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.
PHOTO: AP
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.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
RSS