sports

Australia rising in Asia, on and off the soccer field

10 Comments
By KEIRAN SMITH

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It was a great game, one which I watched with some of the "zainichi" (Korean residents of Japan) present. Truly nail biting stuff, and one which will transform soccer/football in Australia

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Most of the post match boos were indeed directed towards Uncle Sepp. It was a great experience to boo him in person.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

@disillusioned its also takes a 75% majority vote to expel a country from the confederation, i doubt theyll even get 50% if it came to a vote which judging by the statment by the AFC president. at the end of the day the AFC probably made the most money at this tournament than any other, having Australia in it is far more profitable than not. As we know at the end of the day money talks, %&'#+: walk

0 ( +2 / -2 )

One great thing to see was the lack of crowd segregation. There were about 15,000 Korean fans there in patches amongst the Aussies and not a hint of trouble. My brother was at the game and said everyone got along. Even when the Aussies playfully sang "Your flag looks like the Pepsi logo" (that's hilarious) the Koreans laughed along to their credit. The whole tournament was like that. Iranian and Iraqi supporters intermingled as did other traditional foes. Female Arabian fans not only attended en masse, they wore whatever they liked and drank beer. They did things we in the West take for granted. There were no politics, just sport. It was the most successful, most attended and most watched Asian Cup ever. Compare that to Qatar four years ago. Nobody should doubt Australia's contribution since joining the Asian Confederation.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Yeah, what a load of crap to expel Australia from the Asian cup! It's a nation of 23 million people positioned at the base of Asia. These wombat's are just peeved because their nations with populations five or six times greater than Australia cannot beat the Aussies. Well done Socceroos!

7 ( +9 / -2 )

@volland actually i wouldnt be so sure A SHOCKED Asian football chief has savaged claims on the eve of the Asian Cup final that the Confederation wants to expel Australia. “Stunned” Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa has backed Australia’s membership, and told the Herald Sun that alleged comments to the contrary were “manipulated”. Sheikh Salman praised Australia for putting on a wonderful Asian Cup and said the focus should be on Saturday night’s final between Australia and South Korea, which will attract 80,000 fans and a global TV audience of 80 million. “I’m really stunned with the timing to bring this topic out. It’s a false topic,’’ Sheikh Salman told the Herald Sun. “To read a story like this is really sad because there’s no truth in it. “The success of this tournament has exceeded our expectations. I won’t let a story like this affect the success of the tournament we had in Australia. “We have to put this record straight. It’s been manipulated in a way to make it negative.” Sheikh Salman conceded that some Asian nations were sceptical about Australia’s entry into the AFC in 2006, but said it was an old story. Fairfax newspapers quoted Salman telling Dubai-based newspaper Al-Ittihad that “Arabs are not the only ones” looking to exclude Australia. But Sheikh Salman said the Asian Cup proved that Australia has contributed to the world’s biggest Confederation.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@volland

Everyone who saw the game came away with the clear impression that Australia won because of their phyiscal superiority

Not the case at all. Yes, Australia were fitter and that showed in the end but if you're implying the South Korean team was weak or the Australian team lacked skill you'd be wrong on both counts. Luongo's goal was a cracker!

It was a game that ran towards the aussie goal for 110 of the 120 minutes

Rubbish! Were you watching the same game? South Korea enjoyed large amounts of possession in periods but in the end Australia had 51% of the ball, including crucially 77% in the first half of extra time. They had 442 completed passes compared to South Korea's 326, 75% pass accuracy v 70%, 5 shots on target v 3... statistically Australia were slightly superior and the result reflected it.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Great game which we almost let slip. The fitness, determination and organization of the Aussies came through at the end. The Koreans were out on their feet at the end and they are not a culture to lay down and die (well occasionally in they game some did). Great game by Chan Duri No. 22 for Korea - he kept them in it and did not make one mistake. Hard nut and the kind of player Aussies respect. The boos were mainly for Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa who would have us out of the confederation. I hope he heard a few home truths on the stage as players and coaches had to shake his hand. It turns my stomach to see those money-grubbers, back room dealers and power jockeys sharing the spotlight when some should be sharing a cell.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Everyone who saw the game came away with the clear impression that Australia won because of their phyiscal superiority, the second goal would have been unthinkable without that. It was a game that ran towards the aussie goal for 110 of the 120 minutes, with the Koreans not being able to score until the 93rd minute, because they not once managed to have more than two attackers in the australian penalty area, against at least 5 defenders.

THis of course will only have one single consequence, it will strengthen the forces that want Australia out of the asian qualifying group.-..

-8 ( +1 / -9 )

Congrats to Socceroos and to the Australian audience. Australia is the role model to be followed by Asia and Oceania, soccerwise.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

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