Taiwanese-Spanish soccer player Yaki Yen on Wednesday announced his decision to quit Taiwan’s national squad, saying that as long as Satoshi Imai remains the head coach, he will not play in a national uniform.
Yen made the announcement on his Facebook page and expressed disappointment that he was not picked to represent Taiwan in the upcoming East Asia Cup qualifiers, where Taiwan is scheduled to face East Timor in two games early next month.
“I love Taiwan, and really want to play for the national squad, but the coaching staff are opinionated against me,” he said. “I want to inform the public that I will not play for the national squad as long as this unprofessional Japanese head coach is on the job.”
Photo courtesy of YaKi Yen’s Facebook page
“I want to say sorry to the fans, that I could not contribute to Team Taiwan this time,” he added.
Yen was born to a Taiwanese father and a Spanish mother in Las Palmas, the Canary Islands, and played with UD Fuerteventura in Spain’s third division.
He obtained his Republic of China (ROC) citizenship in 2005 and made his national squad debut against Iraq on Sept. 9 last year.
Yen is currently playing for Changchun Yatai in the Chinese Super League.
When asked by reporters yesterday to further explain his decision to quit the national squad, Yen said that Imai showed him disrespect and had played him out of position starting with the international match against Cambodia in June.
“The head coach selected me to start for that home game in Kaohsiung, but he put me in the rightback position, but my best position, and the one I am most familiar with, is fullback,” he said. “I felt Imai was not respectful of the players. It was my patriotic duty to give my best efforts for the team at that match.”
Yen said he was dropped from the squad for an away game with Cambodia five days later, adding that he accepted a media interview prior to a home game and that might have started the friction with Imai.
“A good head coach must use his brain to manage, and not his emotions,” he said. “I see him as an unprofessional coach, and I have decided to quit the squad as long as Imai is in charge of the national team.”
The Chinese Taipei Football Association yesterday issued a statement in response to Yen’s decision to quit the squad, saying: “We stand by the head coach’s decision and his right to pick players for the team roster.”
“The head coach is the one who is responsible for wins or defeats by the national squad, and he is in charge of selecting players who are suitable for his style, and those who are not suited for the game... We respect the words expressed by Yaki [Yen],” it added.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to