Asian football’s top ten stories of 2011

Published on December 30, 2011 by mod1 · No Comments

It was another year full of drama, excitement and controversy in Asian football and here are the top ten stories of 2011.

10. Afghanistan reach the final of the South Asian Cup

When you are ranked 178 in the world, your historical number of wins is in single figures and the adjective ‘war-torn’ is a semi-permanent companion every time your country’s name is mentioned in the international media, you take any success you can get. Afghanistan had the best year in their football history and if things had gone a little differently, could have ended it as South Asian champions.

The Lions had never made it past the first round of the biennial meet before but stormed into the last four with comprehensive wins over Sri Lanka and Bhutan following an opening game draw against India in Delhi. Then came a semi-final win over a Nepal team coached by former England international Graham Roberts to earn a final date with the hosts and favourties India. That ended in a 4-0 defeat after the sending off of the Afghan goalkeeper. It was still a great time for fans in the country.

9. Chinese failure

Chinese fans are accustomed to national team heartbreak but it doesn’t get any easier. The year started with a first round elimination from the Asian Cup but what really hurt was a third successive failure to reach the final stage of qualification for the World Cup. The whys and wherefores have long been debated without offering much in the way of comfort. There is solace these days in the rise of the Chinese Super League and the money flowing into the domestic game. That may eventually help the national team add to a solitary World Cup appearance but fans will not be holding their collective breath.

8. Growing power of Asian teams in international transfer market

Teams from the western reaches of the continent have been buying big-name stars for years though these players were usually close to retirement and happy to wind down for a couple of years.

The signing of Asamoah Gyan by Al Ain was significant. It was a case of a West Asian club’s financial power tempting a player still yet to hit his peak away from an established English Premier League club that wanted to keep him. Then you have the capture of Nicolas Anelka by Shanghai Shenhua in December and the promise of similar signings to come. Asian clubs flexed their financial muscles in 2011 and an increasing amount of famous European teams can’t match such power.

7. Indonesia shenanigans

While the Arab Spring was sweeping through North Africa and the Middle East, Indonesian football got rid of its own corrupt dictator in the shape of Nurdin Halid. The convicted criminal wanted a third term as president of the country’s FA. Even apart from the fact that he had been imprisoned while in office, the chaotic state of the domestic football scene should have been damning enough. It took a long time but eventually FIFA ruled that Nurdin could not stand again and from the chaos, a pro-reform candidate eventually took his place. While the jury is still out on whether things will be much better in Indonesian football, the recent political upheavals around the world taught that removal of a rotten leader is a vital first step.

6. The Bahrain situation

What do you do when you get within minutes of the 2006 and 2010 World Cups and you are desperate for a debut appearance on the global stage? In their bid to qualify for 2014, Bahrain arrested some of their best players. Established internationals such as Mohamed Hubail, his brother Alaa as well as Mohamed Adnan were arrested by security forces, imprisoned and, they claim, tortured for taking part in protests at the height of the Arab Spring. They may have been released but are not yet close to a recall to the national team. Even if that happened, it is probably too late as far as 2014 is concerned. Bahrain are almost out of the running.

5. Good news from Palestine and Lebanon

It may be cheating to have two nations occupying one slot but this is a pair that tends to make headlines for reasons other than football. In 2011 it was different. Palestine played a first ever World Cup qualifier on home soil, progressing past Afghanistan before narrowly being beaten by Thailand. Lebanon are in with a shout of the final round of the 2014 World Cup qualification thanks partly to an impressive 2-1 win over South Korea in November.

4. Al Sadd end East Asian dominance and more besides

Al Sadd were not bad at all. They may be the most unpopular team in Asia but were also the best thing to happen to the Asian Champions League for years, upsetting entire nations on their way to the title. First came Iran. Al Sadd lost both quarter-finals against Sepahan but progressed to the last four because of an ineligible player fielded.

A controversial goal in the semi-final against Suwon Bluewings almost caused a riot but shot the tournament into headlines around the world. A penalty shootout win against Jeonbuk Motors in the final after being second best for much of the match took the trophy back to West Asia for the first time since 2005. Al Sadd then finished third at the FIFA Club World Cup ending an amazing year for a team that didn’t even qualify for the Asian Champions League in the first place and were admitted due to the expulsion of a club from Vietnam.

3. South Korea match-fixing

Asia’s oldest professional league took a major hit in 2011 with a string of match-fixing cases that shocked a nation. Over 60 players, past and present, were prosecuted for the crime, often accepting amounts that were depressingly low. For a while in spring, fresh allegations and accusations became a part of the national television news and caused at least two involved to take their own life. The KFA and the K-League reacted quickly and strictly but how effective the counter-measures were remain to be seen.

2. Suspension of Mohamed Bin Hammam

This is the first half of a story that is going to dominate Asian football off the pitch for much of 2012. After nine years in the continental top job, Bin Hammam decided to shoot for the biggest post of all and in March announced that he was going to challenge FIFA president Sepp Blatter in the election due to be held in May. Just before the vote, the Qatari withdrew after accusations of vote-buying. He was later banned from football by FIFA’s Ethics Committee.

Bin Hammam claims that the committee is far from impartial- a view shared by many in the game – and is determined to clear his name. Whether he succeeds or not, 2011 marked the end of Bin Hammam at the AFC.

1. Japanese success

It is good to end with football matters and it was a great year for Japan. It started with a fourth Asian Cup triumph. After a slow start the Samurai Blue came to the boil nicely and downed South Korea and Australia in the semi-final and final respectively.

In July, the women went one better and lifted the World Cup in Germany, a huge deal for Asian football. And with qualification for 2014 progressing very well, fans in Japan can look back on 2011 with considerable satisfaction.

Credit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com