A shortage of club playing time for Asia’s top players is causing headaches for the region’s national teams ahead of World Cup qualifiers in the coming week.
South Korea, Japan and Australia are three nations expecting to reach the 2014 World Cup, but their qualification campaigns are being hampered by many of their top players warming the bench with their club sides in Europe.
Sunderland’s Ji Dong-won and Arsenal’s Park Chu-young, who have both had limited game time in the English Premier League, are likely to lead the attack in a vital qualifier in Lebanon on Friday, as will attacking midfielder Koo Ja-cheol, who has started just two matches for German club VfL Wolfsburg.
Photo: AFP
“I am not worried about match sharpness,” South Korea coach Cho Kwang-rae said last month. “I was also a player who had a long career for club and country, and when you have lots of experience and are in a good physical condition then you don’t lose your ability to switch on for competitive games.”
Park has scored seven goals in his past four appearances for the national team and he also found the net for Arsenal in a recent English League Cup match against Bolton Wanderers.
Park signed for the London club from Monaco at the end of August, but he is still waiting for his first Premier League appearance.
“I will try my best to show that I am in the best condition and show that I am good enough to play there,” Park said last week.”My training and my lifestyle is helping me adjust to the English game. At the moment I don’t have any problems at all, I am in good condition.”
Ji has scored once for Sunderland and though he has yet to start a game, the young striker has made eight appearances off the bench and he came on after just five minutes against Manchester United.
Ki Sung-yong at Celtic in Scotland and Son Heung-min at Hamburg SV in Germany are the only European-based South Korea squad members who are regular starters with their clubs.
Japan’s Makoto Hasebe is in a similar situation at VfL Wolfsburg. He has featured more on the right side of defense this season than his usual position as a defensive midfielder and he was an unused substitute during last weekend’s loss at Borussia Dortmund.
Also named in the Japan squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Tajikistan and North Korea are German-based midfielder Hajime Hosogai and defender Tomoaki Makino. Hosogai has played at leftback this season for Augsburg, while Makino has managed just one appearance for Cologne.
Teenage striker Takashi Usami was part of Japan’s squad in the summer, but he was not selected in the latest squad. Usami has played just 21 minutes of the Bundesliga season since joining Bayern Munich in August, but he is happy to be patient at one of Europe’s leading clubs.
“There is something to gain from continuing to be on this team,” Usami told Japanese media recently. “I’m grateful to be playing at any level. I’ve been able to change my mindset and accept my situation in a positive way.”
Australia, the newest members of the Asian Football Confederation, can empathize with Japanese and South Korean experiences. While Tim Cahill and goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer are stalwarts in the English Premier League, others who have been named in the squad to take on Oman and Thailand are in and out of lineups all over the continent.
Matt McKay was one of the Socceroos’ most impressive performers at last year’s Asian Cup and he was named Australian Player of the Year last month, but he has also been short of playing time since leaving the A-League for Rangers in Scotland in August. He made his first league start least weekend.
“I’ve played a few reserve games, but it’s not the same as playing first-team football,” McKay said last month. “It’s a massive club and I want to start playing. I’m a bit disappointed, but I’ve got to get my head down. When my chance comes, I’ll need to make sure I’m ready to take it and hopefully keep myself in the team.”
Young striker Robbie Kruse at Fortuna Dusseldorf in Germany’s second tier has been in and out of the team. Adam Sarota in the Netherlands has played just once, while James Troisi in Turkey and Chris Herd in England have featured in less than half of their club’s matches.
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