In some parts of Asia, this week dawns cold, dark and wintery but not in Australia where summer is in full swing. The New Year is just a week old but it’s time for the Asian Cup -16 countries, four billion people and one trophy. Sport 360 takes a look at what it all means, on and off the pitch for the world’s biggest continent.
MANY HOPEFULS IN AN OPEN TOURNAMENT
As Iraq demonstrated in 2007, the Asian Cup can be won by a team from outside the usual bunch of favourites and that is especially true this time. It’s as wide open as the South Korean and Japanese defences at the last World Cup. That 11 of the 16 hopefuls changed coaches in 2014 only adds to the unpredictability factor. The big boys are dealing with plenty of issues and that gives hope to others if they can find a lot of form and a little luck.
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Still, Japan are the favourites and rightly so – a triumph down under would take the team’s Asian Cup tally to five wins from the last seven tournaments. The defending champions have a team bursting with European experience at the top level: the Bundesliga, Serie A and the English Premier League. Keisuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa, Shinji Okazaki, Yuto Nagatomo, Maya Yoshida are all players in action at the top level every week. They come to the Asian Cup fit and in form, something that could not be said last summer.
Another change is a new coach. Javier Aguirre has yet to impress at the helm and there is something of a shadow hanging over the Mexican as he is being investigated for match-fixing in Spain.
Australia have home advantage but added pressure. Just one win in the last ten has raised concerns over coach Ange Postecoglou’s attempts to regenerate what was an aging team but the Socceroos still rely on veteran Tim Cahill for goals. South Korea is another with a new boss, Uli Stielike. The Teaguk Warriors were terrible at the World Cup but recent performances have been better. Still, despite the presence of the European stars such as Son Heung-min, perhaps the best Asian player in 2014, and Ki Seung-yeung, this tournament may come a little too soon.
Iran make up the Brazilian quartet and have stuck with the same coach in Carlos Quieroz who, in turn has stuck with the same, or similar, starting eleven. This could be key. A well-drilled, well-organised Iran side will be hard to beat and they possess attackers to trouble defences down under, although fans and media will be less willing to accept the same cautious counter-attacking tactics against Asian opposition as they were against Argentina.
Fellow Group C hopefuls UAE and Qatar may be dark horses but have lightened in hue considerably over the past couple of years. The men from Doha are now Asia’s form team and ended an excellent 2014 by winning the Gulf Cup of Nations, beating Saudi Arabia in Riyadh. If you can do that then the Asian Cup is not an impossible dream. Khalfan Ibrahim could be one of the stars of the tournament.
And then there’s Omar Abdulrahman. The Emirati playmaker could, perhaps should, be a global star by this time next month. The 2012 Olympics caught the attention of Europe’s elite. The Asian Cup should open wallets that much more. UAE’s good form has stuttered a little in recent months but it is time to show what they can do on the big stage.
The same can be said of Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and perhaps even North Korea. All could go far if things go their way. And then there’s Palestine. This team is not going to win but there is going to be huge interest in how they perform playing at this level for the first time.
RESTORING REPUTATIONS AND FORGING NEW ONES
It is fitting that the New Year offers a quick chance to put the miseries of the old to bed. Many in Asian football will want to put 2014 out of their minds as quickly as possible. The reputation of the continent suffered due to the events at the World Cup. There’s no reason to go over it all again but suffice to say that a combined haul of three points does not reflect well and talk about the future of football lying in Asia has stopped, for a while at least.
A great Asian Cup will not convince all that the east is rising but will restore a little lustre. There are some big names gearing up for the big kick off. Son Heung-min is one of the most exciting young talents in Europe and there are already reports that Bayer Leverkusen’s young forward is ready to move to one of the English Premier League giants for over Dhs 100 million (£20m). Keisuke Honda is one of the stars of Serie A with AC Milan and the likes of Tim Cahill, Shinji Kagawa, Ashkan Dejagah and Ki Seung-yeung are always worth watching.
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— Leblanc Marilou (@marilou590) January 6, 2015
It’s not just about the stars already established but a chance for new ones to be forged. By the end of January, there will be some, at present, unfamiliar names in the global conversation mix -and that’s the way it should be. There are over 350 players who have the chance to do something fantastic.
AUSTRALIA’S MOMENT IN THE ASIAN SPOTLIGHT
It is nine years since Australia became a member of the Asian Football Confederation. During that time, the nation has made quite an impact in a football sense. The Socceroos have represented the continent at two World Cups and reached the final of the 2011 Asian Cup. Just two months ago, Western Sydney Wanderers took the Asian Champions League title after that hard-fought final victory over Al Hilal. In addition, there are Aussie players in action in many different continental leagues.
Off the pitch though, it is a little different. There are still some misgivings about the country’s presence in the AFC, especially in the western reaches of the continent. This partly stems from the Socceroos taking World Cup spots, the arrogance of the national team when it first entered the confederation – an attitude exemplified at the 2007 Asian Cup – and the perception that this is simply not an Asian country. That feeling exists in Australia too and perhaps this tournament can help Australia – media, clubs, fans, general public – embrace the continent to the north and vice-versa. That would be a lasting legacy worth celebrating.
