegation battle they find themselves in than the form of last season’s third place finish – all of the top five, except for leaders Kashiwa Reysol, also won.

It was a change to see all the usual top names snaring wins but with the other surprise packages sitting high on the table taking home the three points also, the top seven could very well run away from the rest of the league.

A congested fight for Asian Champions League places and the crown of J-League champions is set to occur despite a large chunk of the season still to be played. With Gamba Osaka possessing two games in hand and Nagoya also having played a game less than the rest of the league, the top four battle is set to become even more competitive.

Gamba Osaka are yet to play in a game with less than three goals scored and they once more lived up to the high expectations formed of a team covered in a thick coat of creativity and attacking prowess.

Their away trip to another of the league’s free-scorers, Kashiwa, wasn’t reason enough for them to play with any hint of caution and they romped to a 4-2 win.

It was an uncharacteristic faulty defence from Reysol after they worked tirelessly in the early stages of this season to fix up a leaky defence – they had the same amount of losses and just two less goals as sixth place Urawa Reds in the season they went down, but their leaky defence lead to too many draws.

But poor defence was a recurring theme on this night of midweek fixtures as five other teams also conceded three or more goals.

For Cerezo Osaka it was only their second match featuring four or more goals. Their 3-2 home loss was only sugar-coated by a 90th minute consolation goal as their Champions League hangover seems to be lingering strong.

Their equaliser in the 42nd minute was short-lived as the reigning Champions capitalised on their high confidence, brewed from an undefeated streak of five games, and ran away with the match.

Tadanari Lee celebrates his
goal for Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Two other games ended 3-2 with both third placed Kawasaki and fourth Sanfrecce Hiroshima simultaneously taking the lead in their respective matches.

As if in direct competition with each other, Koji Morisaki scored from the penalty spot to get ahead of Montedio and his Sanfrecce team leapfrogged Frontale on the ladder. But their third place celebrations lasted just 60 seconds when Kawasaki took an 81st minute lead through Yu Kobayashi with 10 men away to Shimizu S-Pulse.

Alex Brosque and Ono Shinji closed a 2-0 deficit though it wasn’t enough for S-Pulse who stay seemingly bound to mid-table mediocrity.

It was only Vegalta Sendai who weren’t made to raise a sweat out of the sides in Champions League places, as they cruised to a 4-0 win and summoned Ventforet Kofu to the last relegation spot.

The Sendai domination was welcom news in Urawa as the Red Diamonds finally clawed out of the red-zone with a 3-0 win over the hapless Avispa Fukuoka – who have just the one point to show for their troubles.

The Reds triple strikes all came in the second half and they claimed their third clean sheet of a so far miserable season. For Sendai it was a typically solid performance as they show no signs of their surprisingly strong start fading.

Only Kashima’s 1-0 win over Vissel Kobe and Yokohama’s triumph by the same margin over Albirex Niigata also had clean-sheets in this match day. Kobe and Niigata are no strangers to low scoring games and are last and second last respectively in terms of goals scored in the matches they play in.

Kobe’s matches average 1.75 goals a game and Niigata’s matches average two goals a game. The lone strikes on the half hour mark in both games stayed true to the trend of goal-dry matches for these teams.

Jun Kanakubo celebrates a late winner for Omiya

Jubilo Iwata dropped an opportunity to slightly close the gap between them and the runaway teams towards the top end of the ladder with Omiya snaring a 95th minute winner in the fixture between the pair.

Jun Kanakubo was on the pitch for just five minutes before he broke the hearts of the Iwata home crowd in a stunning end after the match had been goalless for 80 minutes. Jubilo took a 2nd minute lead before Omiya equalised in the 15th. The match was then held at a stalemate until the 95th minute winner.

Full results:

Vegalta Sendai 4-0 Ventforet Kofu
Cerezo Osaka 2-3 Nagoya Grampus
Shimizu S-Pulse 2-3 Kawasaki Frontale
Jubilo Iwata 1-2 Omiya Ardija
Kashiwa Reysol 2-4 Gamba Osaka
Urawa Reds 3-0 Avispa Fukuoka
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3-2 Montedio Yamagata
Vissel Kobe 0-1 Kashima Antlers
Yokohama F. Marinos 1-0 Albirex Niigata

JSoccer Magazine is almost here

2011-06-22T09:17:00.001+09:30

The cover of the first JSoccer Magazine

After months of hard work the day has almost arrived when JSoccer Magazine launches it's first ever issue.

The brainchild of Alan Gibson, an English ex-pat living in Japan, JSoccer Magazine will be the only magazine on Japanese football in English.

JSoccer started out with modest goals, but the response from Japan and all over the world has been overwhelming, with the launch pushed back as more people came on board.

The J. League has even endorsed the magazine, opening up a whole new world of possibilities.

The first issue is due out at the end of June and features:

Exclusive interviews with the present and future of Japan - Yasuhito Endo and Takashi Usami;
Signed items from Endo and Usami;
Atsuto Uchida - article and pics;
Nagoya Grampus - article and pics;
FC Tokyo - from rags to ruin in just over a year!?;
Pics from the Team As One match;
Football Saves Japan!;
Complete Guide to J1 and J2 teams' web sites;
English language web sites on Japanese football - the world over;
Rising Sons - focus on the next generation;
FC Ryukyu - feature;
Japanese football - A View From Down Under;
Unpredictable J.League; and
Kosuke Kimura - Colorado Rapids

The magazine comes at a cost of only 1000 yen and can be purchased from eBay (click here) or by sending an email to alan@jsoccer.com who will email a PayPal Invoice.

This is a fantastic step forward for the Japanese game and will help spread the message of Japanese football to the english speaking world.

We encourage everyone to purchase a copy and support what is a fantastic project.

Schaefer to take over the reigns in Thailand

2011-06-21T21:24:00.003+09:30

By Kitinan Sanguansak

The Football Association of Thailand today reached an agreement with former Cameroon manager Winfried Schaefer to hire the German on a three-year contract as the new national team coach.

Worawi Makudi’s first task after retaining his post as FAT president for a third successive term last week was to fill the post left vacant by former Manchester United captain Bryan Robson’s resignation, given that the Thai team are due to embark on their World Cup qualifying campaign next month.

The FAT chief had earlier said that the next Thailand coach could be a local, but after receiving suggestions from the public via worawi_m@hotmail.com, Worawi seems to have favoured a foreign trainer.

Rumours had been rife that the 61-year-old Schaefer was favourite to succeed Robson, who ended his illfated two-year tenure earlier this month, citing health problems as the reason for his resignation.

With the World Cup secondround qualifier against either Afghanistan or Palestine looming, the Association came to the conclusion yesterday that the veteran coach, who built his coaching reputation at German outfit Karlsruher, was the right man for the job.

“After talking with several members of the executive board, we all agreed Schaefer ticked every criteria we set for the national post. He has possibly the best pedigree of any foreigner we have ever hired to coach the team.

“Schaefer’s record speaks volumes, following successful spells with small clubs such as Karlsruher as well as his achievement in international coaching with Cameroon by guiding them to the World Cup finals in 2002 and winning the African Nations Cup title that year.

“We’re hoping that he can bring similar success to our team,” said Worawi, who also sits on FIFA’s executive committee.

Worawi added that Schaefer’s immediate task was to steer Thailand into the final stages of the Asian World Cup qualifiers.

“I made it clear to him that we want to at least reach the last 10 teams round in the Cup qualifiers. Should we manage to achieve that, then we can start dreaming of making it to the World Cup for the first time, because anything would be possible by then.

“He’s also known for nurturing many of young German talents such as Oliver Kahn and Mehmet Scholl. Hopefully, he hasn’t lose his touch, and he can help develop our young players,” said Worawi, who declined to reveal the value of the contract.

The two parties were due to sign an agreement at Bangkok’s Golden Tulip Sovereign hotel later tonight (Tuesday).

Meanwhile, Worawi confirmed Thailand’s hopes of overturning their disqualification from the Olympic qualifiers had been dashed after the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected the appeal.

Singapore Cup kicks off in style

2011-06-19T13:20:00.000+09:30

By Chee Seong - AFF Singapore correspondent

Atsushi Shimono scores the second for Albirex

The first round of the Singapore Cup matches concluded with Hougang, Gombak, Albirex Niigata (S), Tampines Rovers, Home United, Etoie FC, SAFFC and Okkthar United (Myanmar) progressing to the quater finals.

In the opening match up between Hougang United and Harimau Muda (Young Tigers, as they're known), the hosts needed an injury time winner by Mamadou Diallo to earn its place in the last 8.

The Young Tigers from Malaysia with an average age of 17.5 yrs, put up a creditable fight and pushed the Cheetahs (Hougang) all the way to the final whistle. The Young Tigers played some lovely football and reminded spectators at Hougang that age isnt a factor on the pitch. There were a couple of occassion Hougang had to survive the prospect of mutiple attacks which fortunately for the Cheetahs, the Young Tigers couldnt apply the finishing touch.

The Cheetahs were also left fuming their bad luck as they themselves had two brilliant shots rebound off the cross bar. The match ended 0-0 in regulation time, but Mamadou Diallo settled matters in the 4th minute of injury time.

At the Jurong West Stadium, Gombak United had to come back from a goal down, to sink Balestier Khalsa 2-1.

Gombak's achievement was marred by controversy. Balestier went ahead after 48 minutes when an umarked Anaz Hadee blasted a rocket into the top right hand corner of the net. Gombak equalised thru substitute Zulkifli Hassim's debatable goal, with claims by Balestier that he had handled the ball past the defenders to go clean through on 67 minutes. Chang Jo Yoon scored the winner in the 77th minute when he was play through by Park Kang Jin.

Paul Cunningham could have levelled the scores right at the death but he skied his shot high and wide. For this achievement, Gombak qualifies for the last 8 for the first time in 3 years.

In the first of the two "all foreign" affair, Albirex Niigata (S) brushed South Melbourne aside with a 3-0 win at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

South Melbourne were missing key players such as Fernando De Moraes as well as regular skipper Steven O'Dor. Albirex were at full strength and the game also marked the return of skipper Shimpei Sakurada. Albirex led 1-0 at the break courtesy of Shotaro Ihata. The striker nodded home after some great work by Tatsuro Inui.

South Melbourne almost got themselves back into the game when Jesse Krncevic, the gaffer's son, rock the upright with a thumping header midway through the first half. As fatigue set in, due to the travelling and the climate change, South Melbourne finally succumbed to pressure. Atsushi Shimono and Shimpei Sakurada compelete the job in the 85th and 89th minute to take the White Swans into the next round. A brilliant game of top notch football, not one to be missed to be honest!

The eastern derby always produces a good games and this tie continued in that vein.

Depleted Tampines Rovers beat Geylang United 2-1 with the winner coming in the 88th minute from "little master", Aliff Shafaein. Aleksander Duric had given the lead on the half hour mark, and Vasile Ghindaru levelled the scores just before the hour mark. As the tie seemed destined for extra time, Aliff poped up unmarked to pounce home from close range after Yazid Yasin did well to parry a shot onto his path.

Tampines will probably feel a little fortunate that the tie was concluded in regulation time, as they had only 2 senior players on the bench. Had it gone to extra time, it might have gone the other way.

At the Bishan Stadium, Home United brushed aside Woodlands Wellington with a convincing 5-1 victory in a pretty one sided affair.

Firdaus Idros opened the scoring when Rams custodian fail to hold on to a high ball in the 29th minute. Kenji Arai, then score the simpliest of goals when he nod home right at the goaline from a Valery Hiek's flick. In the second half, substitute Asraf Rashid score within four minutes of his introduction onto the pitch.

Adrian Butlers pulled one back for the Rams, before Qiu Li's double completed the rout. Woodlands were delpeted from injuries and International call ups and had to make do with several reserve players for this tie. The Protectors (Home United) will now play traditional rivals Tampines Rovers in the Quater finals in August.

This will be a mouth watering clash as the winner of this tie will probably stand a big chance of securing the Cup come 5 November.

Reigning S.League champions Etoile FC were made to work against a very deligent Tanjong Pagar United side, which saw Taufiq Rahmat and Cyril Bagnost playing instrumental roles in this tie.

Despite the defeat, Tanjong Pagar took heart from their performance on the pitch and head coach Terry Pathmanathan is optimistic on big things to come for the remaining of the season. Jonathan Toto scored a brace, and both goals, were due to two defensive lapses during the game. Other than the goals, it was a pretty evenly fought match which we saw the Jaguars (Tanjong Pagar) came out to attack for once.

Gone were the "bus parking" tactics and there was industry and creativity in every area on the pitch. Etoile look solid as ever, despite being out of competitve action for close to a month. At the end of the day, there was only one team that could progress and Etoile took their chances and their ticket to the next round were booked.

At Choa Chu Kang stadium, three-times Singapore Cup winners SAFFC finally broke a two-year streak of crashing out in the group stages. Singapore Selection team midfielder, Erwan Gunawan justified his recent call up with a splendid display, scoring two goals, as well as assisting Indra Shahdan in between his goals. Substitute Fazrul Nawas scored within minutes of coming on to ensure there's no way back for Phnom Penh.

A realtively one sided affair but Kingsley Njoku, former Gombak United's striker, was a constant threat to the Warriors defence. At the end of the day, SAF proved too strong for the Cambodian champions and set up another mouth watering clash with Albirex Niigata (S).

In the second of the "All foreign" encounter, Myanmar side Okkthar United led by former Singapore National Coach PN Sivaji overcame their rivals Pattaya United 2-1 in an interesting encounter. About 1200 Myanmar fans turned up at the Jalan Besar Stadium for this match which was telecast live and these people made their intention know - to qualify for the next round.

Okkthar United drew first blood in the 7th minute of play when Aung Moe cleverly lobbed the Pattaya goalkeeper and with a huge slice of luck, the ball spin off the bounce and onto the upright and into the net. The fans went wild.

Prior to this, Okkthar United had never played a game under floodlights as the National league's games are all played at 3:30pm local time.

Jean Roger Lappe Lappe then doubled that advantage when he scored within minutes of coming on as a substitute. The second half was dominated by Pattaya but they couldnt find a way past Cameroonian Pierre Djanal, who kept goal for Okkthar. Somchai Singmanee scored a consolation in the final minute of added on time, but it proved too late as the side from Myanmar book a meeting with Hougang United in the next round.

The quater-finals will be scheduled between 14 August to 21 August. Games will be played over 2 legs.

The fixtures are as follows:

Home United vs Tampines

Etoile FC vs Gombak United

SAFFC vs Albirex Niigata (S)

Hougang United vs Okkthar United (Myanmar)

Makudi re-elected as FAT president

2011-06-19T13:02:00.001+09:30

By Kitinan Sanguansak - AFF Thai correspondent

Makudi celebrates his re-election on Friday

Worawi Makudi pledged to lead a reform of the national setup following a landslide victory to win his third successive term as president of the Football Association of Thailand.

A close eye has been kept on the presidential election after it was controversially postponed last month, heightening the prospect of major structural change at the Association after the Thai team’s recent miserable run of results.

Worawi, despite being the target of public criticism for Thailand’s poor form, retained his post with relative ease in the rescheduled poll held yesterday at the National Football Training Centre in Bangkok’s Nong Chok district, receiving 123 of the 168 votes.

The election, though, was marred by a repeat of the controversy that led to the cancellation of last month’s poll, with more than one person claiming to be the sole representative of one member club.

However, Association officials this time decided to strip the club in question of its voting rights, and proceeded with the election as scheduled.

Of the three candidates who had put their names forward as challengers to the incumbent, only two – Virat Chanpanich, an executive member of Worawi’s administration, and Pichete Munkong, the former president of Thai Port FC – received endorsement at the meeting.

After some 20 minutes of polling Worawi was declared the winner with almost triple the number of votes cast for his nearest rival, Virat (44), while Pichete picked up only one.

Worawi quickly outlined his plan for his third two-year term in office, with reform of the national team as one of the priorities.

“I would like to thank all clubs, whether they voted for me or not. From now on, I’ll dedicate myself totally to the work, however tough it is. An overhaul of the national team management will be a priority of my policy.

“I’m open to constructive suggestions from anyone, either the fans or the media. However, each decision needs to be made by the [FAT’ s] executive board. I will take time to find well qualified people to become members of the new board,” said Worawi, who also sits on FIFA’s executive committee.

Regarding the more pressing issue of finding a new national coach, following the resignation of former England and Manchester United captain Bryan Robson, Worawi has yet to set a deadline for a new appointment.

“At the moment, we are not able to make any decision with regards to Robson’s successor. After I complete my FIFA commitments at the Women’s World Cup in Germany, we should get a better idea of who will be the new coach.

“So far, several foreign coaches have expressed an interest in the job. However, I have yet to decide whether the next coach will be a local or foreigner,” said Worawi.

2010/11 I-League in review

2011-06-17T09:34:00.001+09:30

By Arunava Chaudhuri - AFF Indian correspondent

Salgaocar celebrate their first I-League championship

The fourth edition of the I-League, India's professional football league, came to an end on June 1 after one of the most interesting seasons in Indian football ever.

In the end Salgaocar Sports Club from Goa became the surprise champions while former National Football League winners JCT from Phagwara and Mumbai's ONGC went down to the second Division.

The I-League lasted for nearly six months, but the first couple of months were played without the 30 India players amongst coach Bob Houghton's probables for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. This had an effect on some teams who had numerous players at the camp.

Kolkata's East Bengal Club were the league's early pace setters as they won their first six matches and looked to be the team to beat as they came into the I-League having won the Calcutta Premier Division and Federation Cup titles.

But a mid-season slump by the red-and-gold initially with numerous draws and then also defeats allowed Salgaocar SC to close in and then grab the top spot. Suddenly the Goans, who no one really considered as title contenders, were in the lead and until a few weeks before the end of the league it looked as if they could seal the title before the last match day.

But losses to Air India, Dempo SC and Mumbai FC made the title race interesting again. But they won their key match 3-2 against rival title contenders East Bengal Club after being 0-2 down, with that match instilling enough confidence in the team to ensure that they did not allow the title to get out of their hands.

Salgaocar won their final game of the 2010/11 season against JCT in Ludhiana on May 30 to ensure that none of the other contenders could catch them. It is the first I-League title for Salgaocar, but their second overall national league title as they had been champions of the old National Football League in the 1998/99 season under coach Shabbir Ali with players like Juje Siddi Roberto Fernandes, Derrick Pereira, Shanmugam Venkatesh, Jules Alberto, Alvito D'Cunha and the legendary Bruno Coutinho.

Now a new generation in green-and-white has created history led by their Moroccan coach Karim Bencharifa, his coaching staff, the club management and a young team led by the seasoned Yakubu Yusif from Ghana and Japanese recruit Ryuji Sueoka from the front.

Salgaocar's strength has been the team, with Karim able get the best out of his boys with players like Gilbert Oliveira, Cajetan Fernandes and other youngsters making their breakthrough as the team also had an able goalkeeper in Karanjit Singh at the back.

"This triumph means a lot to me, my players, staff and management. I would also like to dedicate this triumph to the Salgaocar fans. They were really behind us, especially at home and that helped us a lot," said an overjoyed Karim.

For Karim the title came in year five of his coaching stint in India. After two years with Churchill Brothers SC (2006-08), close to two years at Mohun Bagan (2008-10) and over a year at Salgaocar SC (2010 - ...), he has finally won the title on the third attempt. At all three clubs he has built teams from scratch and he did it around strong foreigners, seasoned locals and giving young Indians a chance to launch their career.

While the young Salgaocar team was the positive surprise of the season there was also a negative highlight too, Dempo SC's 14-0 victory against Air India on the last match day. It is the biggest victory in the history of the league and as one would expect rumours of match fixing and other wrong doings did the rounds, but nothing was proven and the All India Football Federation did not order a probe.

What remains from the 2010/11 season is that it was a transition year towards the full professionalisation of the I-League. It won't happen next season, but we are getting closer to see a fully professional league in India in the years to come.

Robson's resignation prompts more questions

2011-06-10T09:39:00.000+09:30

By Kitian Sanguansak - AFF Thai correspondent

Former England and Manchester United captain Bryan Robson’s ill-fated reign as Thailand’s national team coach sums up the Football Association of Thailand’s rudderless management under guidance of Worawi Makudi.

Robson’s resignation from the national post hardly came as a surprise since it had long been a matter of when, not if, the inevitable would happen following a period of disappointment during the 54-year-old’s tenure, which lasted nearly two years.

People might have been pleased to see the back of the Englishman, who officially took over the national team from compatriot Peter Reid in October 2009. However, Robson has only been made as a scapegoat for Worawi’s abuse of power as the head of the FAT.

In fact, the course of events since Worawi, currently holding the FAT post on caretaker capacity since his term ended in December, had tied the future of Thai team with England with Reid’s appointment in September 2008 raised the question as to whether he ran the association with vested interest.

It certainly is normal for a nation to have a foreigner as its national team coach. The question, though, was why Thailand chose a coach from England, whose national side ironically has been coached by a foreigner since 2001, save for a small period in which Steve McLaren was in charge.

It even became doubly dubious why the FAT selected former Sunderland manager Reid and then Robson, two men whose managerial careers were on decline, for the job to revive the Thai team’s fortunes.

The circumstances of the appointment of those two English coaches looked just as suspicious since it happened during the period when England started its bidding campaign to host the World Cup in 2018. The fact that Worawi was one of the FIFA’s powerful 24-member executive committee, who decided the Cup hosts, appeared to provide the explanation why Thailand’s relationship with England in term of football became closer than ever.

When it became clear that Robson was out of depth with a run of poor results, culminating in the premature exit in the recent ASEAN Championship, the FAT opted to turn deaf on the calls, which appeared to grow louder each day, for his resignation.

That led many to question whether a rumour, that the English FA was Robson’s real employer, had something to do with the FAT’s preference to keep the Englishman, whose coaching career included stints at Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United.

The timing of Robson’s resignation looked suspicious for Worawi, as it came when his ties with England became strained following the bribery allegation against him made by David Triesman, the former chairman of the English FA and England’s 2018 World Cup bid team.

Even though Worawi was absolved from the accusation that he asked for the TV rights of Thailand’s home friendly with England, there was lingering doubt that Triesman’s revelations might be true since it was an open secret that the game in question, which was later cancelled by the English FA, was a part of deal the Thai had to support England in the voting.

Worawi confirmed that Robson’s resignation had nothing to do with the row with the English FA triggered by Triesman’s accusations and the two parties parted company in an amicable manner. His cause, though, was not helped by a report that Robson was unhappy with the FAT’s failure to arrange more international fixtures for the Thai team as requested.

How is it possible for a team to embark on its World Cup qualifying campaign next month when it has not played a match since the turn of the year? That is the case for the Thai national team.

Worawi might blame the FAT’s current vacuum of power for the Thais’ plight. However, there indeed would have been a new president by now had it not for his controversial decision to call off the election last month.

With Robson now gone, who will take responsibility for wasting two years for nothing?

RHB Singapore Cup 2011 kicks off

2011-06-09T09:09:00.000+09:30

By Chee Seong - AFF Singapore correspondent

The 14th edition of the Singapore Cup will kick off this week, starting on Friday 10 June.

With Courts Young Lions out of the tournament due to a training tour in Sydney, there will be one additional foreign team in the competition this season. A total of 16 teams will feature in the tournament, with the competition being scheduled in three windows, with the first window being from 10-17 June 2011.

In this edition, Singapore football fans will witness the participation of representatives from Myanmmar (Okkthar United FC), Thailand (Pattaya United FC), Australia (South Melbourne FC), Cambodia (Phnom Penh Crown FC), and Malaysia (Malaysia U19).

2010 RHB Singapore Cup winners Bangkok Glass FC decided not to participate this year due to their hectic schedule in the Thai Premier League. There will be two all foreign affairs when Pattaya United plays Okkthar United and when S.League team Albirex Niigata entertains South Melbourne FC.

It will be a "home coming" for several players in these teams, who once plyed their trade in the S.League. This also includes the "return" of PN Sivaji, former National Team coach of Singapore. He will be leading Okkthar United in their quest for glory.

The RHB Singapore Cup had seen seven different teams lay their hands on the trophy. Home United (4), Tampines Rovers (3) and Singapore Armed Forces FC (3) have dominated the past 13 years of the competition. Tanjong Pagar United FC and Geylang United FC were the other local winners of the tournament. In 2010, Bangkok Glass FC defied all odds to create history as they became the first ever foreign side to be crowned Champions of this competition.

The fixtures for the first round are as follows:

10 June 2011

Hougang United FC vs Malaysia U19

11 June 2011

Gombak United FC vs Balestier Khalsa FC

12 June 2011

South Melbourne FC vs Albirex Niigata (S) FC

13 June 2011

Geylang United FC vs Tampines Rovers FC

14 June 2011

Home United FC vs Woodlands Wellington FC

15 June 2011

Etoile FC vs Tanjong Pagar United FC

16 June 2011

Singapore Armed Forces FC vs Phnom Penh Crown FC

17 June 2011

Pattaya United FC vs Okkthar United FC

All matches Kicks off at 7:30pm (Singapore time)

Live feeds of the above mentioned matches can be found at www.twitter.com/ligasingapura

With the largest number of foreign teams entered this year, will there be a second successive foreign winner or will a Singapore team prevail? Stay tuned to find out.

Read more from Chee Seong on Singaporean football on his Liga Singapura blog.

Qiu Li stars as Singapore crush Maldives

2011-06-08T09:18:00.003+09:30

Asian Football Feast's new Singapore correspondent, Chee Seong, reports on last night's international friendly between Singapore and the Maldives.

Singapore's starting XI against the Maldives

As it has been six months since the National Team played a competitive match, this was an eagerly anticipated affair.

Singapore coach Raddy Avramovic named his "new" squad of 33 players two weeks ago and started training on 31 May 2011. Preparation for the match, however, was affected by the S.League which was still in action during that time.

The Lions, as the Singapore team is known, sprung straight into action from kick off and went ahead after just 13 minutes. Qiu Li, who had been missing from action through multiple injuries played Jumaat Jantan through on goal, only for the Maldive's defender to bring him down for an obvious penalty. Up stood Qiu Li and he cooly put the ball away for a 1-0 lead.

Qiu only needed six minutes to double his tally. This time round, he created his own space, own chance, and scored probably the goal of the game. Operating on the left side of a five-man midfield, Qiu twisted and turned around three defenders inside the 18 yard box, and sent a screamer from an acute angle into the bottom left hand corner of Mohamed Imran's goal.

Shi Jiayi was next on the score sheet as Singapore made it look easy on the half hour mark. Recieving a ball with his back to goal, Jiayi turned brilliantly and unleashed an unstoppable shot into the top left hand corner to make it 3-0.

The Maldives had their chances as well, however the killer instinct just wasn't there. Team captain Ashfaq Ali, operating as an attacking midfielder just behind his two strikers showed plenty of promise but was cut out consistently by Singapore's youngest ever international captain, Hariss Harun (20) and Daniel Bennett.

This match was meant to be part of the preparation for the game against Chinese Taipei or Malaysia and it was obvious that the gaffer would give some of the new boys a run . Only three out of the 23 in the entire squad did not taste action.

Three minutes after the restart, Aleksander Duric connected with former SAFFC team-mate Saiful Esah's cross, having beaten the offside trap perfectly, to put the tie beyond the Maldives' reach.

In the post match conference, Maldives' coach Diego Andres Cruciani mentioned that he is beginning to worry because their opponent in the WCQ2014 is the Islamic Republic of Iran. Coach Diego also singled out Qiu Li for special praises.

"The number 25 is a very clever player. He is a complete player I would say."

Singapore Coach Raddy was happy with the first 45 minutes of the game and he pointed out that in the second period, due to trying out youngsters, the plan went a little "off", but overall, he was still pleased with the team's performance.

Singapore will next face Laos at the Jalan Besar Stadium on 18 June as the Lions prepare for their WCQ tie on 23 and 28 July.

Singapore: Lionel Lewis (Izwan Mabud); Jumaat Jantan (Ruizaini Zainal); Daniel Bennett (Safuwan Baharudin); Hariss Harun (C); Ismail Yunos (Shaiful Esah); Isa Halim (Mustafic Fahrudin); Shi Jiayi (Shukor Zailan); Qiu Li (Hamqaamal Shah); Shahdan Sulaiman; Fazrul Nawas (Khairul Nizam); Aleksander Duric (Andrew Tan)

Maldives: Mohamed Imran (Faisal Mohamed); Mohamed Sifan (Hussain Niyaz); Umair Mohamed (Ahmed Shafiu); Abdul Ghani Assad (Abdulla Haneef); Ahmed Saeed (Sameer Fairooz Adam); Arif Mohamed; Abdul Ghani (Shamdhooh Mohamed); Naseer Mukhtar (Ibrahim Shiyam); Fazeel Ibrahim; Ashfaq Ali (C) (Fasir Ali); Ali Ashadh (Lareef Adam)

Attendance: 2166

Read more from Chee Seong on Singaporean football on his Liga Singapura blog.

Zhang says AFC needs to "clean up and unite"

2011-06-01T11:12:00.001+09:30

Zhang Jilong and the suspended Mohamed Bin Hammam

By Zhang Bin - AFF Chinese Correspondent

The acting President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Zhang Jilong, said the AFC needs to “clean up and unite” during an interview with China’s Sina Sport.

Zhang, the AFC's most senior Vice President, automatically takes charge in Mohamed Bin Hammam’s absence.

Earlier this year he ran for a seat on FIFA’s Executive Committee but lost in a vote at January's AFC Congress in Doha. He was a key member of the 2008 Beijing Olympics organising committee and is also chairman of the OCA's (Olympic Council of Asia) powerful Sports Committee and Director of the China International Sports Exchange Centre.

Chinese media have, in the past, given him the names "Hand of God" and "Brother Dragon" for allegedly convincing FIFA to change its rules for the 2002 World Cup qualifiers for the Asian zone, effectively putting China in an easier qualifying group which saw them qualify for their only World Cup.

Zhang is known to have a good relationship with former AFC secretary general Peter Velappan, who is a well-known opponent of Bin Hammam. Velappan expressed that the suspension of Bin Hammam and appointment of Zhang was "…the best thing for Asian football" in a recent interview with AFP.

Zhang told Sina Sports: “First, the environment of AFC needs a clean-up and some disharmonious factors need to be erased.

“The work of the AFC and its secretariat is to improve and strengthen. The AFC in the future will really build up the relationships with its 46 members' associations. Communicate, build up firm relations, find one voice and unite.”

Regarding the suspension of Bin Hammam, Zhang said: “"Scandals such as bin Hammam's bribery allegations harm the sport's beauty. Anyone who does not show transparency should pay for it.”

Worawi still fumes over allegations

2011-05-31T09:39:00.001+09:30

Makudi has been cleared
of any wrongdoing

By Kitinan Sanguansak

Worawi Makudi, the caretaker president of the Football Association of Thailand, admitted his sense of outrage despite being absolved of David Triesman's accusations that he claims has severely damaged his reputation.

“I am still angry by the turn of events. The charges against me were very serious but groundless. It spoiled my reputation, globally. It also affected my family since they felt uncomfortable by the allegations," he said.

“I never did what he [Triesman] had accused me of doing – asking for TV rights. The talks we had were just a direct conversation between two organisations. I gathered all documentary evidence, which include a letter from the English FA expressing its inability to send an England team to play in Thailand.

“We had no need to request for the TV rights since FIFA regulations clearly state that the rights belong to the host country.

The FAT caretaker chief, currently in Switzerland to attend the FIFA Congress, also said he would go ahead with his plan of filing a lawsuit against Lord Triesman in a British court to seek justice and salvage his reputation.

“After being cleared of any wrongdoing, I call on the Thai media to publish my side of the story and help protect my reputation and the country’s as well," he pleaded.

“I also would like the media to examine Triesman’s background and why he had to resign from the post as the FA chairman. Last week, my team of lawyers sent a letter to the British parliament, asking for justice in the case.

“In the letter, I also asked Triesman to speak out in the public, which would give me a chance to defend myself. I want to take court action against him and would not let go until justice is done.

Thailand still has an eye on 2012 Olympics

2011-05-23T10:37:00.001+09:30

Thailand in action against Palenstine in a
2012 Olympics Qualifier earlier this year

By Kitinan Sanguansak

Any hope of reinstating Thailand into the 2012 Olympic qualifiers was now hinging on the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling said the caretaker president of the Football Association of Thailand Worawi Makudi late last week.

Thailand appeared resigned to accepting their fate after they had been booted out from the Olympic qualifiers for fielding an ineligible player in the home leg against Palestine in the preliminary round.

As a result of punishment, the Middle East nation, who were awarded a 3-0 victory for the game in question to secure a 4-0 aggregate win, took the Thais’ place in the second round against Bahrain.

Previously, the Thai camp felt they had a chance of having the disqualification overturned since they thought the player in question had served his suspension in the Asian Games last year. The fact that the Asian Football Confederation never sanctioned the Games put paid to Thailand's hopes.

Thailand, though, received a lifeline after Worawi decided to make an appeal on the case with the CAS. If the court rules in favour of the Thais, they would be reinstated in the qualifying tournament for a berth in London next year.

“We already made an appeal with CAS. It should take around 10 days before we know the ruling. The AFC accepted the guilt on their part for not providing a list of suspended players for each participating team as well as the match commissioners.

“The AFC may not sanction the Asian Games but they have to sanction a game in the event. Why? Let’s think what would happen if a player committed a serious offense in the Games’ fixture. Will they let that player escape without doing anything?

“So, I think the player in question already served his ban in the Games. I raised this issue already in the discussion with the AFC and FIFA. Our fate is now hinging on the CAS ruling,” said Worawi.

Worawi also announced a new date for the FAT’s presidential election on June 17 after it earlier was postponed due to the duplication of the member clubs’ authorisation letters.

“We sent a letter to the member clubs, asking for information about the list of each club’s executives. During the previous election, we found that there was more than one representative from a club. We want to check out who is the head of each club.

“We hadn’t had an election with two candidates for a while so it was normal we faced the problem last time. We also informed SAT (the Sports Authority of Thailand) about the new date for the election,” said Worawi who came short of confirming whether there would be a new FAT president come the rearranged voting.

On the pressure on him after his FAT reign became a subject of criticism, Worawi, one of the four FIFA executive members who were alleged to ask for favour in return for the World Cup vote, lamented the unfair treatment he received.

“There has always been criticism during my time in the office. Someone might be jealous of the position I hold, domestically and internationally. I think there is a group of people who want to undermine me. It’s not fair for me,” said Worawi.

Setanta confirms J.League schedule for June

2011-05-20T09:46:00.000+09:30

Setanta Sports Australia has released their schedule of J. League games for the month of June, and it's a bumper month for fans of the Japanese game.

With two midweek games being broadcast, there will be five games in total broadcast across the month, which is fantastic news given the first weekend in June is a FIFA date and therefore no J. League games will take place.

Five games in 14 days - who can't be happy with that?

Setanta's schedule for June is as follows:

10 June - Gamba Osaka vs Shimizu S-Pulse (LIVE @ 7:55pm)
14 June - Nagoya Grampus vs Albirex Niigata (LIVE @ 7:55pm)
17 June - Kashima Antlers vs Jubilo Iwata (LIVE @ 7:55pm)
21 June - Urawa Reds vs Avispa Fukuoka (LIVE @ 7:55pm)
24 June - Ventforet Kofu vs Kashiwa Reysol (LIVE @ 7:55pm)

Together with this Setanta will continue to show the J. League Highlights Show each Thursday evening at 7:30pm.

Be sure to tune in and don't miss a minute of the action.

Kosuke Kimura - The Quiet Achiever

2011-05-18T11:07:00.003+09:30

Kimura celebrates the winning goal
against FC Dallas in 2009

Say the name Kosuke Kimura to any fan of Japanese football and you’ll probably draw a blank stare. Kimura is one of the now many Japanese players plying their trade abroad, but his destination is unlike most.

While most Japanese players move to Europe, Kimura went east instead of west and ended up in a place as far removed from Japan as you’re likely to find – Macomb, Illinois in the USA where he attended Western Illinois University.

In his own words Kimura describes it as, “the middle of nowhere…all there is are corn fields.”

For a boy who was born in Kobe and spent most of his life in Yokohama it was a big change and it took some getting used to.

“The first time I got there I had no idea why I went there,” he told Asian Football Feast.

Whilst you might think his lack of English or distance from his family would be his toughest challenge it was in fact something a lot simpler – food.

“Obviously the food wasn’t impressive,” he says, recalling the early days where he had no kitchen.

“The first thing you see is fast food everywhere, the closest thing they had was a Chinese buffet.

“I was just struggling for the first few years actually because I was living in the dorm and I didn’t have a kitchen so I couldn’t cook anything.

“I was eating food at the cafeteria but they didn’t really have good food. So it was kind of tough for me to adjust to that. I can adapt easy so it was no big deal, but food was a big part of it.”

The USA wasn’t always in Kimura’s plans. Like most youngsters growing up, the J. League was what he strived towards.

Getting an opportunity to impress though wasn’t easy, especially as he came from a family that wasn’t well off financially.

Kimura in action for
Western Illinois University

“In Japan if you want to really play soccer you have to join the academy system and it costs so much money and my parents didn’t have enough money for that,” he admits.

“Usually it’s only for rich people.”

But there are other ways, and Kimura’s chance came in the form of an open trial for Kawasaki Frontale where more than 800 budding footballers turned up.

The odds were against him, especially after the club announced they would only select three players to join their squad.

Kimura was one of those three.

He recalls that moment: “When I was 14 I took the test and I made it and it made me so happy and I told myself “This is it. For the next three years in high school I’ll give everything I have to make that level””

His time with the Kawasaki youth set up was going well, he even jokes, half seriously, “the coach loved me.”

But there would be a twist.

Kimura developed stress fractures in his foot and he was given two options – have surgery, which was only a 50-50 in terms of a full recovery, or take 10 months off and let it properly heal.

He chose not to risk the surgery and instead opted for 10 months on the sidelines. The time off worked and his foot recovered, but missing 10 months of Football put him right behind the eight ball.

Then in another twist, Kawasaki Frontale was relegated to the second division and costs were cut across the board. Kimura, along with others, were let go.

It was a crushing blow.

“Obviously that killed me because I thought it was my only chance to go pro,” he said.

Kimura wasn’t ready to give up on his dream just yet though.

One of his good friends received a scholarship to attend a College in the USA and play Football and urged Kimura to do the same.

He did.

Kimura in action for Colorado Rapids reserves

Kimura, who spoke almost no English, began writing to various Universities across America with what little English he had. Whilst he received some responses, none offered scholarships. A few did offer tryouts, including Western Illinois University.

Kimura spoke to the coach who advised him that he could come, only if he agreed to take an ESL (English as a Second Language) class. Two weeks later Kimura was on a plane bound for Illinois.

He attended the Football team tryouts with a Kuwaiti he met in his ESL class, immediately impressing the coach who told them, “you guys have to come, you guys have to help us.”

And that they did.

Western Illinois University would win three of the next four conference championships and made the prestigious NCAA tournament. Kimura was also named in the All-Conference team in three of his four years.

His coach described him as an “inspiration” to his teammates.

Despite this, it was still regarded as a shock when Colorado selected Kimura at pick 35 in the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft.

By virtue of that fact he became the first Japanese player to play in the MLS. Kimura felt a responsibility to represent his nation and do it well.

“I felt pressure because as the first Japanese guy, I have to be the good example to the next Japanese player to come into MLS in the future,” he told Asian Football Feast.

“I felt that responsibility and I think I’ve been doing well.”

Only one thing was on his mind when he was selected, and that was winning.

“When I joined the Rapids, the first thing you think about is winning a championship,” he said.

Championships would have to wait though; his first job was breaking his way into the first team. In his first year he made his debut against Real Salt Lake and was a member of the Rapids’ reserve division championship winning team.

Kimura in action for the Rapids in 2009

That placed him on a solid grounding and 2008 was a breakout year for the defender, playing 18 games and starting 17 of them, helping the Rapids become one of the best defences in the league.

Kimura has only grown since, playing more games in 2009 (26 games, 21 starts) and scoring his first MLS goal against Real Salt Lake, ironically the team he made his debut against.

By the time 2010 rolled around, Kimura had cemented himself in the side. Whilst stress fractures returned, this time in his left ankle, forcing him to miss six games, he managed 23 games and 21 starts, helping Colorado make the playoffs where he would play a pivotal role.

He would start all four post-season games, but his biggest impact came in the Eastern Conference Final against San Jose. Receiving the ball on the right hand side from a throw in, Kimura whipped in a dangerous cross that found its way into the back of the net.

Despite initially looking like Omar Cummings had got the final touch on it, the goal was awarded to Kimura. Never has he scored such an important goal.

It would prove to be the game winner, enough to see Colorado advance to the MLS Cup against FC Dallas.

Finally the moment Kimura had been dreaming of had arrived, a chance to win the Championship.

Kimura with the
2010 MLS Cup

Kimura started on the field and was a part of the team that came from 0-1 down at half time to win 2-1 after extra time to clinch their first MLS Championship.

Kimura was over the moon.

“It took me four years but still I got there and it was a little different than anything else,” he recalled.

“I’ve won many other championships, but this was not just a championship. It was a national championship. And when we won that it was great and it was great to be a part of it.”

2010 also saw Kimura rewarded for his tireless work off the pitch, named Colorado Rapids Humanitarian of the Year for his work in the community. Kimura visited sick children in hospital, attended schools, conducted junior clinics and despite his limited English would read books to children, stressing the importance of a good education.

Kimura would even volunteer to help out at clinics and visits when he wasn’t scheduled to do so, so great is his desire to help in the community.

“It is important to help kids, and to be a good role model,” he says.

“Showing them to work hard, to stay on the right path, and just guide them to it. And who knows, maybe some will take my advice, example, or guidance. But either way, it feels good to be able to try to help.”

Despite all his success in one of the world’s fastest growing leagues, there is still one thing missing from Kimura’s CV, and that is a national team call up. It is still something Kimura desires.

The Copa America presented a fantastic opportunity for players on the fringe, like Kimura, to get selected and show their potential.

With a host of regular national team players unavailable, Kimura was very much in the frame.

Kimura during a hospital visit in 2010

“I heard they put me on the list, so if they call me up I’ll go,” he said.

“The tournament will start at the end of July so from now until then they told me they’d come watch my games some time. So I have to keep playing well and see what happens.”

Unfortunately for Kimura that dream is now dashed, with Japan officially withdrawing from the Copa America over the last few days.

That won’t deter Kimura though; he will keep forging a career in America and keep working hard until that call-up arrives.

It’s the only way he knows.

Worawi rejects bribery claims

2011-05-15T16:30:00.002+09:30

Makudi and Lord Triesman

By Kitinan Sanguansak

Embattled Worawi Makudi believes the accusation against him made by former English FA chairman Lord Triesman that he sought bribes for his vote in the World Cup bidding process was just a political ploy before FIFA’s presidential election next month.

Triesman, the former chairman of England’s 2018 World Cup bid team, accused Worawi and the other three FIFA executive committee members, Ricardo Teixeira, Jack Warner and Nicolas Leoz, of asking for favours in return for their support during the parliamentary inquiry into why the bid failed.

Worawi, the caretaker president of the Football Association of Thailand, was alleged to have requested for TV rights for the country’s friendly with England in Bangkok, which originally was scheduled to take place next month before the English FA cancelled the fixture later.

Triesman’s accusation could hardly come at worse time for Worawi, who last week made a controversial decision to call off the scheduled election for the FAT’s new president.

Worawi, who is currently in Qatar to meet with Mohamed Bin Hammam, the president of the Asian Football Confederation, gave a telephone interview with Reuters, saying Triesman’s claim was untrue.

“I have never discussed with Lord Triesman the issue of TV rightsl If the match takes place, FIFA regulations will apply.”

Worawi maintained his stance on the issue when speaking with Thai media, saying he had nothing to do with the TV rights of the game.

“The rules stated clearly that there needed to be a company to take care of the business about TV rights. If not, there was still FIFA regulations to follow. Any individual has no right to acquire the TV right. I never asked him to get the TV rights.”

Worawi went on to question the timing of Triesman’s revelations which came only few weeks before the election for the head of the world football’s governing body.

“There will be a FIFA election on June 1. We’ve seen in the past that stories like these often came out during this period. I support my Asian fellow, Bin Hamman, to succeed Sepp Blatter this time. I don’t know whether this has something to do with what went on at the moment.”

Worawi also dismissed suggestions that the England fixture was part of the deal he had with the English FA in return for his support.

“If I got anything from the visit of the England team, I should do everything I could to ensure the game would go ahead as schuduled. But, I didn’t do anything after the cancellation of the game,” said Worawi, who further revealed he was preparing to take legal proceedings against Triesman.

McKinna on a mission in China

2011-05-11T10:07:00.001+09:30

McKinna on the sidelines in one of his
first games in charge of Chengdu

When Kevin McCabe joined the Central Coast Mariners board in 2009, little did Lawrie McKinna know that it would eventually lead to him coaching in China.

At the time McKinna was head coach of A-League side Central Coast Mariners, and had been since the inception of the A-League in 2005, and McCabe owned Sheffield United in the UK and had stakes in Chengdu Blades in China Ferencvaros in Hungary.

Despite moving upstairs at the end of the 2009/10 A-League season to take on the position of Football Operations Manager, McKinna still maintained a burning desire to coach.

“There was no specific time that I thought I wanted to get back into coaching as my role at the Mariners was working well…(but)… you could say there was always a thought about getting back into coaching if the right opportunity came along,” explained McKinna.

That opportunity came along in the form of Chengdu Blades in the Chinese Super League.

McKinna explained to Asian Football Feast how that came about.

“I keep in touch with Sheffield through Scott McCabe, the son of the owner (Kevin McCabe), and I have said many times if anything came up in China I would be interested,” he said.

“I got a call from him around the beginning of March to say Sheffield had let go of 80% of their ownership of Chengdu and the new owners might want a Western Coach and would I be interested.

“I said yes.

“On the Tuesday (15th March) I got a call to say the Chengdu coach had left and they would be getting in touch with me through Kevin McCabe’s business associate in Hong Kong, Peter Ko, who looked after Chengdu when Sheffield owned them.

“We spoke about terms briefly, but had not agreed anything, and over the next day got it sorted and I was on the plane on the Friday 18th of March and that’s how quick it was.”

McKinna was literally thrown in the deep end.

When the previous coach left the position he took his entire coaching staff with him and there were issues within the club that needed to be sorted.

All of this just two weeks before the club’s first game of the CSL season.

“Our preparation was terrible,” McKinna remarked.

“(I had) basically had 2 weeks to get the team together…our first pre season game was our first league game in Shandong , that’s how bad thing were.”

Lawrie enjoying a lighter moment
at training with his coachew

Despite that, Chengdu has made a respectable start to the CSL season, with three draws and a win from six games, far more than most experts were predicting at the start of the season.

The club’s aim for the year is simple – don’t get relegated, with the players and staff set to be rewarded with big bonuses if they can achieve that feat.

Despite being the new kid on the block, Chinese football isn’t new to McKinna as he explains.

“I have been coming to China since my days at Parramatta Power as an assistant and have always enjoyed the different culture,” he said.

“I had always fancied China for some reason.”

Not only that, but he had some experience, albeit brief, with Chengdu two years ago during Central Coast’s AFC Champions League campaign.

“I had been to Chengdu two years ago when we (Central Coast) were in the ACL and we played Tianjin.

“I came to visit the club then,” he said.

So how does McKinna rate the Chinese game, which is often regarded as the ugly cousin of the three major East Asian leagues?

“The standard is good, although I think the refs are a bit soft and the Chinese players go down too easy as we have seen in the ACL over the last few years,” a forthright McKinna said.

It is a criticism often levelled at the Chinese game and one that will need addressing in order for the CSL to gain more credibility.

Lawrie on one of his first days on the job in Chengdu

The job does have a downside though, and that is being so far away from his family who remain back in Australia.

“When you are working all day you could be anywhere in the world and you would not know the difference, but not having my wife and boys and grandkids about at the moment makes it pretty lonely,” he lamented.

The family, you suspect, also includes the Mariners and their fans, with McKinna taking the opportunity to pass on a message to those in Gosford.

“I also wanted to thank the CCM fans for all there support over the 6 years, we had a great time and built the club from nothing so when I get home I would like the opportunity to thank everyone as because it all happened so quickly I never got the chance to say goodbye,” he said.

Just when he returns home though remains to be seen. If he can bring stability and a level of success to Chengdu then McKinna might be calling China home for a few more years yet.

Sendai story one of hope

2011-05-10T13:48:00.000+09:30

Vegalta Sendai celebrate their 1-0 win over Avispa Fukuoka

It wasn’t too long ago that people were questioning how Vegalta Sendai would compete in the J. League after their city and surrounding area was decimated by the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

Their star off-season signing, Marquinhos from Kashima Antlers, quit the club citing emotional distress in the aftermath and their home ground, Yurtec Stadium, was badly damaged with fears they might not be able to play at home until the middle of the year.

It is, therefore, a stunning achievement that since the return of the J. League at the end of April, Sendai remains undefeated, coming within a whisker of making it four wins from four starts on the weekend when they conceded a late equaliser away to Cerezo Osaka.

Included in that is wins over Kawasaki Frontale and Urawa Reds, leaving them sitting in third place on the table.

Not only that, but they are back playing at Yurtec Stadium, which symbolically is just as important as any win on the park. Sendai is beginning to return to some form of normality.

The motivation for Vegalta Sendai is simple – to give hope to the people of Sendai.

“We want to give the region something to be proud of. We’ll do everything we can to keep winning and inspire the people of Sendai,” said Sendai coach Makoto Teguramori.

They are certainly doing that.

The looks of overwhelming joy of the faces of the Sendai fans when they came from behind to snatch a win at Kawasaki, the first game since the tsunami, was a picture to behold. Fans openly wept as they anxiously waited for the final whistle.

It meant more than just three points.

And that is the spirit that Sendai will be playing with all year. Regardless of what they go on to achieve this year they have delivered one of the good news stories for Football this year.

A team and city decimated by tragedy, triumphantly returning to the park and going on a magical winning streak. Hollywood couldn’t write a better script.

The question now - can there be a Hollywood ending?

Worawi's control hangs in the balance

2011-05-08T09:18:00.001+09:30

AsiaWorawi Makudi

Asian Football Feast's Thai correspondent, Kitinan Sanguansak, gives us his opinion of the FAT election fiasco.

By now, there should have been a new president of the Football Association of Thailand. As things stand, though, the power vacuum still remains after caretaker president Worawi Makudi decided to turn the board over with a controversial decision to postpone Friday’s scheduled election.

It had been expected that a dramatic day appeared in store at the FAT general meeting after the presidential election did not become just the mere formality when there was at least one candidate to challenge the incumbent for the first time in many years.

Nevertheless, Worawi’s announcement of the postponement, which came just before the start of the meeting, was something beyond what even the pundits could envisage. However, it was not quite difficult to find out the cause that led to such controversial decision. Worawi’s grim face on his way out of the meeting room told its own story.

The rumours about “the man lurking in the shadow” would join in the race were true and his mystery was resolved on the day after Virat Chanpanich, the FAT board member, was identified as the person in question.

If there were only Worawi and Pichate Munkong, the former president of Thai Port FC club, for members to vote, it appeared certain that the former would be re-elected for his third consecutive two-year term in the post he has held since 2007.

That would be the case because Pichate was already struggling to find a member who would nominate his name in the voting, not mention to gather the support, despite his attention-capturing policy which included relieving former England and Manchester United captain Bryan Robson of the role of the national team coach.

The emergence of the “third” man, though, changed the whole course of the event. After a private survey by his camp on the support indicated that Virat, who previously had a few stints as the national team manager, held the lead over him, Worawi eventually decided to call off the election in what could only be seen as a desperate attempt to at least buying more time.

Worawi used the problem about the duplication of the members’ authorisation letters as the excuse for not seeking the postponement resolution from the meeting as suggested by the official from the Sports Authority of Thailand, who was present to oversee the election. However, a report that the decision was made by a few executive members not the entire board reflected how desperate Worawi was in clinging on to his post.

Given all the events that unfolded in the meeting, it seemed that there was a glimmer of hope for anyone who wanted to see a change in the Thai FA management after the Thai team’s performances hardly made for pleasant reading during Worawi’s reign. The bitter memory two years ago of the Thai’s bidding to win the SEA Games title for ninth consecutive time only to be dumped out in the group stage for the first time in 36 years still rankled fans.

Worawi, whose creditability suffered a heavy blow last week following the country’s disqualification from the Olympic qualifiers for fielding an ineligible player against Palestine in the preliminary round, may be able to secure his stay of execution for the time being.

However, the manner he wielded his power to force the postponement perhaps would have made it easier for members to decide for whom they would cast their vote next time.

Chaos in Thailand as FAT elections postponed

2011-05-08T09:10:00.001+09:30

Worawi Makudi shakes the hand of challenger
Pichate Munkong at Friday's FAT general meeting

Kitinan Sanguansak brings us the latest from Thailand surrounding the chaotic scenes from the FAT's general meeting.

The Football Association of Thailand’s presidential election was shrouded in controversy when the executive board suddenly postponed the scheduled vote by members.

The controversy began when Itthipol Burananin, a representative of Taphan Hin club claimed he had a letter of authorisation from the club’s president to register for the FAT general meeting. The authorisation was then brought into question by a separate individual who claimed to be the president of the club in question.

Itthipol was eventually escorted out of the meeting room by officials, who then began checking for other authorisation letters, only to discover that the credentials of several of those present failed to meet “proper standards”.

As the general meeting was about to start, FA caretaker president Worawi Makudi announced its postponement, much to the dismay of the gathering club representatives. Worawi called an emergency board meeting for late Friday.

Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) deputy governor Somkit Pinthong, who sat in on the meeting to oversee the election, was critical of the decision to postpone the voting.

“The decision meant the FAT showed no respect to my office and its own member clubs. The board discussed with me before the meeting whether they could postpone the election. I advised that they could, but that it had to be a resolution taken by the whole general meeting – the board couldn’t make the decision by themselves,” Pinthong said.

“We will now study the relevant laws over what action we can take. We will also invite the association to offer an explanation for its action. The question of whether we will intervene and take charge of the election can only be answered once we have consulted the statutes.”

Virat Chanpanich, the FAT executive board member who was identified as “the man lurking in the shadows” in rumours about a third candidate set to join in the race, expressed his dismay at the postponement.

“The decision came out of nowhere, leaving the SAT perplexed. As a board member, I feel ashamed at what happened. I want to offer an apology to all member clubs,” he said.

“What [the executive board] did was akin to an insult to members, many of whom had made long trips from upcountry to attend the meeting.

“I don’t know what the future holds for Thai football now. The disqualification from the Olympic qualifiers was already bad enough.

I’m ready [ready to stand for president] if anyone nominates me for the post. Today I felt like an athlete who turned up at the venue but had no chance to compete,”

Worawi then staged an impromptu press conference to announce that the election was postponed due to duplication of [original copies of] authorisation letters.

“We needed to postpone the election. Even though we discussed the duplication of the letters with the SAT, they could not give us clear answers, and we were unable to judge which letters were authentic,” Worawi explained.

“We will coordinate with SAT over a new date for the general meeting. The rules state that it has to be held within 60 days.

“On the question of why we did not seek a postponement resolution from the meeting, it was because there was a problem with the legitimacy of the participants, so we couldn’t do that.”

However, a source close to the FAT board said that fear of losing his post was Worawi’s real reason for postponing the meeting, after early indications suggested that the caretaker president was due to lose the vote to Virat.

Late drama in the FAT elections

2011-05-06T08:39:00.001+09:30

Our Thai correspondent, Kitinan Sanguansak, brings us the latest breaking news on the FAT elections including talk of a third candidate.

The Football Association of Thailand’s presidential election looks set for a touch of late drama, with rumours swirling around that a third candidate for the post will be unveiled just hours before Friday’s voting.

With the national team currently in a slump following a series of poor results in international tournaments, some of which they once dominated, the outcome of the voting is deemed crucial in defining the future of Thai football.

The election for the head of FAT already has captured the attention, as it was the first time in many years that there was a challenger to the incumbent after Pichate Munkong, the former president of Thai Port FC club, last week confirmed his candidacy to challenge the beleaguered Worawi Makudi, whose reign fell far short of what people expected.

Worawi’s credibility suffered further damage when Thailand this week was disqualified from the 2012 Olympic qualifiers for fielding an ineligible player in the preliminary round against Palestine. It remains to be seen whether the fall-out from the team’s disqualification could have impact on Worawi’s support.

Insiders, though, believed Worawi would comfortably win the vote to stay in the post he has held since 2007. Even though the public warmed to Pichate’s bid he was struggling to win support from the member clubs.

However, a report that Wowari’s camp spent the day on the eve of the election lobbying for the support demonstrated that the voting was far from a foregone conclusion. They were also wary of the growing “anti-Worawi” antipathy among clubs, which might cause a late switch in the support.

Another factor that has a major role to play today was the Chonburi group, which has around 30 votes. It is believed whoever the group voted for would clinch victory.

The rumours about “a man lurking in the shadow” that Pichate mentioned last week while announcing his policy have also intensified.

Although the identity of the person in question remains unknown, it now seems certain the “third” man would join in the race, with some saying his nomination would surely make an impact.

Things seem set for a dramatic day at the FAT general meeting.

Worawi clinging to power in Thailand

2011-05-01T12:14:00.002+09:30

Worawi Makudi

In his first article for Asian Football Feast, Kitinan Sanguansak takes a look at the upcoming Football Association of Thailand presidential elections.

The post of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) president may not be as big and powerful as FIFA’s, but the race for the job is just as tense.

Rarely has the FAT’s presidential election held as much significance as this time, as the outcome of the voting on Friday will go a long way to defining the future of Thai football.

Any optimism people had on the day when Worawi Makudi, who also held such prestigious role as the FIFA executive board member, was appointed as the FAT chief in 2007 proved misplaced. Rather than ushering Thai football into the bright future as many had hoped, Worawi’s reign was ironically even worse than Vijit Ketkaew’s, which was widely derided as the dark age.

Vijit faced criticism that the sport came to a standstill during his time in office, although there was no shortage of success at regional level for the country. That was a marked difference between Worawi and his predecessor, as Thailand now could not consider themselves as the leading nation in the region anymore.

The chastening experience in the Laos-hosted SEA Games two years ago where the Thai side, bidding to win the title for ninth consecutive time, tumbled out of the group stage for the first time in 36 years represented the team’s most glaring failure during Worawi’s reign.

Thailand’s poor run of results fueled the fans’ dissatisfaction with Worawi’s work to such a level that even the unpopular Vijit never faced during his years. The abject nature of the country’s first-round elimination in the ASEAN Championship, co-hosted by Indonesia and Malaysia in December, where they went out without a single win, was a final straw for fans.

In the aftermath of the debacle in Malaysia, fans used the social networking websites to organise a campaign demanding the resignation of Worawi and they staged two public protests at the FAT headquarter and Channel 3 television station. During the heat of the event, Worawi had a TV interview about his stance on the pressure from the public, saying he did not do anything wrong to leave the post.

Worawi made his intentions clear that he wanted to cling on to the job but the prospect of another term in office looked under the threat when rumour had it that Vijit would run for the post.

That was why Worawi, who served as the FAT general secretary during Vijit’s regime, tried to amend the FAT Statues, attempting to make it go in line with FIFA’s requirements. However, it was construed that he only attempted to reduce the number of members who have the right to vote, due to Vijit's reportedly sizeable support.

However, it was revealed later that the two were working on the same side as Worawi agreed on a secret deal that if he won the election he would allow Vijit to take care of internal business while he deals with international affairs.

Everything seemed to fall in to place for Worawi until Pichate Munkong, the former president of Thai Port FC club, last week confirmed his candidacy for the FAT post.

He outlined his policy which included disposing former England and Manchester United captain Bryan Robson of the role as the national team coach. He also pledged no one needed to call for his head since he would step down immediately in the event Thailand failed to reclaim the SEA Games title in November in Indonesia.

Many of Pichate’s policies reflected a good vision for Thai football, such as putting more emphasis on the development of national youth team.

So, it came as no surprise to find that he had the support of a good majority of the public and fans. Unfortunately, fans have no right to vote even though they are one of the key stakeholders on the matters.

Kitinan Sanguansak - our new Thai correspondent

2011-05-01T12:03:00.000+09:30

Kitinan at the home of Football - Wembley

Asian Football Feast is delighted to welcome Kitinan Sanguansak to the Asian Football Feast family, coming on board as our Thai correspondent.

Kitinan is a sports journalist in Thailand, mainly covering Football and the Thai National Team.

His love of Football developed in his childhood when he had the chance to watch top-flight English Football in the late 80's, when Liverpool were still the dominant force. As a result, he is a Liverpool fan.

Kitinan will write a few articles each month for Asian Football Feast looking at Thai Football and the issues facing the game in the South East Asian country.

For those who want to learn more about Thai Football you can follow Kitinan on twitter - @Kitz13_nt

Asia's best juniors on show in Colombia

2011-04-28T12:14:00.002+09:30

The draw for the 2011 FIFA U20 World Cup was held today in Cartagena, Colombia.

Asia has four teams who qualified for the tournament courtesy of their results at last year's AFC U19 Championships. Those four teams are: DPR Korea, Australia, Korea Republic and Saudi Arabia.

Below is a list of the groups and games for the four Asian sides.

Group A (Bogota/Cali)
Columbia
France
Mali
Korea Republic

Mali vs Korea Republic - 30 July @ 5:00pm - Bogota
France vs Korea Republic - 2 August @ 5:00pm - Bogota
Colombia vs Korea Republic - 5 August @ 8:00pm - Bogota


Group C (Manizales/Pereira)
Australia
Ecuador
Costa Rica
Spain

Australia vs Ecuador - 31 July @ 6:00pm - Manizales
Australia vs Costa Rica - 3 August @ 8:00pm - Manizales
Australia vs Spain - 6 August @ 5:00pm - Manizales


Group D (Armenia/Pereira)
Croatia
Saudi Arabia
Nigeria
Guatemala

Croatia vs Saudi Arabia - 31 July @ 6:00pm - Armenia
Saudi Arabia vs Guatemala - 3 August @ 5:00pm - Armenia
Saudi Arabia vs Nigeria - 6 August @ 8:00pm - Pereira


Group F (Medellin/Cartagena)
Argentina
Mexico
England
Korea DPR

England vs DPR Korea - 29 July @ 2:30pm - Medellin
Mexico vs DPR Korea - 1 August @ 5:00pm - Medellin
Argentina vs DPR Korea - 4 August @ 5:00pm - Medellin

* All times are local (i.e. Colombia) times