Print

Mail

wiki links

Asian Cup: Asian Cup set to leave enduring legacy

An Asian Cup banner is seen on a street in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Wednesday. Vietnam is hosting the tournament's Group B. PHOTO: AP

In soccer-crazy Southeast Asia, a 23-day soccer tournament featuring the best players in the region and a smattering of stars from the top European leagues will have an enduring legacy.

For the vast bulk of Southeast Asian people, sports like tennis, golf and Formula One are remote pursuits, accessible only to the moneyed elites.

The people's game is soccer. And from July 7 to July 29 it will take center stage as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam co-host the Asian Cup -- the continental championship for national teams.

The Asian Football Confederation elected to spread the 14th edition of the competition over four countries, despite the inherent logistical and organizational headaches.

But for all the difficulties that may result, the Asian Cup spread provides a hosting opportunity to four countries that otherwise would rarely get to see this caliber of athlete at this level.

As much as the event will be a theater for nationalistic fervor, there is also considerable excitement among the neutrals about the arrival of Australia's Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka, Japan's Shunsuke Nakamura and their ilk.

This edition of the Asian Cup seems to have captured the public imagination in a way not seen since it first contested in 1956. Mostly this is a reflection of Asia's ever-improving soccer status, with the confederation now boasting 14 of the world's top 100 nations as measured by FIFA rankings.

The largest novelty factor for this Asian Cup is the inaugural appearance of Australia, which switched to Asia from the Oceania confederation after last year's World Cup.

Thanks to widespread television coverage of the English Premier League, Australia's stars such as Viduka, Kewell, Tim Cahill, Mark Schwarzer and Brett Emerton are familiar faces to Southeast Asian soccer fans, and their appearance is eagerly anticipated.

Displaying the confidence inherent in many Australian sports teams, the Socceroos have already declared anything short of an appearance in the July 29 final will be a failure.

Given Australia's performance at the World Cup, when they came close to eliminating eventual champions Italy in the second round, such confidence is perhaps justified.

Defending champions Japan have won three of the past four Asian Cups, and possess star quality in Nakamura and striker Naohiro Takahara, although big-name stars of past campaigns Hidetoshi Nakata and Juinichi Inamoto are missing and the squad consists mostly of J-League players.

Japan, who lost to Australia 1-0 in the first round of the World Cup, are favorites to progress from Group B against Vietnam, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, while Iran are the heavyweight of Group C, which includes China, Malaysia and Uzbekistan.

Group D is the most intriguing, with South Korea and Saudi Arabia both likely to fancy their chances of topping the group, which also includes Indonesia and Bahrain.
This story has been viewed 1182 times.