Asian football players are far and between in the world class elite. The Japanese Naoki Yamada has the potential to belong to one of the few big names in football.

He currently plays for Urawa Red Diamonds, he started in the first team in 2008. He also made his debut for Japanese national team on May 27, 2009 in a friendly match against Chile, which the Japs convincingly won 4-0.

The Final Score
TWITTER UPDATE
The "Twitter" box had been removed from this blog entry and you can trace whatever I "tweeted" on the right of the page (under the "BoLASEPaKO" on twitter menu).
PICTURES OF THE DAY & THE SHORT TAKE of THE GAME
Banner boys getting ready
It was indeed a tame affair as compared to ACL, as the crowds were much lesser than expected.

I gotta say the English are a funny bunch. When they're not getting shitfaced and vomitting in people's front gardens they have a wierd and wonderful collection of interests. They travel miles round the country to stand on wet and windy railway platforms to make note of railway engine numbers. They dress up in period costumes and re enact historic battles.

Last weekend the story in south east Asian football was the Muang Thong United v Chonburi game no question about it and I was lucky enough to get to cover it.
This weekend the story is Arema v Persija with the four Singaporeans on show. So what the bloody hell am I doing in Singapore, taking in a meaningless Malaysia Cup tie?

Back in 2006, I interviewed Steve Tew at the New Zealand Rugby Football Union. At the time, he was the second most important person in All Blacks rugby. Now he's the first. We were talking about the impact the Pacific Islands have on New Zealand rugby, and he made a pretty convincing case for players from Fiji, Samoa and Tonga looking to come and play for the All Blacks as a way of improving their lifestyles while giving something back to their adopted homes.

With Peter Reid taking up the assistant manager position at Stoke City, Thailand FA set out in search of the best candidate to replace him. That search ended with the hire of Bryan Robson, the current global ambassador for Manchester United.
While Robbo has been the most outstanding player of his generation, he has yet to prove himself to be a top class manager.

Thai fans on Asian Football Pictures
*** COMING SOON ***
Peter Lang interview on Jakarta Casual TV
Bryan Robson post match press conference on Jakarta Casual TV
Raddy Avramovic post match press conference on Jakarta Casual TV

Asian Champions League
Sriwijaya v Shandong 4-2 (
It looked like a case of same old, same old, as Shandong carved Sriwijaya apart with ease in the first half and the only surprise was that the goals took a long time coming. But come they did both in the final minutes before half time.

Two wins in their last six for DPMM, just one away win all season, it looks like the DPMM bubble has burst but it was fun while it lasted.
Talking Singapore I'm off there tomorrow for a couple of days medical stuff. I won't be taking the lap top but hopefully will get to a game or two so check out Asian Football Pictures for updates.

Appeared on a business forum today apparently. Seems like they are really on track..and gotta love the bit about getting the GBP 2-5 million pounds quick. (ahem hurry up lads the your meetings tomorrow.)
If this was from Nigeria you'd spam it wouldn't you.
Guess a load of guys are out there handing over their GBP 2 million pounds as I type.

Mohammed Bin Hammam, AFC president is thumbing his nose at FIFA directives that reinstate the voting rights of five countries in the AFC.

He had stripped these countries of their privileges at the behest of the ad-hoc legal committee's recommendations. As per the committee four countries did not deserve representation because their participation in tournaments do not meet AFC standards.

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Right, what's occuring in the whacky world of South East Asian football this weekend? Actually the action has already begun with Albirex Niigata beating Geylang United in the SLeague with goals from Taisuke Akiyoshi and Kenji Adachihara.
Tomorrow night the action switches to Brunei when local heroes DPMM try to bolster their goal difference when they take on Young Lions, thumped 5-0 last time by Super Reds.

Peter Reid relished the rough and tumble of a Merseyside derby.
And the pugnacious midfield soldier loved nothing better than rubbing Liverpool's noses in it
Now boss of the Thai national side, the Everton legend is hoping to get one over on the old enemy once again.
And after squaring up to the Reds at Goodison, Anfield and even Wembley – this time he's hoping to triumph in unfamiliar territory.

Check out the following on Jakarta Casual TV
Fans from Muang Thong United and Chonburi in celebratory mood
Exclusive chat with Chonburi keeper Kosin
And on Asian Football Pictures more colour from Sunday's big game
We ain't done yet with an exclusive interview with the Chairman of the TPL Khun Vichit Yamboonruang to be serialised over the next few days!

Situado en la capital de los Emiratos Árabes Unidos, Abu Dhabi, el Zayed Stadium es el estadio más grande del país, con un aforo de más de 50.000 espectadores.
Fue creado por el difunto presidente de los EAU, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, a fin de proporcionar un complejo deportivo dedicado que pudiera ser anfitrión de importantes eventos deportivos árabes e internacionales.

Over on Asian Football Pictures there are some pictures of Persebaya's 'infamous' bonek as well as snapshots of some of their new imports

Big Story
"Premier League looks to cash in on Asia" is the headline on another of those BBC news articles we seem to read several times a season about how Premier League teams "hope" to turn the apparent fervid support of Asian fans into many millions of pounds.

Stuff to read while you hose down the pitch..... Finding a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo at OT. (EPL Offside) Realizing there's no defending Joey Barton anymore. (SoccerLens) A look at the state of the Italian fan. (Football Italiano) Malawi football continues to hit the mainstream. This time: porn.

An Arabic metaphor is misunderstood by South Korean football officials and sets the tone for the poisonous state of affairs that Asian football finds itself in.

The AFC is becoming increasingly fractious under the weight of its 46 constituent, the largest regional group with a varied cultural, economic, and political background adding to the complexity.

Sepp Blatter sent his legal team to ensure that the elections to the FIFA executive committee went off smoothly in one of the most bitter and acrimonious campaigns that pitted incumbent Mohammed Bin Hammam, AFC president from Qatar against Bahrain's challenger Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa.

After the dowdy draw againt China on Friday, Germany defeated the UAE 7-2 in Dubai on their second and last stop of the Asia trip on Tuesday. As suspected, it was a better training game, the only notable aspects were Schalke's Manuel Neuer who debuted in the German goal and showed a strong and solid effort.

After the dowdy draw againt China on Friday, Germany defeated the UAE 7-2 in Dubai on their second and last stop of the Asia trip on Tuesday. As suspected, it was a better training game, the only notable aspects were Schalke's Manuel Neuer who debuted in the German goal and showed a strong and solid effort.

After the dowdy draw againt China on Friday, Germany defeated the UAE 7-2 in Dubai on their second and last stop of the Asia trip on Tuesday. As suspected, it was a better training game, the only notable aspects were Schalke's Manuel Neuer who debuted in the German goal and showed a strong and solid effort.

And now for something completely different.

I've been writing about South East Asian football for 3 and a half years now. Since then I've added Asian Football Pictures to try and capture the passion and colour of the game in this part of the world.

It has always been my intention to add new ways of covering the game in this region.

While Robson's management skills may be questionable, he is famous as a former England and Manchester United skipper.
This could help promote the Thai Premier League and ignite passion for the national team.
Because of Robson, more people around the world know something about the Thai national side.

" I once described Mani to a Lebanese newspaper as a virus! Once he got hold of you he was impossible to shake off. I dont know if they understood but the opposition players soon did.
We then progresed through to the AFC cup semi final, an incredible acheivment for such a small club captained by Mani.

A couple of weeks back when I was last in Singapore I interviewed Dez Corkhill for Jakarta Casual TV. Dez has long done his best to promote South East Asian football and now commentates on SLeague games for some local channels.
Since then the interview has gone on to be the most viewed piece on Jakarta Casual TV, nothing spectacular we're just talking hundreds, as well as being discussed in circles high and low.

Bryan Robson's first taste of Asian football came last Saturday when Thailand traveled to Singapore. He came through that test with flying colours as the Thais comprehensively beat the Kallang Roar-deficient Singapore 3-1. That win boosted his credentials as a legitimate national team coach. What was even better that Saturday was that Noh Alam Shah, Singapore's best player would be suspended on Wednesday (today) when Thailand hosts Singapore at the Rajamangala Stadium.

There is a problem with discipline in football today and it's not defined by geographic borders. But ASEAN does seem to suffer quite badly as these recent examples show
Myanmar v Singapore (AFF Cup) - Myanmar players assault officials
Chula United v Pattaya United (TPL) - Pattaya players walk off the field for a while
Sriwijaya v Persipura (Copa Indonesia) - Persipura player headbutts ref, teams walks off and stays off
Tampines Rovers v SAFFC (SLeague) - Tampines players close to walk off
Malaysia v Vietnam (SEA Games) - Malaysia players attack officials (feedback)
And there have been others.

Top 5 games
Persija v Persita
Persija v PSIS
Indonesia v Saudi Arabia
Woodlands Wellington v SAFFC
Muang Thong United v Chonburi
Top 5 players
Peter Lang (FC SChaffhausen & Thailand)
Mustafic Fahruddin (Persija & Singapore)
Takatoshi Uchida (Persebaya)
Sinthaweechai 'Kosin' Hathairatnakul (Chonburi & Thailand)
Pipat Thonkaya (Persisam & Thailand)
Top 5 others
NJ Mania (Persitara fans)
Dez Corkhill (TV presenter)
Ferry Indrasyrief (Persija Assistant Manager)
Jules Denis Onana (Former Cameroonian international/agent)
Half time hold up (Muang Thong United v Chonburi)
Check 'em all out, plus many more, at Jakarta Casual TV.