General Football Discussion

Asian Football

388 replies · 112,667 views
09 Nov 13:15 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Nov 5-11 AFC Footballer of the Year Awards
 
This week looks at the nominees for the Asian Men's Footballer of the Year award.
They are (clubs are from their home country unless noted):
 
Bater Al Mutawi (Kuwait & Al Qadsia - 2010 AFC Cup runners-up)
Fabio Cesar (Qatar & Al Rayyan)
Fahat Majidi (Iran & Esteghlal  - Iranian Champions)
Fashid Dalebi (Iran & Zobahan - 2010 ACL finalists)
Hassan Abdel Fattah (Jordan & Al Karamah, Syria)
Hussein Salman (Bahrain & Al Riffa; AFC Cup Player of the Tournament)
Keisuke Honda (Japan & CSKA Moscow, Russia)
Kim Hyeon-Gil (South Korea & Pohang Steelers)
Lee Dong-Guk (South Korea & Jeonbuk Motors)
Lee Hwei-Feng (China & Suwon Bluewings, Sth Korea)
Mohsen Bencar (Iran & Zobahan - 2010 ACL finalists)
Osama Haosawi (Saudi Arabia & Al Hilal)
Park Ji-Seong (South Korea & Manchester Utd, England)
Sasa Ognenovski (Australia & Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (Captain), South Korea - 2010 ACL finalists)
Tim Cahill (Australia & Everton, England)
 
Park & Cahill are unlikely to win, due to the AFC's rule that the recipient must attend the Awards Dinner (24 November). Both will probably be on club duty, although the 3rd European-based nominee, Honda, might attend as the Russia League may be on its winter break.
Malaysian President Datoseri Najib Dun Razak will receive a Diamond Asia award for services to Asian Football.
Other awards on the night will be:
Asian Footballer of the Year (Women)
FA of the Year
Fair Play Award (League)
Club of the Year
Futsal Club of the Year
International Team of the Year (Men's/Women's)
Referee of the Year (Men's/Women's)
Assistant Referee of the Year (Men's/Women's)
Coach of the Year (Men's/Women's)
Futsal Player of the Year
 
And finally, the usual Iran update: Iran, who lost to Brazil 0-3 in Abu Dhabi last month, will play a friendly vs Nigeria on 17 November.
 
Edit - Keisuke Honda has also announced that he is likely to miss the awards dinner, as CSKA Moscow have fixtures scheduled on November 20th and 28th.
wolfman2010-11-10 17:41:54


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15 Nov 15:48 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
As promised, last 16 results from the Asian Games:
 
Iran 3-1 Malaysia
Oman 3-0 Hong Kong
China 0-3 South Korea
Qatar 0-1 Uzbekistan (aet)
 
Japan 5-0 India
North Korea 2-0 Vietnam
Turkmenistan 0-1 Thailand (aet)
UAE 2-0 Kuwait
 
Women's 1st round, day 1: 
Group A:
South Korea 6-1 Vietnam
China 10-1 Jordan
Group B:
Thailand 0-4 Japan
wolfman2010-11-17 03:27:57


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16 Nov 10:20 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Sports Tonight just showed Qatar's shocker in front of goal.

"Phoenix till they lose"

Posting 97% bollox, 8% lies and 3.658% genuine opinion. 

Genuine opinion: FTFFA

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16 Nov 14:21 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Women, day 2:
Group A:
China 1-0 Vietnam
South Korea 5-0 Jordan
 
Group B:
North Korea 2-0 Thailand


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19 Nov 03:14 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
12 - 18 November 'Asian Games... a Testing Ground for the Olympics'
The 16th Asian Games in Gwangzhou, China opened last Friday 12th November, and will continue until the 27th November. However, football fans, the competition began 5 days earlier on the 7th, when the first matches of the 1st round group phase began. An interesting part of this year's competition, is that many of the usual 'big' teams using the tournament to prepare squads for the 2012 London Olympics. This has opened the door for 'smaller' nations to cause an upset and get amongst the medals.
 
South Korea, Japan and China, while still aiming for a gold medal, have indicated that the Olympics are higher priority by picking mostly U-21 players for Gwangzhou, even though the Asian Games are an U-23 tournament, as these players will still be eligible when they go to London.
Japan have picked an entire squad of U-21 players, but were still able to defeat hosts China in their opening match. They have since progressed to the quarterfinals, where they will meet Thailand, coached by former Manchester United nd England captain, Bryan Robson.
South Korea, coached by former national team captain Hong Myeong-Bo, are seeking their first Asian Games gold madal in 24 years. Hong has also picked a 'pre-Olympic' squad, although he has also selected overage players. As an incentive for the Koreans, if they succeed in Gwanzhou and win the tournament, the entire squad will receive an exemption from the compulsory military service that all Korean men are required to do.
 
The draw for the FIFA Club World Cup 2010, to be held in the UAE, has been announced. The two Asian sides may meet in quarterfinals. UAE champions Al Wahda will meet OFC Champions League winners Hekari United (Papua New Guinea) on December 8th. The winner will progress to face AFC champions Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (Sth Korea) on the 11th. The winner of this match will meet Inter Milan (Italy, UEFA) in the semis(15th). On the other side of the draw, the other quarterfinal will feature TP Mazembe Englebert (Congo, CAF) and Pachuca (Mexico, CONCACAF) on the 10th. The winner will meet SC Internacional ((Brazil, COMNEBOL) in the semifinal (14th). The final will be on the 18th.
 
Finally, the Chinese Super League is over, with Shandon Luneung crowned champions. (Smeltzy, any regrets?)
 
 
 
 


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20 Nov 15:05 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Asian Games Men's Quarterfinals:
 
Japan 1-0 Thailand
UAE 0-0 North Korea (9-8 penalties)
South Korea 3-1 Uzbekistan (aet)
Iran 1-0 Oman
 
Semis:
Japan 2-1 Iran
Sth Korea 0-1 UAE (aet)
 
Bronze Medal: Sth Korea 4-3 Iran
Final: Japan 1-0 UAE
 
Women's:
Final group matches
A: Vietnam 3-0 Jordan, South Korea 0-0 China (penalties 8-7)
B: Japan 0-0 North Korea
 
South Korea and China needed penalties to decide 1st and 2nd, after both sides finished with identical points, GD, and GF.
 
Semis: North Korea 3-1 South Korea (aet), Japan 1-0 China (aet)
Bronze Medal: South Korea 2-0 China 
Final: Japan 1-0 North Korea
wolfman2010-11-26 14:26:18


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25 Nov 07:18 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
I see that Aussie player Sasa Ognenovski has won the Asian player of the year.
Good on him.

If you are old and wise you were probably young and stupid

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26 Nov 01:50 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Leggy wrote:
I see that Aussie player Sasa Ognenovski has won the Asian player of the year.
Good on him.
 
Good season all round for Sasa. Captain of Seongnam, winner of AFC Champions' League, 4th in the league after playoffs, FA Cup quarterfinalists, and now AFC Player of the Year.


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26 Nov 05:40 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
wolfman wrote:
Leggy wrote:
I see that Aussie player Sasa Ognenovski has won the Asian player of the year. Good on him.







�

Good season all round for Sasa. Captain of Seongnam, winner of AFC Champions' League, 4th in the league after playoffs, FA Cup quarterfinalists, and now AFC Player of the Year.


I am surprised that this has not made the NZ papers. Not only is it good for OZ, I would have thought it was good for NZ.

If you are old and wise you were probably young and stupid

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26 Nov 06:15 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Excuse my ignorance, but how?
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26 Nov 06:18 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
simon_hampton wrote:
Excuse my ignorance, but how?


A European/Australian winning that award in Asia?

If you are old and wise you were probably young and stupid

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26 Nov 06:21 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
I'm sorry, I don't know what you're saying. I don't know a lot about football. But I don't really see how Sasa Oganovski winning AFC player of the year has a positive effect on NZ football.
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26 Nov 06:42 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
simon_hampton wrote:
I'm sorry, I don't know what you're saying. I don't know a lot about football. But I don't really see how Sasa Oganovski winning AFC player of the year has a positive effect on NZ football.


If you don't get it, forget it.

If you are old and wise you were probably young and stupid

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26 Nov 07:14 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
I'm interested to know, please tell me.
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26 Nov 07:38 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
simon_hampton wrote:
I'm interested to know, please tell me.


The guy is a white Australian playing in an Asian/Middle East compition. It is like an Asian winning palyer of the year in Europe.

If you are old and wise you were probably young and stupid

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30 Nov 21:03 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Leggy wrote:
simon_hampton wrote:
I'm interested to know, please tell me.


The guy is a white Australian playing in an Asian/Middle East compition. It is like an Asian winning palyer of the year in Europe.
 
Ohhhh!     So....  you mean it might show the people who live in Asia that they are not the only people in the world who play football, and actually white Europeans and their descendants deserve a little bit of recognition that they can actually play football too?
 
Right. Good point.

Incredible stamina. No shame. Yellow Fever.


Phoenix fans. We have to win them over one fan at a time.

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01 Dec 05:32 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
bwtcf wrote:
Leggy wrote:
simon_hampton wrote:
I'm interested to know, please tell me.
The guy is a white Australian playing in an Asian/Middle East compition. It is like an Asian winning palyer of the year in Europe.

�

Ohhhh!     So.... �you mean it might show the people who live in Asia that they are not the only people in the world who play football, and actually white Europeans and their descendants deserve a little bit of recognition that they can actually play football too?

�

Right. Good point.


That was not my point and you know it. Should have read the last line.

If you are old and wise you were probably young and stupid

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01 Dec 19:50 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Leggy wrote:
That was not my point and you know it. Should have read the last line.
 
I was not being sarcastic, or willfully misinterpreting what your point was. I genuinely thought that is the point you were trying to make. I was being sarcastic when I said 'Right. Good point."
 
Which last line should I have read? The one that said:
 
It is like an Asian winning palyer of the year in Europe.?
 
I don't get your point. Niether does Simon. I'll go out on a limb and point out that so far no one has posted saying they get your point. It's not clear to me what yiou are trying to say, so please, say it... spell it out, slowly and clearly, step by step, like we are stupid - so that we can understand.
bwtcf2010-12-02 08:51:24

Incredible stamina. No shame. Yellow Fever.


Phoenix fans. We have to win them over one fan at a time.

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01 Dec 19:56 · edited 09 Sep 06:01

actually I've just read this and I can't figure out how an aussie, who plays in an asian league, and wins their player of the year trophy is good for New Zealand football ? he isn't a kiwi, he doesn't play in an oceania confedration tourney? so what relevance is it to NZ?

Queenslander 3x a year.

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02 Dec 04:24 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
theprof wrote:

actually I've just read this and I can't figure out how an aussie, who plays in an asian league, and wins their player of the year trophy is good for New Zealand football ? he isn't a kiwi, he doesn't play in an oceania confedration tourney? so what relevance is it to NZ?



Has played for 2 A league teams.

If you are old and wise you were probably young and stupid

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02 Dec 04:46 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
You still haven't spelled it out. I can't see any positive for NZF,especially any that would make it surprising that it hasn't been in papers here.

Is your argument so powerful that it isn't worth talking about?

Allegedly

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02 Dec 06:22 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Tegal wrote:
You still haven't spelled it out. I can't see any positive for NZF,especially any that would make it surprising that it hasn't been in papers here.

Is your argument so powerful that it isn't worth talking about?


Lets put it another way. If any player who has played for the Nix went to Asia and won the player of the year award,(regardless of nationality) I would expect that the media of NZ & Oz to pick up on this.
That was my original point.

If you are old and wise you were probably young and stupid

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02 Dec 09:34 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
But he hasn't played for the nix...so is a moot point. Doesn't really explain how it benefits NZF either.

Allegedly

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02 Dec 09:38 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
It clearly doesn't have any effect on NZ football, positive or negative.

And it doesn't help, when trying to get your point across, giving out 4 word posts.

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02 Dec 21:05 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Leggy wrote:

Lets put it another way. If any player who has played for the Nix went to Asia and won the player of the year award,(regardless of nationality) I would expect that the media of NZ & Oz to pick up on this.
That was my original point.
 
So you agree with us. He hasn't played for the Nix, therefore it has no effect for NZ Football. Great. Glad we cleared that up. Would have been easier if you'd just conceded the point originally rather than waiting a dozen posts to argue our point for us.

Incredible stamina. No shame. Yellow Fever.


Phoenix fans. We have to win them over one fan at a time.

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02 Dec 21:33 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Leggy wrote:
theprof wrote:

actually I've just read this and I can't figure out how an aussie, who plays in an asian league, and wins their player of the year trophy is good for New Zealand football ? he isn't a kiwi, he doesn't play in an oceania confedration tourney? so what relevance is it to NZ?



Has played for 2 A league teams.
 
so???? No doubt this is being reported in Aus, cos it's actually relevant given he's an aussie and Australia are in the Asian Confed, it has and never will have any bearing on NZ....unless the player nominated plays or has played for the nix, is a kiwi etc.

Queenslander 3x a year.

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07 Dec 04:15 · edited 09 Sep 06:01

Just had a long weekend, so have not had a chance to update you all on the most-important AFF Suzuki Cup results. South-east Asia's best are currently doing battle in Indonesia and Vietnam. I can't remember which is Group  A or B, so I will label them by location:

Group Indonesia:
Thailand 2-2 Laos
Indonesia 5-1 Malaysia
 
Thailand 0-0 Malaysia
Indonesia 6-0 Laos
 
Great result first up for Laos, while Thailand's poor finishing in the 2nd game means that 3 teams have a shot at 2nd place behind Indonesia, going into tonight's final matches.
 
Group Vietnam:
Singapore 1-1 Philippines
Vietnam 7-1 Myanmar
 
Singapore 2-1 Myanmar
Philippines 2-0 Vietnam 
 
Two massive results for qualifiers Philippines, leaves them on the verge of semi-final qualification (a draw against Myanmar will do), while hosts Vietnam & Singapore will fight for the other spot.


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07 Dec 04:22 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
theprof wrote:
Leggy wrote:
theprof wrote:

actually I've just read this and I can't figure out how an aussie, who plays in an asian league, and wins their player of the year trophy is good for New Zealand football ? he isn't a kiwi, he doesn't play in an oceania confedration tourney? so what relevance is it to NZ?



Has played for 2 A league teams.
 
so???? No doubt this is being reported in Aus, cos it's actually relevant given he's an aussie and Australia are in the Asian Confed, it has and never will have any bearing on NZ....unless the player nominated plays or has played for the nix, is a kiwi etc.
Perhaps it's an "Australasian" success, just like the All Whites in South Africa?
 
Seriously though, I think what Leggy might be getting at, is that this could demonstrate to young Kiwis that there are other paths to footballing success than the well-trodden one to obscure lower division English clubs like Barnsley. It's a fairly tenuous link to NZ though, and I can't see NZ's sports media picking up on it.


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07 Dec 15:50 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Suzuki Cup: Indonesia score 2 penalties in the last 10 minutes to come back v Thailand and win 2-1. Malaysia swamp Laos 5-1 in the other match to make the semis. 


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09 Dec 08:25 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
wolfman wrote:
Suzuki Cup: Indonesia score 2 penalties in the last 10 minutes to come back v Thailand and win 2-1. Malaysia swamp Laos 5-1 in the other match to make the semis.�


Did not know that the Thai coach was Brian Robson,until I read an article on Phuket and he was mentioned.
How much of a difference has he made?

If you are old and wise you were probably young and stupid

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09 Dec 10:17 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Leggy wrote:
wolfman wrote:
Suzuki Cup: Indonesia score 2 penalties in the last 10 minutes to come back v Thailand and win 2-1. Malaysia swamp Laos 5-1 in the other match to make the semis. 


Did not know that the Thai coach was Brian Robson,until I read an article on Phuket and he was mentioned.
How much of a difference has he made?


You would have to say not much considering they've been knocked out in the group stage.

Very well taken goal by Suree Sukha though, and commentator mentioned he wants to join his brother back in the A-League.
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10 Dec 13:20 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Suree wouldn't be out of place in the A-League, similar to his brother. Strong, powerful, attack-minded right back who can play in midfield. (I know I wanted him as back up for Lochhead, but he appears to be a right-sided player). He was actually considered the more talented twin at youth level, and was elevated to national teams earlier and more often than Surat.
 
Robson hasn't had a huge impact so far. After Peter Reid walked out 1 year into his 4-year contract, Robson came in with little time to prepare for the last few Asian Cup qualifers. After overseeing a 3-1 victory in Singapore, Thailand lost the reverse fixture 0-1, drew with Jordan 0-0, and lost a must-win game in Iran 0-1, missing out on qualification. He is also supposed to be in charge of the U-23s, but sent his assistant coach to the ASEAN Games in Laos last December, and Thailand crashed out in the group stage, having won the previous 8 tournaments. The seniors then played a home friendly tournament with Singapore (W), Denmark (L) and Poland (L), finishing 3rd.
He has had two major tournaments in the last two months. Firstly, the Asian Games in Gwangzhou, China (U-23). The team achieved the minimum target of the quarterfinals, but really struggled to get there. After thrashing Pakistan 6-0, they needed an own goal to draw with Oman 1-1, and then embarassingly drew with the Maldives 0-0 (although it was 1-way traffic). They beat Turkmenistan 1-0 in extra-time in the 2nd round, before playing their best match of the tournament in a 0-1 loss to eventual champions Japan.
The seniors went to Indonesia for the AFF Suzuki Cup, expected to get to the last four. However, they trailled qualifiers Laos twice before snatching a 2-2 draw in the 91st minute, followed by a 0-0 draw with Malaysia. (Laos went on to be thrashed 0-6 v Indonesia and 1-5 by Malaysia). The Thais needed to beat Indonesia, and went up 1-0 around 70 minutes, before folding badly at the end.
 
Robson has blamed fixture congestion, and to an extent he is right. A ridiculous two-legged League Cup was started at the end of August and finished on November 21st. (The TPL season ran Mar14 - Oct 24). Although the FA Cup semis were played on Oct 30, the final wasn't played until November 28th, 3 days before the Laos match. It involved the 1st and 3rd placed teams from the league, and went to extra time. These two sides both contributed 6 players to the 22 in Indonesia. Another 5 players were from one of the sides that played the League Cup final the previous week. The Thai fans are currently calling for heads to roll at FA level, and to a lesser extent, Robson's, rather than the players.
However, Robson has to shoulder some of the blame; he knew the schedule, yet picked 9 players in the Indonesian squad in the Gwangzhou team, including all 3 overage players. Also, he keeps bemoaning a lack of goals, but like Reid, has consistently overlooked the current best Thai scorer (Golden Boot 2008, 2009, 3rd to 2 imports this year) in the TPL, and until 3 months ago, also was leaving out the 2nd best Thai scorer from this season.
 
Olympic qualifying begins in February, and he'll need to produce results if he's to stay on. I hear rumours here that he's only here part-time, and spends a lot of time on his Manchester United Ambassador duties. His assistant, Steve Darby, who's been involved in SE Asian football for years, seems to be the one watching the players most of the time.  
 
 
 
wolfman2010-12-11 03:03:19


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10 Dec 14:07 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
In the other group, Philippines 0-0 Myanmar, & Vietnam 1-0 Singapore
Vietnam win the group with Philippines  a surprise 2nd. Semis are home and away, although for some reason Philippines home leg will be in Jakarta.
 
Semis will be Vietnam v Malaysia (1st leg Kuala Lumpur, 2nd Hanoi), & Inodnesia v Philippines (both legs Jakarta)
 


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10 Dec 15:00 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Back to my usual Asian Football column. It hasn't appeard in the last couple of issues, but here is last week's.
Dec 3-9
The headline and intro relate to Thailand and are pretty irrelevant to the rest of the world.
Not a lot else in the column; it reveals the Groups for next year's Women's World Cup, and previews the draw for the AFC Champions League, and the AFC Cup for 2011.
 
Women's World Cup 2011 (26 June -17 July) Groups and additional info on some of the teams:

Group A:
Germany (Hosts, and defending champions, also won 2003)
Canada
Nigeria (African champions)
France
 
Group B:
Japan (Asian Games Champions)
New Zealand (Oceania Champions)
Mexico
England
 
Group C:
USA (3rd 2007, winners 1991,1999)
North Korea
Colombia
Sweden (UEFA)
 
Group D:
Brazil (Runners-up 2007) 
Australia (Asian Champions)
Norway (1995 Winners)
Equatorial Guinea
 
The draw for the AFC club competitions has taken place since this was written, so I'll change the list of participating teams to a list of 1st round groups.
 
AFC Champions League 2011:
 
West Asia
Group A: Al Hilal (KSA), Al Gharafa (QAT), Al Jazira (UAE), Sepahan (IRN)
Group B: Esteghlal (IRN), Al Nassr (KSA), Pakhtakor (UZB), West Asian Playoff Winner
Group C: Al Wahda (UAE), Piroozi (IRN), Al Ittihad (KSA), Bunyodkor (UZB)
Group D: Al Rayyan (QAT), Emirates (UAE), Zob Ahan (IRN), Al Shabab (KSA)
 
East Asia
Group E: Jeju United (KOR), Melbourne Victory (AUS), Gamba Osaka (JPN), Tianjin Teda (CHN)
Group F: Hangzhou Greentown (CHN), FC Seoul (KOR), East Asian Playoff Winner, Nagoya Grampus (JPN)
Group G: Cerezo Osaka (JPN), Shandong Luneng (CHN), Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (KOR), Arema FC (IDN)
Group H: Sydney FC (AUS), Winner of Emperor's Cup or Kashima Antlers (JPN), Shanghai Shenhua (CHN), Suwon Samsung Bluewings (KOR)
 
A new champion is guaranteed, as Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma of Korea failed to qualify after finishing 4th in the K-League.
 
The playoffs for the last two spots are:
West Asia:
Al Saad (QAT) vs Al Ittihad (SYR), with the winner playing Dempo (IND) for the ACL spot. The losers of each match go into the AFC Cup.
 
East Asia:
Muang Thong Utd (THA) vs Sriwijaya (IDN), with winner to play Al Ain. Again, the winner of the 2nd game goes to ACL, two losers into AFC Cup.
 
AFC Cup 2011:
 
West
Group A: Playoff 2 loser, Al Ansar (LEB), Nasaf (UZB), Al Tilal (YEM)
Group B: Al Qadsia (KUW), Playoff 1 loser, Al Saqr (YEM), Shurtan (UZB)
Group C: Al Faisaly (JOR), Duhok (IRQ), Al Nasr (KUW), Al Jaish (SYR)
Group D: Al Suwaiq (OMA), Al Wehdat (JOR), Al Talaba (IRQ), Kuwait SC (KUW)
Group E: Al Ahed (LEB) Fnjaa or Al Oruba (OMA), Al Karamah (SYR), Arbil (IRQ)
 
East
Group F:  Playoff 2 loser, TSW Pegasus (HKG), Song Lam Nghe An (VIE), VB (MDV)
Group G: Playoff 1 loser, Tampines Rovers (SIN), Victory (MDV), Hanoi T&T (VIE)
Group H: South China (HKG), Chonburi (THA), Kingfisher East Bengal (IND), Persipura Jayapura (IDN)


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11 Dec 03:35 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
wolfman wrote:
Suree wouldn't be out of place in the A-League, similar to his brother. Strong, powerful,�attack-minded right back who can play in midfield. (I know I wanted him as back up for Lochhead, but�he appears to be a right-sided player). He was actually considered the more talented twin at youth level, and was elevated to national teams earlier and more often than Surat.
�

Robson hasn't had a huge impact so far. After Peter Reid walked out 1 year into his 4-year contract, Robson came in with little time to prepare for the last few Asian Cup qualifers. After overseeing a�3-1 victory in Singapore, Thailand lost the reverse fixture 0-1, drew with Jordan 0-0, and lost a must-win game�in Iran 0-1, missing out on qualification. He is also supposed to be in charge of the U-23s,�but sent his assistant coach to the ASEAN Games in Laos last December, and Thailand crashed out in the group stage, having won the previous 8 tournaments. The seniors then played a home friendly tournament with Singapore (W), Denmark (L) and Poland (L), finishing 3rd.

He has had two major tournaments in the last two months. Firstly,�the Asian Games in Gwangzhou, China (U-23). The team achieved the minimum target of the quarterfinals, but really struggled to get there. After thrashing Pakistan 6-0, they needed an own goal to draw�with Oman 1-1, and then embarassingly drew with the Maldives 0-0 (although it was 1-way traffic).�They beat Turkmenistan 1-0 in extra-time in the 2nd round, before playing their best match of the tournament�in a 0-1 loss to eventual champions Japan.

The seniors went to Indonesia for the AFF Suzuki Cup, expected to get to the last four. However, they trailled qualifiers Laos�twice before�snatching a 2-2 draw in the 91st minute, followed by a 0-0 draw with Malaysia. (Laos went on to be thrashed 0-6 v Indonesia and 1-5 by Malaysia). The Thais needed to beat Indonesia, and went up 1-0 around 70 minutes, before folding badly at the end.

�

Robson�has blamed fixture congestion, and to an extent he is right. A ridiculous two-legged League Cup was started at the end of August and finished�on November 21st. (The TPL season ran Mar14 - Oct 24). Although the FA Cup semis were played on Oct 30, the final wasn't played until November 28th, 3 days before the Laos match. It involved the 1st and 3rd placed teams�from the league, and went to extra time. These two sides both contributed 6 players to the 22 in Indonesia. Another 5 players were from one of the sides that played the League Cup final the previous week. The Thai fans are currently calling for heads to roll at FA level, and to a lesser extent, Robson's, rather than the players.

However, Robson�has to shoulder some of the blame; he knew the schedule, yet picked 9 players in the Indonesian squad in the Gwangzhou team, including all 3 overage players.�Also, he keeps bemoaning a lack of�goals, but�like Reid, has consistently overlooked the�current best�Thai scorer�(Golden Boot 2008, 2009, 3rd to 2 imports this�year)�in the TPL, and until�3 months ago, also was leaving out the 2nd best Thai scorer from this season.

�

Olympic qualifying begins in February, and he'll need to produce results if he's to stay on. I hear rumours here that he's only here part-time, and spends a lot of time�on his Manchester United Ambassador duties. His assistant, Steve Darby, who's been involved in SE Asian football for years, seems to be the one watching the players most of the time.��

�

�

�



Cheers for that.

If you are old and wise you were probably young and stupid

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13 Dec 02:12 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
There's a few English coaches bouncing around South(east) Asia. The ones that have come to my attention this season include:
 
Bryan Robson & Steve Darby (Thailand)
Bob Houghton (India)
Graham Roberts (Pakistan)
David Booth (Laos)
Simon McMenemy (Philippines)
 
Also:
Avramovic Radojko (Serbia) currently is in charge of Singapore, and Austrian Alfred Rieldl coaches Indonesia.


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20 Dec 09:55 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
Suzuki Cup semis:
 
Malaysia 2-0 Vietnam, Vietnam 0-0 Malaysia
 
Philippines 0-1 Indonesia, Indonesia 1-0 Philippines
 
Final between Malaysia and Indonesia, in Kuala Lumpur 26/12, and in Jakarta on the 29th.
 
Phoenix triallist Bambang Pamungkas is in the Indonesian side, but has been used mostly off the bench. He scored both penalties vs Thailand in their final group match.  


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20 Dec 10:26 · edited 09 Sep 06:01
December 10-16 "Little Teams in ASEAN Show Improvement" 
 
A quick review of some notable results in the Suzuki Cup this month, and development shown by some of the region's minnows. Obviously written from a Thai perspective, the writer doesn't put Thailand's surprise elimination down to poor effort by the Thai players, but to the display of the Laos team, coached by David Booth of England, in Thailand's first match. Twice Laos took the lead, and twice, Thailand were forced to equalise (the second in the 91st minute) before the match finished 2-2.
 
The small teams have improved, rather than the big teams going backwards. Booth gave opportunities to a number of younger players for this tournament, and despite Laos losing 1-5 (v Indonesia) and 0-6 (v Malaysia) in their other two outings, we can expect more performances akin to the one vs Thailand in the near future.
In the other group, the Philippines are perhaps better-known in international sporting circles for basketball, 10-pin bowling, billiards and snooker.However, at this Suzuki Cup, they have been the biggest surprise. First they held 3-time champions Singapore to a draw in their opening match, and then shocked hosts Vietnam 2-0. In their last group match, they secured a semi final spot, and maintained an unbeaten record, with a draw vs Myanmar. Singapore's subsequent elimination was as unexpected as Thailand's.
Co-host Indonesia's return to form is due in part to their coach, Alfred Riedl. The Austrian has extensive experience in South-east Asia, having previously coached the national teams of Vietnam and Laos. (NOTE: Indonesia have gone on to defeat the Philippines in the semis, and Malaysia defeated Vietnam)
 
Muang Thong United, winner of the last 2 Thai Premier League titles, will face Sriwijaya of Indonesia in the AFC Champions' League playoffs. Should they win that match, they will then face Al Ain (UAE) for a spot in the ACL Group Stage. Al Ain were the first ACL (in it's current format) winners back in 2003, when they defeated another Thai team, BEC Tero Sasana, in the final.Should they be successful, MTU will face teams from Japan, Korea and China in their group. Should they lose either match, the will compete in the AFC Cup, in which they were semi-finalists this season. 
 
Mohamad Kakbur, a former defender for Iran, has taken the coaching reins of Steel Asin, in the Iranian League, as of December 3rd. He replaces Afshin Beyrowani, with whom he played in defence for Iran, who was sacked the previous week after a run of poor form. Kakbur is confident he can turn the teams fortunes around this 2010/11 season. His previous coaching experience was in the US second tier, after 10 years playing for New York in the MLS.
 
Iran's U-23 squad are preparing for Olympic qualifiers by playing a friendly against Russia U-23 in Dubai on February 9th. It's not known who will coach the team, as current coach, Afshin Ghodbi will step down from his position of national team coach after the senior team are finished with the Asian Cup in January.
 
Diego Maradona is preparing to fly to Iran for talks with the Iranian FA, about the possibility of him being the next national team coach. Maradona, who has also been linked with the Chinese coach's job, is well liked by Iran's President Mahamood Ahmadinejad. Maradona is also connected with other world leaders such as Fidel Castro of Cuba, and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
 
wolfman2010-12-21 03:36:00


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