As of August 2002 these are my top national teams in Asia.... I know you will disagree. 1) Korea 2) Iran 3) Japan 4) KSA 5) China 6) Iraq 7) Kuwait 8) Thailand 9) UAE 10) Qatar
Well, I somewhat can agree on putting Japan in front of Iran, but KSA is not as good a team as Iran. Just because they qualified doesn't mean they are better. Iran beat and tied KSA in the two qualifiers.
I think Korea, Japan, and KSA kind of formed the upper-group of Asian football. It will be hard to determine who's better (I'd give Japan the upperhand because they have the shiet to back their shiet up). So here's mine: 1 Korea 1 Japan 1 Iran 4 KSA 5 China 5 Iraq 5 Kuwait 8 Thailand 8 UAE 8 Qatar
I think ill wait for Busan Game sto pass judgement. U23s will be present there. Those very teams will most probably be the teams for AsianCup and Qualifiers...
Well Saudi isn't participating, so we gonna have to wait a bit longer to see how badly Saudi football has been damaged by 2nd of June.
What the hell is up with KSAFF? Why arent they participating? The league is over, so there is no excuse for that...
I think this game will not hold much significance, really. It is WC that counts and it is still four years away.
Agreed that the asian games are not nearly as significant as qualifying for the cup. I think the Asian Cup in 2004 will be a good indicator of where Asia stands. Right now Korea seems far ahead of the rest of the field, but that can change in a heartbeat.
I think it already changed. 2 pillars of the Korean team have already retired after the World Cup and a couple more will retire too pretty soon.
1.Korea 2.Japan 3.Iran 4.China 5.KSA 6.Iraq 7.Kuwait 8.Thailand 9.UAE 10.Qatar but honestly, Korea has a HUGE SS hole in the defense without Myoung-bo Hong since he retired after the WC. I think the Korean defense will remain pretty weak for a while. I honestly think Myoung-bo Hong will win this year's Asian Player of the Year. Winning the Bronze Ball at the World Cup and not winning the APY? hmm.. Japan, on the other hand, will not have any leaks in their team after the World Cup. By the end of this year, ladies and gentlemen, Japan would be the numero uno in Asia.
With all due respect, I think Japan still needs to work on something critical. Physical prowess that is. They're nimble, technically sound, and smart, all they need is little bit of power.
One thing regarding the quality of Korea and Japan's teams is that not only are some players leaving the international field, they also will no longer have home field advantage in major international competitions. Lets see how they do in the Confederation cup and other major tournaments.
i dont know about japanese but there are koreans everywhere, bro. You'll find a korean doctor up in somalia.,.heck we got koreans on antarctica. and since this cultural identity crap is goin on with koreans after the world cup..i can see at least half of the stadium covered in red in 2006, composed of korean immigrants, people going from Korea, and of course, the reddevils. Do you remember the Japanese games in france '98? That place was full of Japanese people..overflooding the stadium. And besides, i think peopel will root for the underdogs anyway.
ooooh...wait..I dunno about half of the stadium..remember what happened in WC98? and as for the Japanese in WC98, they all came from Japan.
Hong didnt retire from national team yet, that was Hwang SH, but Hong said he will have retirement A match soon. i think the gab between top 4~5 teams arent that much.
Does anyone know who'll be the coach for Korea and for China? Who were named as the coaches of Iran and KSA?? It seems like a question "who is your coach" has more significance in Asia than the other regions(maybe except Africa). But hey, let's give it a try... <<Current>> 1.S.Korea 2.Japan 3.Iran 4.Saudi Arabia 5.China 6.Iraq 7.UAE 8.Kuwait 9.Qatar 10.Thailand <<4 years later...>> 1.Japan 2.S.Korea 3.Iran 4.China 5.Saudi Arabia 6.UAE 7.Qatar 8.Kuwait 9.Thailand 10.Iraq(we know why Iraq goes downward...) When looking at the elements to succeed(not necessarily the NTs but also infrastructure, coaching system for kids to pros, ability of the managing organisations etc), Japan has the best chance to lead Asia.
That's what people said four years ago. They were wrong. Korea is special. Korea will not stand still. Korea is special. four years later: 1. Korea 2. China 3. Japan ------
Year before last 1 JAPAN 2 Saudi 3 Korea Last year 1 JAPAN 2 ??? 3 ??? This year 1 Korea 2 JAPAN 3 ??? Four years after 1 JAPAN or Korea 2 Korea or JAPAN @@@@@@@E @@@@@@@E @@@@@@@E ‚R China
The only change for Iran is that Blazevic has left, and his assistant Professor Branco Ivankovic (assistant coach of the Croatian team which finished 3rd in WC98) has taken over and he has an Iranian assistant. I think that is about the only change in coaching staff... As for Saudi Arabia... There is no problem getting a coach in the land of blank checks....