Asian Cup - Most popular for December 2009
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Perhaps the happiest fans in the world this weekend were in Hong Kong. The special
administrative region of China, as I guess we should formally call it, has been competing in
international football for sixty years, and yesterday won its first ever title, a gold medal in the
East Asian Games football tournament.
I was at the Jalan Besar Stadium to catch the national team in their preparation against the
visiting Omani side, as both sides are gearing up for their Asian Cup qualifying campaign to be
resumed early next month.
SOME PICTURES FROM THE TRAINING SESSION
(Pictured above) In-sync as Fadhil Noh and Indra Sahdan Daud practicing their headers in the
warming up.
I understand former SAF midfielder Therdsak Chaiman has been offered to struggling ISL side PSM
Makassar. Despite being without a club since leaving SLeague champions SAF Therdsak was recalled to
the Thai national team for their Asian Cup qualifiers against Singapore.
Another Indonesian side has also expressed an interest in the 36 year old.
The Thai FA have temporarily suspended Steve Darby after the Under 23s failed to win gold at the
SEA Games or qualify for the World Cup or finish a rubric's cube in less than seven seconds.
I have no idea what a temporary suspension entails and the story, below, sheds no light on events.
But when you consider in three weeks time the Thais have an Asian Cup qualifier then temporary can
mean very temporary.
According to the Thai FA website Thailand will play Oman in a friendly at the Thai Japanese Stadium
on 27 December.
Which is odd. On a number of levels.
First the Singaporeans thought they were playing Oman on 28 & 31 December.
Unless Oman will finish the game in Bangkok then hotfoot it down to Singapore with barely time for
a shower?
It has been statistically proved that the more people that wear "BE THE REDS" t-shirts, the more
chance the South Korean national soccer team has of winning matches.
South Korea reached the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup when 100,000s of people wore "BE THE
REDS" t-shirts. Now both South and North Korea will appear at the 2010 World Cup in South
Africa.
Sompong and Pipat selected in Thai squad
Sompong Soleb's goal scoring exploits in the SEA Games have earned him a call-up to the full
National squad, for the Asian Cup qualifier against Jordan on 6th January. Ex Thai Port player,
Pipat Tonkanya has also kept his place after starting both games against Singapore in November.
Australia coach Pim Verbeek has named three new faces in a 23-man squad for the upcoming Asian Cup
qualifier against Kuwait in Kuwait City on January 6 next year. Brisbane Roar's Tommy Oar,
Melbourne Victory's Matthew Kemp and Perth Glory's Tando Velaphi have made the Socceroos for the
first time, in .
(Media Release by Football Association of Singapore)
(File picture) Lions in training
SINGAPORE, 22 October 2009: Singapore will take on Oman in two friendly matches on 28 and 31
December at the Bishan Stadium, in preparation of their 2011 AFC Asian Cup Qualification match
against I.R.
28/12 - Singapore Select v Oman
31/12 - Singapore v Oman
02/01 - Malaysia v Syria
Some crucial Asian Cup qualifiers take place on 6 January so forward planning FAs have been busy
lining up friendlies to help their teams prepare. Thailand had announced a game against Oman which
did seem wierd at the time considering the Omanese were scheduled to play in Singapore 24 hours
later.
The Thai season ended in October. The new season starts in March. By utilising the toes on my left
foot, a pot of paint and a box of donuts I calculate a five month close season.
Five bloody months.
Except of coure it wasn't anything like that. More like five weeks. For many clubs training began
at the beginning of December as teams prepared for an irrelevant, sory, gruelling round of
friendlies and tournaments.
Clive Palmer reckons Sir Pim is bashing the A-League by pushing for all A-League players to leave
on loan before the finals season.
If this happened it would destroy the finals in my view but before we get all excited lets get real
for a moment.
This is a one-off.
By the next World Cup surely the season will be longer and with four teams in Asian Champions
League the problem should not occur again.
The World Cup draw has been done and the excitement and buzz that that generated has died down. Now
focus moves to other things namely Asian Cup qualification. After two games, Australia had one
point and the thought of missing out on qualifying for the tournament was a possibility. If this
...
It's one of the hottest atmosphere's in Indonesian football with a hatred that rivals anything that
Europe can throw up. Away fans don't travel, if they do they keep quiet, while the visiting team
often departs in an armoured personnel carrier.
This season's first meeting between these two rivals takes place on 9 January and already officials
have said the Jalak Harupat Stadium, Persib's home stadium, cannot be used.
Asian Cup 2011 update: Arabian Gulf Cup tournament now set for November 2010 in Yemen
Yemen will host the 20th Arabian Gulf Cup from 22 November until 4 December 2010, it was announced
at the weekend in the Yemeni capital Sanaa at the closing session of a conference of the GCC
Football Federations which also included Iraq and Yemen.
Thailand beat a Zimbabwe eleven 3-0 at the Thai-Japanese Stadium in Bangkok. I'm sure Bryan Robson
will have been keen to take a look at one or two players before the upcoming Asian Cup qualifier
against Jordan. What he will have learnt from this hastily arranged friendly remains to be
seen!
For the record, the goalscorers were: Suttinan Phukhom 2, Keerati Kaewsombat 1.
