Less than three months out from their World Cup qualifying campaigns, four of Asia's top five teams are rudderless, desperately searching for coaches to steer them to the finals.
The uncertainty does not bode well for Australia, Japan, Iran and South Korea, who will be competing with 16 other teams for the four automatic qualifying berths allocated to Asia at the 2010 showpiece in South Africa.
Only Saudi Arabia, surprisingly, have stability, with Brazilian Helio dos Anjos surviving the notoriously demanding job for six months. The Saudis have axed 16 managers in the past 13 years.
Australia are still recovering from being snubbed by Dick Advocaat, who was set to be unveiled as the new Socceroos coach last weekend but stunned everyone by deciding to remain with new Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg.
Jurgen Klinsmann, Martin Jol and even Jose Mourinho have been mentioned as possible replacements for stand-in coach Graham Arnold, who struggled to fill the shoes of Guus Hiddink.
South Korea, World Cup semi-finalists in 2002, have been leaderless since Pim Verbeek resigned in late July after their disappointing third-place finish at the Asian Cup.
The Dutchman is another name to be linked with the Australia job and he could fit the bill.
He learned the ropes as assistant manager under Advocaat and then Hiddink in South Korea, giving him the type of knowledge of Asian soccer that is so vital for the Socceroos manager.
His replacement for South Korea, who have qualified for the past six World Cups, remains undetermined.
The country's soccer governing body said this month it was looking for a foreign coach despite the resignation of the past two.
Korean newspapers have cited potential candidates to include former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier, Mick McCarthy -- who managed Ireland and is currently manager of Wolves -- and Czech veteran Milan Macala.
Japan are also at a crossroads after coach Ivica Osim suffered a serious stroke last week.
The 66-year-old Bosnian, who led the former Yugoslavia to the 1990 World Cup quarter-finals, collapsed after watching an English Premiership match on TV.
Japan's Nikkan Sports daily reported yesterday that Holger Osieck, the German coach of J-League champions Urawa Red Diamonds, was in line to take over, although the club denied this.
Iran, meanwhile, appear ready to spend money to find the right man to whip their underachieving stars into shape following the sacking of Amir Ghalenoei in the aftermath of the Asian Cup.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
RSS