Asian Football (2 Viewers)

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I think it's about time we had a thread to discuss Asian football

I'll kick it off with some news from the Asian Cup

Korea Republic 4 Kuwait 0
Group B - Shangdong Sports Centre Stadium

JINAN - Favourites Korea Republic sealed first place in Group B with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Kuwait in their final preliminary match on Tuesday.

The Koreans stay in Jinan for a quarter-final against the winners of Group D following their most impressive performance of the tournament so far.

The 2002 World Cup semi-finalists finished on seven points with two wins, including a 2-0 triumph over United Arab Emirates and a 0-0 draw with Jordan, who finished second in the group.

Jo Bonfrere's side raced into a 3-0 half-time lead with two goals from Lee Dong-gook and a screamer from Cha Doo-ri. Ahn Jung-hwan netted Korea's sole second-half goal.

Kuwait's pre-game plan was to stop Korea from scoring inside the first 20 minutes. It was a valid ploy had they considered the remaining 70 minutes.

It took the Koreans until the 23rd minute to take the lead. Kuwait defender Masaed Al Enzi felled Cha Doo-ri 20 yards out and striker Lee Dong-gook stepped up to casually fire the resultant free-kick straight into the back of the net.

To Kuwait's credit, they immediately went on the attack but could not find away past the physically bigger Korean defenders.

If anything, it left them more exposed at the back and on 41 minutes, Korea made it 2-0. Choi Jin-cheul sent a through-ball into the box and Lee tapped in from six yards out for his and Korea's second goal.

Cha scored Korea's third in first-half injury-time, picking up a loose ball in midfield and firing past hapless Kuwait goalkeeper Shehad Kankone from 25 yards.

Kuwait continued to look for ways to breach Korea's defence after the break but, even with the introduction of live-wire Fahad Hamad, could not unsettle Korea's back four.

The Kuwaitis were reduced to speculative long-range efforts for much of the half as Korea maintained control of midfield.

Korean substitutle Ahn completed the scoring in the 75th minute with a snap-shot goal from distance that a surprised Kankone could only help into the net.

------------------------------------------------------------------------




In other news, Jordan advanced after earning a draw against the UAE

 

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[Meow]

I watched the last 10 minutes of the Korean-Kuwait game.

It could have been a 5-0 or even 6-0 match if you ask me.

Ahn didn't seem happy after his goal......why...he wasn't happy being a substitute or something? Sorry I haven't been following asian football closely so I don't know what's happening

 

[gray]

You're lucky you get the broadcast, I don't even get most of the Australian WC qualifiers, let alone Asian matches :irritate:

I haven't been able to follow Asian footy much, but I try as much as I can, usually through http://www.footballasia.com which is a fairly decent site. The best I can do these days is just follow the progress of my boys who are playing in Europe

As for Ahn, I didn't see the replay, but he shouldn't complaining that he was a sub. First of all he's not a good player in the first place, and secondly I heard that he missed a lot of good chances in the draw against Jordan

 

[Torkel]

I left China just before the Asian cup, really annoying...

 

[ebraheej]

I am so happy that Bahrain qualified to the next round without two of owr best players, Salman Isa (One of the best wingers in the middle east, if not the best) and Abdulla Al marzoogi (our Stam).
We played a great game against China, we dominated in the first half and we were rewarded with the first goal of the tournament. eventually China managed to score two goals and just before the end of the game we managed to get one back.
In the next games watch players number: 10, 14, 17, 13, and 30, they are something special.

Forza BAHRAIN. Mata'3libona!!!

 

[ebraheej]

And did anyone of you see Oman play...my god they play the most attractive football in asia, they should have beaten Japan and Iran. In the game against Iran they played the game of their lives, they could have easily won 5-0, but they missed many chances and Iran drew at the end 2-2.

 

[Majed]

good idea Graham... i guess we'll stop discussing it in the Arabic thread

 

[gray]

Bittersweet night for Juventus youngster Zeytullaev
Jul 27, 2004

CHONGQING: Amidst the euphoria sweeping through the Uzbekistan squad following Monday's 1-0 defeat of Turkmenistan that saw them maintain a 100% record in Group C and set-up a quarter-final clash with Bahrain, Ilyas Zeytullaev was reflecting on what was a disappointing night personally for the Juventus youth team player.

Zeytullaev took a hefty knock from Turkmenistan's Vladimir Bayramov with less than a minute to play before the interval and was replaced in the second half by gaolscoring hero and Siemens Man of the Match Mirdjalal Kasimov.

"Even before the injury I didn't think I played that well," Zeytullaev admitted to footballasia.com. "Players get a feeling in themselves whether they are having a good game or not and I wasn't satisfied with my performance."

The 20-year-old's self-critical appraisal was in contrast to that of head coach Ravshan Khadayrov, who said:

"I substituted Zeytullaev at have time because he picked up an injury, up until then I thought he was performing very well. Substitutions always depend on the situation during the match and each player should be ready to come on at any time."

The injury was tough luck on the promising Zeytullaev, who until being given a starting berth as Khaydarov rang the changes for their final Group C clash against the Turkmen, had played just 30 Asian Cup minutes, when he came on as a second half substitute in the 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia.

Zeytullaev, however remains pragmatic about the lack of opportunities.

"I understand why I am on the bench and it is OK because I appreciate that there are many better players in the same position ahead of me.

Of course, the game against Turkmenistan was a chance for me as the coach decided to rest other players. I will probably be back on the bench for the Bahrain game but this will be the coach's decision and I'll respect that."

With time running out for Zeytullaev at the Juventus 'primavera' (youth team), the livewire forward was hoping to use the Asian Cup as a platform for his potential.

"It has been a reasonably successful season for me with the Juventus primavera although I didn't get the chance to play any games with the senior squad. Next year will be my last year with the youth team and I will be looking to sort things out after the Asian Cup.

"I had a trial with Lokomotiv Moscow and I have had an offer from Serie B side Salernitana. To play in Serie B I know will be very difficult, while there will probably be more chances of playing regular first team football in Russia. I am happy with life in Italy but don't want to be on the bench, I need to be playing regular football."

 

[Lawnchair Bes]

so whats the deal with this kid? any chances?

 

[Len]

FVCK!! Thailand crash out of the Asia cup, without even getting a draw.....OMG....they've become so shit.....:fero:

 

[sallyinzaghi]

I think Arabs are good when it comes to football.

Anyway, is it just me, but everytime I watch asian football, they do seem really active during the first half but then they're like half dead in the second half... I'd have thought they ought to have more stamina?

Whatever it is, Malaysian football is the suckiest of all.

 

[Darin]

i jus hope that Korea crashes iran :fero:

 

[EMMY]

++ [ originally posted by Len ] ++
FVCK!! Thailand crash out of the Asia cup, without even getting a draw.....OMG....they've become so shit.....:fero:

ammh...You didn't know something about them

They are not football players but they are a tough...they born to be a prizefighter!!!!!! (in a football field)

 

[The Arif]

anyone seen barcelona playing against one korean team?

barca lost 1-0 and what a goal that was. FK from about 25-30 metres.

 

[Len]

Yeh, I believe it was Suwon Samsung.....they won 1-0...the FK was like their only chance in the game....

 

[Ramin]

++ [ originally posted by Darin ] ++
i jus hope that Korea crashes iran :fero:

dream on

iran 4- 3 Korea .. Karimi was Brilliant

 

[Juventino]

Double Standards by Asian Football Confederation (AFC)?
By Iran Sports Press
Aug 1, 2004, 01:33

(Iran Sports Press): Over the years, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has been accused by many Iranian fans to be biased towards certain Arab or East Asian teams for one reason or another. AFC officials have never commented on these allegations. At the same time, some see these cries of foul play as an excuse by Iranian fans for the shortcomings of the Iranian national football team mainly against Arab teams. What follows in this article is a look at certain events which have occurred in the Asian Cup in China over the past days, to determine whether there is a case of injustice and insincerity by AFC.

During Friday afternoon’s quarter final match between Uzbekistan and Bahrain, an incident occurred involving a Bahraini player. In the 65th minute of the match, Bahrain striker Ala’a Hubail (30) went in a challenge with his Uzbek counterpart. However, as a foul was committed by the Bahraini player, both players fell towards the ground. At this point Hubail clearly elbowed the Uzbek player’s stomach. Television replays clearly confirm the malice in the incident and the look on the Bahraini player’s face clearly shows his intent. What is surprising is that neither the linesman nor the referee clearly saw the incident, and Hubail got away with only a yellow card. Hubail went on to score two goals for his team. He also cleared the ball off his own line once, and scored the winning penalty in the shoot-out. Surprisingly, no action has been taken by AFC since the end of the match on Friday.

A similar incident took place during an earlier match involving Iran and Oman, where Iranian defender Mohammad Nosrati stamped on the back of an Omani player. He was subsequently punished heavily by the AFC within hours of the final whistle (4 games). An off the ball incident between two Iranian defenders in the same match was also punished heavily by AFC after the match (2 games). General Farouk Bouzo, Chairman of the AFC Referees Committee, went on Arab television within minutes of that match and criticized the Bahraini referee, announcing his ban from the rest of the tournament. He added that the Iranian players will be punished. Within hours, the Iranian trio were handed strict punishments. The question here is why does it take minutes for the AFC Referees Committee to notice the incidents involving the Iranian players, but there is nothing mentioned of the ugly incident involving the Bahraini striker, an incident that had it been punished during the game, would have changed the whole outcome of the game, especially given the role Hubail played during the rest of the game.

Another similar incident occurred in the quarter-final match between Iraq and China, when Iraqi goalkeeper, Ahmad Ali Jaber, was sent off for an off the ball incident with a Chinese attacker. However, he has not received any further punishment for his behaviour up to now. The same question applies, as to why he hasn’t been further punished by the AFC officials.

Most recently, during the Iran-Korea quarter final, Korean player Kim Jin Kyu (28) made continuous “one-fingered” indecent gestures towards the Iranian bench after a foul he had committed in the last ten minutes of the match. However, the AFC official website, and other officials have so far refused to comment on the incident.

If AFC is to be regarded as a fair and unbiased organisation, it needs to show consistency in its decision making, instead of creating double standards. It is still apparent that while the level of the games in Asia is lower than those in other continents, more worryingly the level of management and administration by the AFC suffers the same fate too. Whether these inconsistencies are as a result of incompetence of AFC officials, or as a result of bias is up to the readers to decide.

 

[aressandro10]

japan will win this one... but their understregthness will give this tournament some competetiveness...

 

[Febrina]

Indonesian NT went home earlier like ussual :groan:
I think the final would be Iran v Japan

 

[Gandalf]

++ [ originally posted by Juventino ] ++
Double Standards by Asian Football Confederation (AFC)?
By Iran Sports Press
Aug 1, 2004, 01:33

(Iran Sports Press): Over the years, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has been accused by many Iranian fans to be biased towards certain Arab or East Asian teams for one reason or another. AFC officials have never commented on these allegations. At the same time, some see these cries of foul play as an excuse by Iranian fans for the shortcomings of the Iranian national football team mainly against Arab teams. What follows in this article is a look at certain events which have occurred in the Asian Cup in China over the past days, to determine whether there is a case of injustice and insincerity by AFC.

During Friday afternoon’s quarter final match between Uzbekistan and Bahrain, an incident occurred involving a Bahraini player. In the 65th minute of the match, Bahrain striker Ala’a Hubail (30) went in a challenge with his Uzbek counterpart. However, as a foul was committed by the Bahraini player, both players fell towards the ground. At this point Hubail clearly elbowed the Uzbek player’s stomach. Television replays clearly confirm the malice in the incident and the look on the Bahraini player’s face clearly shows his intent. What is surprising is that neither the linesman nor the referee clearly saw the incident, and Hubail got away with only a yellow card. Hubail went on to score two goals for his team. He also cleared the ball off his own line once, and scored the winning penalty in the shoot-out. Surprisingly, no action has been taken by AFC since the end of the match on Friday.

A similar incident took place during an earlier match involving Iran and Oman, where Iranian defender Mohammad Nosrati stamped on the back of an Omani player. He was subsequently punished heavily by the AFC within hours of the final whistle (4 games). An off the ball incident between two Iranian defenders in the same match was also punished heavily by AFC after the match (2 games). General Farouk Bouzo, Chairman of the AFC Referees Committee, went on Arab television within minutes of that match and criticized the Bahraini referee, announcing his ban from the rest of the tournament. He added that the Iranian players will be punished. Within hours, the Iranian trio were handed strict punishments. The question here is why does it take minutes for the AFC Referees Committee to notice the incidents involving the Iranian players, but there is nothing mentioned of the ugly incident involving the Bahraini striker, an incident that had it been punished during the game, would have changed the whole outcome of the game, especially given the role Hubail played during the rest of the game.

Another similar incident occurred in the quarter-final match between Iraq and China, when Iraqi goalkeeper, Ahmad Ali Jaber, was sent off for an off the ball incident with a Chinese attacker. However, he has not received any further punishment for his behaviour up to now. The same question applies, as to why he hasn’t been further punished by the AFC officials.

Most recently, during the Iran-Korea quarter final, Korean player Kim Jin Kyu (28) made continuous “one-fingered” indecent gestures towards the Iranian bench after a foul he had committed in the last ten minutes of the match. However, the AFC official website, and other officials have so far refused to comment on the incident.

If AFC is to be regarded as a fair and unbiased organisation, it needs to show consistency in its decision making, instead of creating double standards. It is still apparent that while the level of the games in Asia is lower than those in other continents, more worryingly the level of management and administration by the AFC suffers the same fate too. Whether these inconsistencies are as a result of incompetence of AFC officials, or as a result of bias is up to the readers to decide.

I hardly call the AFC an organization.. so many corrupted officials and refs.. I haven't seen that finger insident.. but as I see it now on the pic you gave.. that player should be banned at least 5 matches..