18/07/2007 by leo.

After the game in Ho Chi Minh City, the scenes of celebration in the city centre were something to be seen. I got a taxi back from the stadium quite a while after the game, but he could not get me through to crowds of mopeds, and I had no choice but to walk the last few hundred yards. As I made my way through the cheering fans, I met one of the UAE press delegation who was being treated as if he was the hero that had single handily won a game for Vietnam. However, it should be said that few cities in Asia deserve the title, “the city that never sleeps”, and those in Vietnam are certainly listed as “the city that gets to bed early” – so I can report it was all quiet by around midnight. Still, a late night out for most locals.

It is not a groundhopper’s tale if it does not involve dashing long distances in order to see seemingly insignificant matches. A day without any game in the Asian Cup should allow me to make the considerable distance between Vietnam and Indonesia with ease, but I have to make things more difficult. My flight out of Ho Chi Minh City takes me to Singapore, while I have to catch a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Palembang, on the Indonesian isle of Sumatra. The gap between the two is easily traversed by bus, train or plane – and it was quite plausible to arrive in KL mid evening and spend the night there.

But Singapore is another country, not one of the hosts of the Asian Cup, and a failure in the qualification process. As a result, the S-League is playing on through the period of the tournament, and gives a chance for a few extra matches. The match is at Yishun, a typical ground for the S-League consisting of a running track with a slight banking to the surrounds. On one side are a few rows of seats, (and also behind both ends), while the opposite side has a large stand, two thirds given over to concrete seats, the central section with proper plastic seats. The crowd is sparse – just a few hundred, although I can guarantee it will officially be put somewhat higher. Generally there is no sign of affiliation for either team from the crowd, but there is a small group of supporters chanting and banging a drum in support of the visitors, Tampines Rovers. The home side, by contrast has a just a single drummer. But then Tampines Rovers are one of the better sides, and currently top of the league. The home side, by contrast are bottom and lack the obvious basis of support. This is because they are Korean Super Reds, one of the oddities of the Singaporean League, a ‘foreign’ team. There are three teams of this type in the league at the moment, the other two Lioaning and Abirex Niigata have parent teams in China and Japan respectively. Korean Super Reds are on their own in that they have no team in their home country to affiliate to, but are here on their own. This is not new – the league has had two other foreign teams in the past Sinchi (for Singaporean Chinese) and Sporting Afrique. Sinchi was a mix of mainland and local Chinese and lasted for several years without any success. The African team survived for only a season before the league decided to give them the push. They selected their players from a number of African countries.

The Super Reds team are all from Korea, and are basically a very young side. The captain, Nam Woung Hi is 31 years old, and took up a holding role behind the back four. The rest of the players, with two exceptions were under 23 years of age. Clearly the hope for the players is that this experience will see them in good stead, and they will join clubs in their homeland later. For the league, the hope was to mobilise support from the local Korean community, but there is little sign that this has been achieved.

As for the match, the first half was a non-event. Despite the disparity of league positions, there was little to choose between the teams, and when either came even close to a shooting position, it seemed there was a desire to boot the ball high and wide. Tampines started the second half with two substitutions and a renewed impetus, but as they continued to miss the target, this soon run out, allowing Korean Super Reds a chance, if only they could find the target. It was not until 82 minutes that the deadlock was broken, when Tampines’ Brazilian striker Peres de Oliveira found space, and although his shot came off the post, Singaporean national striker Noh Alam Shah was on hand for the rebound. KSR pushed forward, Nam Woung Hi moving to a more advanced position. This could have had consequences, as two crosses should have produced a second goal for Tampines, but then paid off in the 89th minute when a rash tackle gave away a penalty. Jeon Hyojoon’s penalty came off the post, and the ball was half cleared to the right wing. From there it was crossed back for Jeon Hyojoon to level the scores with a header. Three minutes of added time did not add to the scores, so Korean Super Reds picked up just their fifth point in 16 games.

After the game, there was hardly a stop in the travelling. The local metro takes me towards town, and a short walk to a bus departure point. After a short wait, I am on the midnight bus to Kuala Lumpur. After a short stop at customs about 40 minutes later, the driver carried on up the motorways, reaching the Malay capital before 6 am. I manage to sleep on the bus, except for a few times when my friend Steve, who had met me at Singapore Airport before the game, nudges me because my snoring is keeping him awake. Steve has not got the required visa for my next game, so he is going to go to one of the Group C games in KL. We get a taxi to where he is going to stay, it is 6.30 in the morning, but the night porter says Steve cannot check in until 8. By 8 O’clock, I have taken the monorail from the hotel to the Sentral (Malay spelling) Station, and am on a bus to the airport. With about a 20 minute delay, it is just a fraction less than 24 hours since I have left Vietnam, when I leave Malaysia bound for Palembang in Indonesia.

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16/07/2007 by leo.

After the heat and humidity of Hanoi, it is a relief to come down to Ho Chi Minh City, (formerly known as Saigon), where is may still be hot and humid, it is somewhat more comfortable to walk outside than in the capital. The city itself is a curious mixture, the centre pieces being curiously French architecture left over from colonial times – a red brick cathedral, the spacious post office and a very opulent opera house. If one move to the Chinese part of the city, then there are some magnificently decorated temples. Between the two, the typical tall narrow buildings of the locals, painted in their contrasting colours, some welcome green spaces, and everywhere the hooting of motor scooters flitting around the city

As Qatar have two points, while Japan and Vietnam, playing each other in Hanoi have four, they have choosen an attacking line up, starting in 4-3-3. The United Arab Emirates know they go home after this game, and have dropped all but three from the starting line up of the last game. The match is being played at the stadium known as Quan Khu 7, and translated into English as the Army Stadium. Like the others so far visited, it has an athletics track. Outside this are rows of brightly coloured concrete seats – about ten rows behind the goals, rising at least another four rows along the side. A modern stand sits along one side and provides the only protection from the elements. Most of the sparse crowd are either in this stand or in the first block beyond. Almost to a man, they are supporting the United Arab Emirates – after all, if Qatar do not win this match, then Vietnam (and for that matter Japan) will qualify regardless of the score in the other game. Every time the UAE got the ball, it was applauded, but this was nothing to the crescendo that greeted the news that Vietnam were ahead in their match, rising in intensity as more people confirmed the news. No more than a whimper signalled the Japanese equaliser four minutes later.

The balance of the early play was just in Qatar, but were having little joy in front of the goal, and the UAE started to create a few more chances and get the local crowd excited, (the news that Vietnam were now losing having quietened them a bit), but five minutes from half time, it all went wrong as Quintana was fouled just inside the box. The referee tried to be helpful, ruling the first score from the resulting penalty as illegal (assumedly for an infringement), but Quintana is not an easily rattled played, and put his second attempt into the roof of the net. Two minutes later, the UAE goalkeeper somehow contrived to mess up a clearance and get caught in a tangle of feet with a Qatar player. The referee decided to give an indirect free kick inches inside the box. Quintana’s powerful shot was blocked by the wall this time, while Yahya headed the resultant corner just wide. At half time, Qatar lead 1-0, and with Japan also ahead, it is not looking good for Vietnam.

The second half was very much in the same vein as the first, Qatar having the play but not looking that likely to get a second goal, while Vietnamese hopes took another knock thanks to Shunsuke Nakamura adding Japan’s third goal. Ten minutes there was a chance for UAE when Jumaa crossed for Nawaf Mubarak, but the number nine was a foot away from making contact., and then on 58 minutes another cross from the right, this time from Ahmed Mohamed AL Mahri was met by the head of Saeed Alkas and this time UAE were level. The crowd exploded back into life, and there were regular chants of U-A-E, but the team did not respond in kind, as it was Qatar that were woken up by the goal. Meanwhile, Japan’s position in the ascendancy in Hanoi was being confirmed, as the raised the score to 4-1

It took until 68 minutes into the game before the first substitution, Qatar bringing on Magid Hassan as an alternative attacked to Ali Yahya, but keeping the same 4-3-3 formation. A defensive change followed, Mesaad Al Hammad coming on for Mustafa Abdulla, but again without a change in the formation. The Qatar play was try to and move the ball quickly, using mainly the inside left channel, and then trying to get the ball to Quintana. UAE’s tactics were to try and block the ball before it reached the Uruguayan and then boot it upfield as quick as possible. With fourteen minutes to play, UAE made their first change - taking off the goalscorer Alkas and bringing on Faisal Khalil, another striker. Qatar’s final change, bringing on Adel Mohamed for Wesam meant an extra forward and a final 12 minutes of bombarding the goal in 4-2-4 formation. UAE then brought on Mohamed Al Shehhi for Nawaf Mubarek, still keeping their shape. Qatar continued to press, but the UAE were making a good effort in keeping the ball from Quintana. This was an effective tactic, for despite giving putting Magid in with a clear chance on 84 minutes, the forward missed the target. As soon as a white shirted player received the ball, the ground would scream their delight, especially if the player could run with the ball and maybe draw a foul. For once time wasted by an injury was cheered not jeered. The 90 minutes were passed with 18 being treated, it took more than another minute to bring on 20 as the final sub. Qatar pushed down one wing and then the other, but UAE defenders were blocking every cross, while the runs of 13 brought the fouls, and brought the crowd to their feet. Four minutes over – Mater takes a very long run and powers a low shot through the wall. Qatar goalkeeper Saqr saves, but the ball bounces up. Faisil Khalil is first on hand, and heads into the empty net. The game ends seconds later with Vietnam, beaten 4-1 in Hanoi reaching the quarter finals.

Outside the gates to the stadium, the crowd spent a long time chanting for their own team and for UAE. Bruno Metsu gave just the briefest of press conferences (it mattered little, you could hardly hear what was said) before boarding the bus amid his cheering support. Metsu will not be such a hero when he returns to the Emirates as he now is in Vietnam. Perhaps he should head east for his next job. I feel Qatar failed because they are too reliant on a single player, and the other forwards do not feel up to the purpose of taking on the responsibility

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16/07/2007 by leo.

It may be dangerous to publish a page including predictions less than half an hour before the game kicks off, but here’s to living dangerously

When the qualification draw for the Asian Cup was released. I wrote down a list of the twelve teams I expected to qualify. I cannot remember now whether or not I got all 12 correct, but I do know that I got at least 11. Indeed, there were only two questions in my mind when making my list – would Bahrain or Kuwait join Australia from Group D, and whether it would be Jordan or Oman to qualify in Group C?

Both Jordan and Kuwait played in the last finals in China. The only other team in the 16 for the 2004 tournament, not to also play in 2007 was Turkmenistan – who did not even enter the qualification stage. The three new teams in contention are two of the hosts, Vietnam and Malaysia, plus new boys Australia. In the same way, China 2004 was the first time 16 teams played in the finals, and 11 of the 12 teams from the tournament played in Lebanon four years earlier were back. Only Lebanon themselves missed out.

This is the way of Asian football, and has been for all the time I have been following sport in the region. There is an established order in the game and this is neither easily upset or changed. It is not the way of all the world. In Africa, home advantage is a far more significant factor, while in Europe, it is not unknown for a team to be built up and spend a few years in the limelight, and then to fade back towards insignificance.

So we entered the tournament with certain expectations. In many minds, the four group winners were known in advance, and would all move on to the semi-finals. These four teams were Australia, Japan, Iran and South Korea. The second places were never supposed to be so clear, with the other two teams in the group, (with the exception of the hosts) in each group expected to fight a close contest. For the hosts, the question was whether any of them at all, even with the addition of home advantage could even challenge for qualification.

The first two rounds of matches show a marked difference to expectations. In particular there were much stronger performances from the home sides than anyone could have expected (except Malaysia – more of them later). In addition to this, we have seen two of the ‘big four’ failing to do the business. Although still in competition, both these teams are at seriously at risk of not reaching the knock out stages.

In group A, Thailand set the standard in the opening game, when they picked up a 1-1 draw with Iraq. The following day, Oman came within a minute of defeating Australia. The second round really opened up the competition though, as both Thailand and Iraq won their matches. The Thais beating Oman, while Iraq surprised Australia by demonstrating the commitment needing to succeed at this level. After only one week, Graham Arnold’s whinging excuses as to why Australia’s failures are the vault of everyone but himself are already becoming legendary in these parts.

But it is not all over, Thailand and Iraq have four points, Oman and Australia only one, but this could all change in the final round. If two teams should end up level on points, then the spoils go to the team with the best head to head record. This means that if only one of Australia and Oman win their last game, they will draw level with their opponents on points, and the win they have just achieved will give them the better head to head result. But if both Oman and Australia are to win in the games ahead, then all four teams in the group end on four points. In this case, it is the overall group goal difference that counts, meaning that a three goal win is required to ensure qualification.

In Group B, Vietnam started by trumping the achievements of their great rivals, by winning their first game against UAE. Japan were slow starters being held by Qatar, but then came good in beating the UAE team 3-1. While the strengths of the Japanese were clear in this game, so were their weaknesses, and they lost their way when a bigger margin should have been possible. While the UAE have now been knocked out, Qatar scored a second draw in the match against Vietnam – forcing the issue in the second half when the home side could not raise the game, even with 40,000 home supporters behind them.

So with Vietnam and Japan level on four points, and each having won a game by a two goal margins, they are strongly placed to qualify as they play each other. But this leaves Qatar in an interesting position in the other game – if they can beat the UAE by three goals, then they know they will overtake at least one of the teams from the other group. Indeed if either Japan or Vietnam win, then any win puts Qatar through – but should Qatar fail, then the other result becomes unimportant as both teams are already qualified.

While the host sides have exceeded expectation in Groups A and B – in group C they have made up for this. Malaysia being outmanoeuvred and overpowered in both their opening games. Both China and Uzbekistan knocking five goals past them. The Iranians beat Uzbekistan in their first game, and then recovered strongly from 2-0 down to take a point off China and leave the Chinese holding on for this at the end. A single point will confirm Iranian qualification, and it almost inconceivable they will not go beyond that. China hold the upper hand in the other game, the point gained against Iran means they only need a draw to go through – but Uzbekistan have in Shatskikh a player with the potential to be tournaments top scorer, and if on form, he can take his team a long way.

The Indonesians also opened their campaign with a further success for the hosts, defeating Bahrain, while South Korea drew 1-1 with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia have since built up the strength and reputation by outlasting their hosts in the second game and rising to four points, but South Korea did not carry on in the same vein. They enjoyed a great deal of possession against Bahrain, but time and time again they failed to turn this into goals, finally losing out when Bahrain scored. So both Bahrain and Indonesia have three points going into the last game, Saudi Arabia are ahead with four, while South Korea are hanging in with just the one.

This leaves the group in a most complex state, except for Saudi Arabia – they know that they pick up at least a draw against Bahrain, they must go through to the quarter-finals, and a victory must leave them top of the pile. Both Bahrain and Indonesia also know that winning their last game is enough to push them into the next round – they also both know that a draw may well be enough. For Bahrain, a fourth point would be enough if South Korea were to win their last game, for Indonesia it is enough if Bahrain do not win. South Korea need to win their last game, and then hope the other result is to their liking. South Korea’s hopes depend on Saudi Arabia also winning their game.

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13/07/2007 by leo.

Before heading to the stadium, I went to a brewpub not far away. A friend of mind had started me on visiting micro breweries while on tour. It is a way of expanding the drinking experience beyond the staple lagers available across Asia. Some older micro breweries in places such as Japan and the USA also produce introducing and original beers of their own – but the one I went to “Erreson’s”, is part of a new generation where the brewery equipment and expertise is imported as a unit, and hence repeats the same brews in several places.

There is also a tendency to mimic a Bavarian Beer Hall in their appearance, in order to create a different experience for the locals. This was one of those types, with a large hall – thankfully well air conditioned. Food wise, there was a selection – I chose a local stir fry dish, while a local family set near me were seen to be eating a large hock of pork, German style in a cram sauce. Oddly, the locals were still given chopsticks even to eat a meat on the bone, while my white skin relegated me to Thai style fork and spoon, until I complained and got the chopsticks as well. I was a little disappointed when entering, as there was no sign of a TV to see the early game, but then just before half time, they started projecting it onto a large part of one wall. This prompted me to buy a second drink and stay to the end. Iraq were 1-0 up against Australia when the game was switched on, but the Aussies quickly equalised at the start of the second half. If one expected them to now show their strength, then the game did not live up to expectations, and despite having much of the possession, Australia rarely looked dangerous up front. Their defence clearly expected the Iraqis to give up possession just as readily. The Iraqis did not, and instead scored two goals more. This means that when the final matches come up in Group A, Iraq and Thailand will start with four points, Oman and Australia with just one each. But there is an odd quirk of mathematics to come. As head to head is the first rule to separate teams level on points, both Oman and Australia know that any win in the final match will put them through – so long as the other one of the pair does not also win! That is, if Australia beat Thailand, they are sure to qualify so long as Oman do not beat Iraq! If both Australia and Oman win, then goal difference comes into play – meaning both need a three goal win to be certain of qualifying, while a 1-0 certainly will not do in this case.

Finishing my viewing, my beer and my meal, a short taxi journey took me to My Dinh stadium, where despite the kick off being an our later than the previous night, the temperature and the humidity were both up again. UAE started playing 4-1-4-1 with Helal Saeed protecting the back four and just Mater up front. Japan went for 4-4-2, although their midfield has a tendency to be move inwards, Takahara was joined in attack by Maki. With good support for the forward, especially from Jumaa and Al Shehhi, UAE had the better of the opening exchanges, but this all changed in the middle of the half. With four minutes, Japan powered into a two goal lead, and it was Takahara that applied the finishing touches both times, taking his tally in the tournament to three. The first was down to Shunsuke Nakamura, nominally the right winger, but now inside the area and on the left – he just managed to pull a cross back from the by-line, for Takahara to head in. Four minutes later, full back Kaji knocked in an angled cross from the right. Takahara found himself with time enough to bring the ball down under control before hitting it to the corner of the net. As the half continued, it looked as if Japan were not settling for two, as Japan continued to create chances. To add to the UAE misery, they scored a third through an incomprehensible 40th minute penalty. A cross from the right found Endo in space, but he miscued his shot, wide of the far post, where Takahara came close to converting it (with his hand). The UAE keeper had come out towards where an accurate shot may have gone, and somehow managed to impede Endo after he had released his shot. Shunsuke Nakamura completed the misery for the Emirates.

Three nil down at half time, and needed a point just to have a poor chance of going through – the coach has to change things around, and so two substitutes came on at the break. This could have been to no avail. Endo was given space before the announcer had finished naming them, but fortunately (for UAE’s chances), shot into the side netting. The defensive grouping was left unchanged, but right winger Khaled Darwish was replaced by Ahmed Mohamed Al Mohari, while Saeed Alkas gave the side a second man up front, replacing central midfielder Essa Ali. There was no immediate sign of a revival in UAE’s fortunes – in fact, eight minutes into the second half, there was another self-inflicted problem, when a reckless two footed challenge by Bashir Saeed earned the red card. Shunsuke Nakamura’s free kick almost earned another goal, and UAE were forced to bring on Qassim Al Balooshi in order to keep their defensive line intact, now taking up a 4-4-1 formation.

One may have expected that the last 30 minutes would be a walk in the park for Japan, but after Shunsuke Nakamura forces another save after 61 minutes, it is the UAE who score. Casual Japanese defenders look on as Mohamed Al Mohari runs through the midfield and pushes the ball to fellow substitute Saeed Alkas to slide home.

That Japan are not worried by the event is shown as they immediately take off Takahara and bring on Hanyu – guilty of several missed chances in their last game. And then, after Kawaguchi has to go full stretch to stop a shot from Mater, a second substitution, as Shunsuke Nakamura is replaced by Mizuno. Japan think they game is won, but with their best two players off the field, their play rapidly deteriorates abd become ragged. A third substitution is forced when Suzuki goes down injured, and is replaced by Konno.

With UAE fighting for every ball (sometimes too hard), you could senses that the game could not end soon enough for Japan, and they must were relieved that UAE are in no state to up their work rate and force the pace. A yellow card for time wasting by Kawaguchi proves the point. At the other end of the field, Japan look wasted, for despite plenty of possession, they have no force that can even threaten the goal.

In the end, Japan manage to hold on to the ball enough to kill the last ten minutes of the game, and celebrate a 3-1 victory. The result means that a draw in the last game will send them through (higher number of goals scored), while the same result would leave Vietnam listening hard to what is happening in Ho Chi Minh City (as Qatar can still rise to 5 points as well). If the last match in Qatar is won by either team, a win would be enough for Qatar.

After the game, I asked Ivica Osim if he thought his team had lost shape and direction after the substitutions, but he put it down more to being relaxed in the certainty of winning the game. In response to other questions, he said Takahara was injured, and he was not certain if he would play against Vietnam. However, he could not say who might score the goals for Japan if this was the case. For UAE, Bruno Metsu blamed the fact he had a young and inexperienced team for their early exit, added to the loss of six players through injury. He added that a team that took the game to Japan with more fight may be able to give them cause for concern.

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12/07/2007 by leo.

Compared to their previous game, Qatar started off full of attacking virtue. With Mesaad Al Hamad dropped, the back line was a standard 4, and the formation was 4-2-3-1. The other player missing is the suspended Hussain Yaser Abdulrahman, while the incomers, Adel Mohamed on the left, and Magid Hassan on the right have both been detailed to push up in the attack. Vietnam are fielding 4-4-2, unchanged from the XI that started against the United Arab Emirates. The stadium is full with people sitting in the aisles, and a tremendous noise gets up whenever the home side have the ball. That said, Qatar are clearly enjoying the lions share of the possession in the early stages. They may need to get and defend a lead, as under an overcast sky and without a breeze at the start, conditions feel heavier and more humid than the last game, despite the later kick off.

The best early chances fell to the Qatar’s Uruguayan import Sebastian Quintana, on the 17th minute a long shot was well held by the goalkeeper diving , while in the 29th he broke into the area, again forcing a save from Duong Hong Son, with the defence bundling the ball away before Magid Hassan could react. Vietnam did little until the 32 minute, when long and speculative shot from Phan Than Binh should easily have been tidied up by Saqr in the Qatar goal. Instead he led it squeeze through his hands and roll slowly into the goal. Three minutes later, a quick 1-2 with Le Cong Vinh left Binh in a similar position, but this time he shot wide. Even after this, Qatar continued to enjoy more possession, but Quintana looked to be their only threat until Waleed Abdulla lifted the ball over the bar in injury time.

As the game went into the second half, Vietnam played with increasing confidence, and this was reflected around the ground, with chants echoing around the stadium. Qatar, continued to provide a threat, especially from free kicks, even from as many as 30 yards out, a distance from which Waleed Abdulla hit the target in the 53rd minute, but found Duong Hong Son again as his equal. The disarray after a cleared free kick minutes later could also have been dangerous, Obaod Koni getting a free header in space, but badly misdirecting it. Vietnam had to rearrange the back four after this as Vu Nhu Thanh was injured. Pham Hung Dung came on at centre half, and Phung Van Nhiem went out to left back. Qatar brought on Sayd Bedhir for Waleed Abdulla, which meant switching to 4-4-2. Qatar should have levelled on 61 minutes, when a shot from Adel Mohamed on the left hit the post, the ball was then worked right to Quintana who shot narrowly wide. Qatar pushed forward with a further shot from Quintana, and then Son having to dive at Magid Hassan’s feet. Vietnam are a well organised team, but at time they looked like being pushed away by the physical presence of their opponents. When they got possession, Binh always threatened to lose his marker, but was not hitting the target again.

Qatar’s second substitution, on 73 minutes saw Adel Mohamed replaced by Ali Yahya. Vietnam had a great chance after this when Le Cong Vinh dispossessed Mustafa Abdulla on the edge of the area, but his angled shot went over, and his team were soon under pressure again. A typical Qatar move saw Sayd Bedhir clear on the wing in the 76th minute, but having to cut the ball back, to Quintana, who found himslef crowded out by the defence. Inevitably, when the scores were levelled, in the 78th minute, it was Quintana who scored, heading in at the far post after a cross ftom Yahya was deflected away from Son at the near post. Qatar then brought on their last substitute, Madji Siddiq, replacing Magid Hassan in midfield. This left Vietnam badly in need of some relief if they were to hold on to the draw for the last ten minutes. Nguyen Minh Chuyen came on for Phan Van Tai Em, as a swop in midfield, but this almost led to calamity as the Quintana bypassed the sub to cross into the area, where Yahya’s shot was deflected by Son onto the bar, and meeting the rebound, Yahya headed just over. Meanwhile the Vietnamese goalkeeper was spending more time on the ground than on his feet, with two long injury breaks. Vietnam were going to have to hold on if they wanted a draw, with what breaks they got being wasted with long distance shots. When Madji Siddiq shot wide 5 minutes into injury time, Vietnam knew the point was safe, but this did not stop them replacing Binh with Nguyen Anh Duc with just a couple of kicks to play.

The result will be seen by both teams as an honourable draw, Vietnam still lead the group with four points, and Japan will have the same should they beat the UAE tomorrow. Qatar have two points, and know that they too have a chance on the final day. Although seven home players have now picked up a yellow card, there will be no suspensions on Monday.

Home advantage continued to pay big dividends in the earlier game, when two second half goals saw Thailand to victory over Oman. Seeing some of the game on the television prior to the Vietnam game, it appeared that Oman did not have it in them for the long haul, while Thailand were determined not to be put in the shade by their neighbours. While one scenario sees both Thailand and Vietnam as qualifying, and possibly meeting in the next round, one must wonder about the possibility of them both going through as runners-up. Will the AFC really want Thailand to play in Vietnam and vice versa?

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12/07/2007 by leo.

It is the heat that has dominated my first few days in Vietnam. I may have a claim to be an ‘old Asia hand’, due to my periods working in the region – but working puts one under somewhat different conditions to being tourist. When working, I have had the advantage of air conditioned rooms, air conditioned offices, and air conditioned transport between the two. One can also learn about the country from your local work colleagues, many of whom will speak good English. In Thailand and Malaysia, the English language press is in a good condition, and the current state of political debate is there to see, admittedly with some self-censorship. The Vietnam news, the English language paper here is definitively the medium of a state run news agency, and appears to contain government statements, rather than comment on them. The nearest I have seen to debate so far is an interview with the police chief in Ho Chi Minh city, over the difficulties in enforcing a more stringent law on crash helmets.

So my ventures out from the room so far have been short in nature, as I try to acclimatise in days to temperatures that reach the high thirties in the middle of the day (about 100° F). On my first day, I only had a short time in the hotel room before heading to the match. On day 2, I needed to go to the Indonesian embassy to sort out a visa. It turned out this was not far from my hotel – I still started out by taxi, but from the embassy I had to find a place to get a visa photo taken. The photo was to take two hours to print, and I would then have another hour to kill before the embassy re-opened. So I took a walk, sticking where possible to the shady side of the street. A central feature of Hanoi is a number of lakes that provide some respite from the traffic. The most popular is Haon Kiem lake in the old quarter of the city. This has two small islands in the middle. One, inaccessible to most has a dull grey building called the tortoise tower. The other has a bridge for the public and a small temple, busy with tourists and locals during the lunch hour. It seems there are two types of local wanting to talk to visitors – those after your money, and those after a little of your time. At almost every corner you will be offered a ride on a moped (they are a type of taxi), these rely mainly on local custom and accept a ‘no’ answer. The other services on offer are a type of rickshaw, and postcards, maps and books. The vendors of both of these are more persistent. I have never understood why, when they can have seen me refuse the offer from one of their rivals, they think that they can have more success. Postcard sellers appear to be the most persistent. They carry a small knapsack with postcards, plus maps and a few books, (the Lonely Planet guide book, tales of the Vietnam war or Graham Greene’s Quiet American). If the seller if a school age child, and they start to tell you they have not sold anything for two days, and therefore have not ate, then one has to steal oneself while saying no. Still, I feel confident in the belief that most tales are trained to tell these tales, and they are not true. Strangely, children selling postcards seem to be among the best speakers of English in the Country. I have been approached by a few students from local universities trying to practise their English on me. Unfortunately, once we have got past the formalities, (name, age, profession, numbers of wives and children), they seem to have little they can say. So as yet, I have not been able to find out what they think about the government, their opinion on Vietnam’s latest football result, or being forced to wear a crash helmet. A similar case occurred with a group of five business men enjoying a meal in a brewpub’s restaurant outlet. Seeing me drinking alone (I was watching China’s rudimentary disposal of the Malaysian threat in their opening game), they called me over to their table. Again, the conversation followed the standard pattern, but could go no further. Photographs were taken (with my camera), which my new found friends, (whose names apparently included Von, Fon and Son) wanted copied of. But they were reluctant to give me an e-mail address, and one wanted me to ride somewhere on the back of his motorbike (without a helmet, and with his computer bag balanced on front as well). When I was reluctant to do this, he called a postcard girl to translate – we then crossed the road to a photo shop where the photos were printed within five minutes, so everyone ended up happy. (I noticed the business man tipped the girl for her translation – and with more money than I would have given her for postcards).

Motor bikes, scooters, mopeds are the dominant features of Hanoi’s streets. The number of four wheeled vehicles on the streets is relatively small, and there are very few private cars. The bikes swarm around these like bees, weaving in and out and sounding their horns continuously in warning whenever they come close to each other. Traffic lights act like a faulty valve – they restrict the flow of traffic but they do not actually stop it, while a green man on a crossing is a signal to risk life and limb, rather than a sign that you have right of way and other traffic may stop. The bikes and cars will still be entering the road as you cross, but they will at least try to avoid you. The best advice, which I sometimes struggle to put into practice, is to almost ignore the traffic and stride purposefully across the road.

From my experience so far, I have tried to sort out a spotters guide to two wheels in Hanoi. This is not about engine size, even in a country whose law has three separate categories (50 cc or under, 50-125 cc and 125-250 cc, more powerful bikes being rather rare). No what matters is what goes on the bike. People, most obviously, in many shapes and sizes. One or two people on a bike is nothing to comment on – occasionally, the second person is a foreigner a bit more brave than me. The single office girl is a notable, if common spot – all prim and proper on the way too and from the office, on a bike which will weigh at least twice as much as the girl, and inevitably wearing high heels. Three on a bike is not uncommon, I think same sex groups, mainly teenagers are most common. After all, sharing a bike with your boyfriend does demand a certain amount of intimacy, which is not becoming in Asian society. Family groups are also common. One child can be fitted between a parent and the front of the bike, or can cling on from behind. If both parents are on the bike, the child can still be up front, or can fill in the middle of the sandwich. Two parents and two children is also common, one up front, and one in the ‘sandwich filler’ position. The child in front can work the horn, while the one in the middle can engage in activities such as reading a book. The see three children with parents is rare, and worthy of a spotter’s badge. As for headgear, almost anything goes – with the obvious exception that crash helmets are a rarity. At the moment, helmets are compulsory only on certain roads, which is a somewhat impractical law. In December, they are going to be a city wide requirement for Ho Chi Minh City – but that again will mean little until the authorities can persuade a substantial majority to obey the laws.

With a full day available, the hotel booked a tour for me to Halong Bay. The price quoted seemed a good price for a full days tour with lunch, but as I later discovered, I could have saved about 40% by buying the same your outside. I was picked up at the hotel by a 16 seat minibus, which then took over three hours to get us to the boat trip. The trip meant the viewing of some spectacular scenery and at least a sea breeze to counteract the heat and humidity. Early in the tour, we stopped for a couple of caves which required climbing up rather a large number of steps, but which were certainly worth the effort. A side trip (paying extra) put us on a small boat, of questionable stability, to sail through another cave. This turned out to be a small gap in the rocks, where one had to keep one’s head down to avoid being hit, opening out into a lagoon with rocks at least 100 metres high on every side, including above our entry cave. The nearby ‘fishing village’ consisted of houses built on a series of floating pontoons, and a school built in similar style. Sadly we did not dock against any of the houses.

Meanwhile, the football has been carrying on in both Malaysia and Indonesia, and for that matter in Venezuela as well, although I have not often been able to get to a television at the right time. On the way to Halong, we had a stop en-route, which just happened to coincide with the penalty shoot out of the Brazil-Uruguay game in the Copa America. Just how far off the line can a goalkeeper get without a re-take being ordered? I could have seen the entire second semi-final from my hotel room, but this would have meant getting up early and missing breakfast. I also seem to have direct broadcasts from the FIFA’s under-20 tournament in Canada and matches in the South African League. Sadly, I have to leave the hotel to see broadcasts from the Asian Cup.

In Indonesia, the home team continued the run of successes for the host nations, (and failures for Arabic ones) with Indonesia beating the Bahrain by 2-1. I missed most of this, but it appeared to be a close battle. Not so the later match between Malaysia and China. Here the home side were swept away by the visitors. I watched this from a bar (as mentioned earlier), and while I could not fail to be impressed by the Chinese, the Malaysians looked to be the poor relations of the tournament – so the real tests are still to come. When South Korea entered the field, they repeated the Japanese pattern of taking a lead, but allowing their opponents to get back into the game, and this was the fourth, out of the first round of eight games to end up level at 1-1. The other match saw Iran and Uzbekistan playing in Malaysia. Again the game appeared to be tightly contested, but the Iranians justified their position as group favourites with a 2-1 win.

So after everyone has played again, the story is one of the host nations. Pre competition analysts tended to agree that there was little hope of getting more than one through to the knock out rounds, and that all four were underdogs – but with the exception of Malaysia, all have started well. By comparison, the visitors from the Arabian Gulf have all faired poorly, this is a sextet of teams, arranged in three pairs to meet on the last day of group games, and none have a win under their belts. Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will be content with their results – having all drawn with teams expected to win their groups, while Iraq, UAE and Bahrain will be less happy, having been stopped by the hosts. For Japan, South Korea and Japan, the opening results may not be as good as expected, but they can all live with this, if they improve. Having both won in Group C, China and Iran will look forward to their meeting on Sunday.

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09/07/2007 by leo.

The contrasts between Bangkok and Hanoi become obvious as soon as you leave the airport. While the ride to the city in Bangkok passes loads of industrial units, houses and other developments, the first thing you see at Hanoi are paddy fields – there are even fields filling the small area between the main road and the airport runway. As one heads into town, other factors become noticeable. The tall and narrow buildings that have come about due to some old tax law. These wonderful buildings are all painted on the front, but many of them have side aspects of bare plaster, as if they were once part of a block, but the houses either side have been knocked down. Even when one gets into the city, there often appears to a small gap between adjoining buildings, rather than a common wall. Once in the city, you have to get used to the constant buzz of scooters, the Hanoi citizens’ transport of choice. The number of scooters in Hanoi is probably exactly half the adult population, as most have two passengers, and maybe a child or two as well. At one point, the taxi stopped at a traffic interchange and was passed by a scooter where a child, no more than 5 or 6 years old, was casually reading a comic book, sandwiched between its parents as they weaved their way around the heavier traffic.

I did not have much spare time before I had to head on to the match. The weather, although dry was much hotter than it had been in Bangkok, and walking from one side of the stadium to the other in bright sunlight was almost unbearable. This may well explain why the first half was played at a slow speed with few incidents of note, both teams took on a defensive formation with only a single player committed to the attack. While it may be the choice of the two teams to start by being cagey and not to give the ball away easily, one must accept the heat as a factor. At least by kick off, some hazy cloud obscured the pitch from direct sunlight, and there was considerable wind to provide some relief.

The stadium is another elliptical bowl with a large space between the stands and the pitch – this was especially pronounced behind the goals where although the running track is actually eight lanes, there is in fact room for at least four more lanes. The lower tier continues all around the pitch, but never reaches very high. A second tier had been built the full length of both sides. These identical structures are considerably above the level of the lower tier, with a row of hospitality boxes in between. The roof, if of the ‘goalpost type’ with support from each end and a main beam across the front. At the back, a row of supports could provide considerable annoyance to anyone unlucky enough to be in the last three rows. The crowd for the game was very small, with one curve having a large group of Japanese supporters, and a fair smattering through the lower tiers of the stands. Although numerical outnumbered, the Qatar supporters could make more noise by use of a megaphone. I am not certain if it a special type of amplifier, or just the intonation from the caller, but whenever you watch a Arabic team, the chanting will always sound like the call to prayer.

The second half started following a similar pattern to that of the first – although Japan look the more accomplished team, they rarely actually present a serious threat to Qatar, (the Qatar’s solitary threat being a free kick by Mustafa Abdulla back in the 17th minute). In the first ten minutes of the second half, Japan create two serious opportunities, by Satoru Yamagishi, the midfieder most likely to support Takahara up front managed to miss the target both times. It is full back Yasuyuki Konno who fashions the opening to allow Japan to break the deadlock, both Konno and Endo had been finding space in the area on the left, but while Endo misplaced one cross, and then hesitated over the next giving Abdullah Obaid Koni time to make up the ground, Konno did not waste time, and found Takahara on the far post (also clear of a sluggish marker). A goal down, Qatar brought on Adel Mohamed to replace Waleed Abdullah as the midfielder most likely to push forward. Hussain Yaser Abdulrahman was pushed further forward on the right side, but they were not for changing the plan to keep a line of five across the back whenever the opposition had the ball.

This did not seem to be doing the trick, as it became apparent that the Gulf side had less in reserve. Japan then added Nactake Hanyu in place of Yamagishi – a change that immediately appeared to add more to their front line, even if his first shot was from a clearly offside position. Qatar’s final change was to bring on Magid Hassan, meaning that they too were to have two forwards for the final 15 minutes. Qatar’s best chances late on would be free kicks, and Japan insisted on giving them away. On 80 minutes, Mustafa Abdullah hit one just over, and then on 88, Abdullah was pushed over just outside the box. This time he left the free kick to the Uruguay born Sebastian Quintana, who powered it in. There was still time left for Japan to win the game, and Hanyu hit a golden chance just wide of the post. Qatar finished with ten men, when Hussein Yaser Abdulrahman kicked Hashimoto and saw the first red card of the tournament.

In the final analysis, Japan will be disappointed that their dominance of the second half did not result in a victory, but the passing through the midfield, and the undoubted style of Shunsuke Nakamura were not matched by the forwards. Qatar will be pleased with the point, even if it exposed shortcomings in their fitness, and with the unnecessary red card, it will rob them of a key player in later matches.

The group is now wide open, following the shock defeat in the opening game of Gulf Cup holders United Arab Emirates by Vietnam. Generally, Vietnam are considered to be one of the weaker of the host nations, but they apparently weathered a lot of first half pressure and then created the result with two second half goals. As with Qatar today, it seems that the UAE team wilted in the heat during the second half.

I now take two days away from the football, as Groups C and D get underway. I will update the reports with some views of tourism in the area, and news from the other games when I can.

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08/07/2007 by leo.

After the downpours of day 1, the second match was played in bright sunshine. The 5.20 kick off time is just late enough to allow the shadow from the roof to cover the playing surface, but spectators on the open side will still face the glare of the sun.

Australia have picked a side based completely in Europe, six from the English Leagues, two each from the Netherlands and Italy, and Mile Sterjovski from Basle. For the Oman side, Bolton’s Ali Al Habsy is in goal, no less than seven now play in the Qatar League, one player plays in Kuwait and only two in Oman itself.

Australia in 4-2-3-1 formation with Viduka up front Mark Schwarzer; Brett Emerton, Patrick Kisnorbo, Lucas Neill, Luke Wilkshire; Jason Culina, Vincenzo Grella; Mile Sterjovski, Mark Kewell, Mark Bresciano; Mark Viduka – John Aloisi (for Sterjovski, HT), Tom Cahill (for Grella, 62), Brett Holman (for Kisnorbo, 78)

Oman in 4-1-4-1, Al Al Habsi; Juma Al Wahabi, Mohamed Al Noobi, Said Suwailim, Hassan Al Gheilani; Ahmed Al Mahijri; Yousuf Al Busaidi, Badar Al Maimani, Ahmed Al Mukhaini, Ismail Al Ajmi; Amad Al Hosni – Fawzi Doorbeen (for Al Maimani, 60), Mohamed Al Ghassani (for Al Busadi, 65), Younis Al Mahyijari (for Al Hosni, 80)

The match started at a sluggish pace, suggested that neither side was truly at home in the conditions. The first true chance came after 22 minutes when Neill floated a free kick to an unmarked Kewell by the far post, who could not direct the ball goalwards. This appeared to create a spell when the Aussies were on top, but any illusion was shattered on 31 minutes when Al Hosni broke down the left and angled the cross back to Al Maimani to have time to control and shoot, while the Australian defence could only look on. Australia’s attempt to reply was a free kick from 20yards, which Emerton hit well over. The Australian defence continued to show too much space to their opponents, allowing Ismail Al Ajmi a pot which sailed over. The rest of the first half was more free flowing, except when a couple of Omani players decided to take a break by going down injured – much to the annoyance of the considerable Australian presence in the crowd. This displeasure was sounded out as they roundly booed their opponents off the field at half time.

For the second half, John Aloisi replaced Mile Sterjovski and Australia switched to 4-4-2 with Aloisi joining Viduka up front and Kewell moving wide on the left, (Bresciano going right). Although the Aussies started the period well, the first chance went to Oman when Ahmed Al Mahaijri feinted one way, then went the other to make space. Schwarzer was just equal to the shot. By the time the hour mark had been reached, Oman were seeing more of the ball than Australia, who bought on Tim Cahill to try and change things around. Cahill slotted in the Australian midfield, while two Omani substitutes (Fawzi Doorbeem and Mohamed Al Ghassani) did not change the basic shape of their team. Australia’s best chances appeared to be from the set-piece, with one from Wilkshire finding Aloisi who headed over under pressure. Oman should have doubled their advantage on 70 minutes when Amad Al Hosni had a header well saved and then reacted to get his head to the ball again, but the ball went wide. Australia were finding that Oman had better ball control and were quick to pounce on any lack of control from Australian players (not mentioning Harry Kewell by name. On the negative side, they give away a few too many free kicks.

As the game entered its last fifteen minutes, the sun dropped from the skyline, and a thick and threatening black cloud came in from the east. While Australia were preparing their final substitution, Brett Holman – Oman again missed a golden chance to double the lead as Doorbeen found himself free, but could not beat Schwarzer. The rain was not slow in coming, and the sound of rain soon drowned out any remaining chants from Australian support as Oman replaced the injured Al Hosni with Younis Al Mahyijari. By this stage it is clear that only Schwarzer has kept Australia in the game, although it also took a few desperate legs to keep Australia at bay as the ground became slippery, and one fine dive as the again threatened with a late free kick.

Australia finally equalised as four minutes of injury time started. A shot by Bresciano was parried and for once it was not a defender but Tim Cahill who was first to the loose ball, giving Australia an undeserved point

While the Omani tactics may infuriate Australian fans, they are no worse than they or their team mates will apply when with the European clubs, overall the difference between the teams was in defence, where the Oman side where organised, while the Australian players were not. After the game, the Oman coach (Gabriel Calderon of Spain) seemed the more satisfied of the two, while Graham Arnold, the Australian coach was eager to place the blame for a result that left him both “disappointed, and relieved” on the conditions. He said that because of the conditions, he had players who could not breathe or perform after just 20 minutes, and that with seven or eight players who did not defend, they were bound to have problems. He rightfully praised Schwarzer for the saves that kept them in the game, and Cahill for being at the right place at the right time to get the leveller.

What I saw was a team that changed formation three times, but were always tactically outmanoeuvred by opponents who were more aware than themselves, a team based on the Premiership and other European leagues almost beaten by a team reliant on the Qatar league to keep them in jobs.

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07/07/2007 by leo.

As I have been out here a few times before, I am no longer surprised by the hit of heat and humidity as I step off the plane at Bangkok’s new airport. It is the rainy season in Thailand – but that normally just means a couple of hours of heavy rain a day, often around sunset. On my first day, it rained almost continuously through the day, although it did get better in the evening. It felt a bit like a warm version of England.

Saturday started bright and sunny, though, and it looked like a good day for the start of the Asian Cup. Looks can be deceptive – about three hours before kick off, the heavens opened, and torrential rain flooded the pitch. The opening ceremony was restricted to paddling around the running track – it may the use of a Thai ceremonial boat as part of the celebration look inspired.

Match details

Saturday 7th July 2007 k.o. 7.35 p.m. at Rajamangala Stadium
Thailand 1 (1) Iraq 1 (1)

Thailand (4-1-3-2) Kosin Hathairattanakool; Suree Sukha, Niweat Siriwong, Jetsada Jitsawad, Nataporn Phanrit; Nirut Surasiang; Tawan Sripan, Datsakorn Thonglao, Thersdak Chaiman; Kiatisuk Senamuang, Sutee Suksomkit - Suchao Nutnam (for Chaiman:71), Teeratep Winothai (for Surasiang, 71), Teerasil Dangda (for SUksomsit, 86)

Iraq (4-2-3-1) Noor Sabri Hassan; Haider Abdel Amir Hussain, Ali Rehema, Jassim Al Hamd, Basem Gatea; Haitham Tahir, Nashat Ali ; Mahdi Ajeel, Salih Sideer Salih, Hawar Mulla Mohamed Taher; Younis Mahmoud Khalef - Qusai Aboudy (for Salih, 66), Kurrar Muhamed (for Ali Nashat, 90)

Thailand, playing 4-1-3-2. Surasiang is playing just in front of the back four
Iraq are in 4-2-3-1 with two players in front of the back four, and the one front player reliant on support coming from midfield

Referee – Kwon Jong Chul from Korea.

6 mins 1-0 Suksomkit (penalty) – comfortably converted even if one wonders how the referee came to define mild contact in the area as a push on Kiatisuk by Ali Rehema

Iraq set about recovering from the set back quickly, with Salih having a long range shot saved, and Jassim then misplacing his far post header from the resulting corner. While Khalef was being made to operate along up front, support was quick in getting to him, with Salih forcing a reaction save from the Thai keeper.

The crowd in the 65,000 capacity stadium was disappointing, probably less than 20% of the capacity. AT least from where I was sitting, they were making a lot of noise to celebrate their rather fortuitous lead – this appeared to be from groups of young people given thunder clappers. They are almost all dressed in yellow T-shirts, supposedly the new colour of the national team (following a sponsorship from Nike to put them in ‘Brazil’ kits). The stadium is an elliptical bowl which rises opposite the half way line. Behind the goals, the second tier has just a few rows of seats, and these then give way to the scoreboard – while at the high point, just offset from the half way line having a third tier rising high into the night.

32 mins 1-1 Khalef, Salih lifted a free kick from the right wing into the area, and Khalef got above the Thai defenders to nod the ball on, with the home goalkeeper caught off his line. With the Iraqis now dominant, Thailand were looking to the break, and Suksomit forced a good save from Noor Sabri in the 37th minute.

Iraq started the second half as the finished the first – in an attacking mood – but Thailand started to push their way back into the game after about 10 minutes. A long free kick by Ali Nashat may have worried the home side, but the goalkeeper, Kosin – who has been Thailand’s most impressive player (apart from when they conceded the goal), collects easily – from a similar distance (in open play) Noor Sabri does not look so confident, and can only parry Datsakorn Thongloa’s shot. No one is close to the rebound.

The first substitution sees Salih, less impressive since the break, replaced by Quasay Aboudi). The rain is continuous, but the game is very much alive, with chances being created at both ends. With two substitutions by Thailand, there is no doubt that Iraq have lost their edge, but the game now seems to likely to end all square. A great ball by Phanrit set Suksomkit free on the right, the chance was missed when he delayed crossing the ball, waiting for other players to catch up. This was Suksomkit’s last action, as he was replaced by Dangda before the corner (actually a string of 3 corners) which forced the Iraqi defence onto the backfoot. Thailand now seemed desperate to try and force a result in the last five minutes. The Iraq team seemed happy to come away with a draw, delaying a substitution into injury time, when the affect of killing time would be greater (a practise that always works – having already signalled two minutes injury time, not a second was added for the substitution).

On a wet evening, Iraq will be happy to have come away without defeat; Thailand will also be happy in that they managed to finish the first half level, despite not competing and then gave the Iraq side a game after the break. The referee probably gets full marks from the AFC for a result that should boost the crowd in the next Thailand game

After the match, the Thai coach praised the way his team improved in the second half, and adapted to the conditions better. About the penalty, he said “football is football” and suggested that the challenge in question belonged on the rugby field. Jorvan Viera, the Iraq coach said simply “no comment”, and also refused to be drawn on his defensive formation (indeed he refused to call it 4-5-1), just saying that against a fast team like Thailand, in difficult conditions, he was forced to hold players back. The AFC blamed the low turnout on the weather, and pointed out that just over 35,000 tickets had been sold in advance, and in better weather they may have expected 10,000 more to pay on the day.

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21/06/2007 by leo.

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