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Since the start of World Cup in 1930, the winners have only come from South
America and Europe. Both the continents have equal number of World Cup
triumphs, 9 each out of total 18 World Cups so far. In the last World Cup 2006
in Germany, all the semifinalists came from one continent i.e. Europe. No Asian
team could make it to the semi-finals compared to World Cup 2002, when
South Korea created history by becoming the first nation in Asia to reach that
far for the first ever time in a World Cup. The performance of the Asian teams
in World Cup 2006 was below-par compared to World Cup 2002, except new
entrant to Asian Football - Australia. The performance at World Cup 2006 by
Asian teams was only pointer to the fact that significant gap exists between
Asian teams and the top teams of the World.
Evidently, the gap (in terms of football) between Asia and Europe or South
America is significant and the gap needs to be covered on various fronts in
Asia before any of the Asian teams sets its target to win the big prize in world
football. It is important to understand the nature of gaps that exist in Asian
football in comparison to Europe. What are those gaps? Can these be covered?
If these gaps could be bridged then how much time it will take? All are important
questions that require strong actions, commitment, and total professionalism in
order to bridge the gaps that are evident.
Let us discuss the enormous gap that exists between Asia and Europe in terms of
football competitive nature and environment in terms of football. Football in
Europe is extremely competitive and most of the leagues in Europe are very
strong and players playing in those big leagues will always have competitive edge
compared to Asian players, and on any given day, they will out-perform the Asian
players. Big leagues produce better players and such players are better equipped
to deal with the “high pressure situation” with ease since they encounter this
situations day in and day out. Comparatively, when the Asian players encounter
the pressure situation in a big stage, they fail to perform because they are not
attuned to perform in such “high pressure situations” on a consistent basis.
In terms of standards, Asian leagues are no-where close to European leagues.
The best league in Asia is considered to be J-League of Japan, but even the
J-league is not yet reached anywhere close to the big leagues of Europe.
Let’s take the example of Champions League of Europe and Asia. Both are a study
in contrast. UEFA Champions League is highly competitive and watched by
millions from all over the world. At UEFA Champions League best players from
world are in action who have a huge fan following. Comparatively, Champions
League of Asia does not command much following except at few venues in Asia.
Naturally, players playing in UEFA Champions League will always be better
equipped to perform at highest level and will always perform better compared to
Asian players considering the competitive environment and nature of competition
exist there.
It may be argued that inspite of the fact the number of players from Asia is
increasing in the big leagues of Europe, but why that is not helping Asian football
to raise its standards and have a similar competitive experience vis-à-vis the
European or South American players. Admittedly, the number of players from Asia
has increased in European leagues but many of these players are just “warming
the bench” rather than starting every week for their respective teams. Of course,
there are few exceptions like Shunsuke Nakamura of Japan (who plays for Celtic
FC) and was declared Scottish Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the
Year in the 2006-07 season. Nakamura helped Celtic FC to win the Scottish title,
and his performance for Celtic was praised by everyone. The other performer
from Asia is Park-Ji Sung, who plays for Manchester United. Park-Ji Sung is fully
settled with MU after initial hiccups of first season. He was almost regular for MU
in the last season and only injury kept him out of the squad. His contribution for
the team was hailed by Sir Ferguson.
Almost 40 players (excluding Australia) from Asia is playing for different clubs in
Europe and most are from Iran followed by Japan, South Korea and China. One or
two players from Qatar, Iraq, Thailand, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Oman, Lebanon and
Syria are also playing in different Leagues of Europe. The number of players
exporting out to Europe is going up but fact of the matter is that the majority of
players are not with big clubs, and few of them are playing in lower division
leagues. The other reality is that number of players from Asia is going up in
Europe but fact of matter is that players are too less to bring about any
significant change in the total standard of Asian football, and when number of
minutes spent by these players “on field in actual play” is considered, the picture
that emerges is dismal. Such a situation hardly helps Asian teams in catching up
with the “bests” in the world. It is also been reported that at times Asian players
are signed just to improve market ratings of the clubs, and increase the match
attendances.
Such is not the case with South American and African players, most of them get
regular time in the middle and gain necessary competitive experience thereby
becoming quite effective whenever they play for their respective national teams.
They also have an edge over Asia in terms of number of players, playing in the
big leagues and with big clubs compared to Asian counterparts and this is one of
the reasons as to why the South American and African nations have a definite
edge over Asian nations in terms of football.
The performance of Australian team in the World Cup 2006 is a solid example for
Asian teams to emulate. Australian team performed better than other Asian teams
and performance was due to some of their players playing in big leagues for good
clubs in Europe. Australia defeated Japan in the group stage match of the World
Cup 2006, and analysis of that match indicates that players playing in the big
leagues will always have that extra competitive edge to meet the high pressure
games to walk out victorious.
Therefore, it is indispensable for Asia to have a big league where best players are
playing every week, or, Asian players are playing in big numbers for big clubs in a
big league in Europe. To have a (striking) league as equal to English, Spanish,
Italian, German, etc. in Asia, the clubs and structure around clubs in Asia requires
a major thrust and overhaul. The clubs in Europe is on a strong footing with very
good professional structure and management that has evolved over time. The
clubs in Europe have cultivated and consolidated their fan base for long and they
are endeavouring not only to increase this base, but also making their fan feel
very much their own through various initiatives and programmes. Clubs in Europe
have the structure and mechanism in place to entertain the best players and
they can ‘buy’ the best talent from anywhere, whatever the price may be. The
infrastructure and facilities in stadium for fans and training facilities for players
are the best in most of the clubs of Europe which again provides them an edge
over their Asian counterparts. Though, there are few clubs in Asia did developed
state of art facilities for training and matches, yet these clubs lack other
ingredients of Europe based clubs in which area they still lag behind.
European clubs have invested good resources over player development and its
allied areas by reason of
which the European clubs always be able to catch and groom the best talent from
within their locality or for that matter, from anywhere in the world. They have
excellent mechanism of scouting and recruiting players. After recruiting those
young prodigies, they groom them with scientific methodology and approach by
providing all required facilities and attention. In many parts of Asia it is still a
distant dream. This situation in Asia is not deliberate for the simple reason that
the game has not attained a stage of human consciousness because of many
other reasons.
Professional structure of Europe football is much ahead than Asia. Except few
countries in Asia, most of the countries do not have proper mechanism in place
and it may take time before every country in Asia turn to full professionalism.
Professional structure of Europe helps the game to grow on continuous basis.
European football market is expanding every season and Asia is developing as
one of the bigger markets of European football. There is a significant demand
of European football in Asia and every season the demand is increasing.
Therefore, the competitors to buy television rights of European football are
increasing and this competition for European football rights have increased
the market value of the product, thereby directly benefiting European football.
Another important aspect of European football is that they have a very broad
based grassroots programme, which is structured around clubs and national
associations. Other than clubs’ grassroots initiatives, there are different social
development projects initiated by various local governments/ bodies in Europe
through grassroots football, which is helping football to grow and multiply.
Football has a wider implication in society and its individual, and taking that into
consideration many projects get government and corporate funding by which
football grows and strengthens itself. In Asia it will take a little longer where
football will serve larger purpose for the benefit of society other than
development of the game itself. It is basically due to overall economical and
social fabric of most of the countries in Asia. This scenario is gradually
undergoing a change; as such it will take some time before it can have the
desired impact.
In Asia, Japan has set a target to win the World Cup in 2050 and they are
continuously working hard to raise their standard since last two decades.
They have achieved few targets but still have a long way to go for realization
of their dream. At present, Japan football is considered as model for all football
development in Asia. The J-League is constantly evolving and throwing new
challenges to its clubs and players. The clubs around J-League have moved
forward under professional structure and management. But the tragedy is that
there are only countable good leagues in Asia, i.e. South Korea and Australia
apart from Japan, which fulfills the professional league criteria in all aspects.
Therefore, major part of Asia does not have a good league which is a big
handicap for Asia to move to a new level. Mostly big name players join Asian
league after passing their prime in big leagues of Europe. It hardly works for the
gain of football standards in Asia other than the hype associated with it, like
media, marketing, fans, etc. But it is felt that this has to change for better
future of Asian football.
Australia joining Asian football is certainly good for overall health of Asian football.
With Australia in Asia it is better for Australia and other top teams of Asia to have
better competition in the region. Australia has shown to the world that they can
compete with the best. They have several big players playing in Europe in a
good clubs which makes them really competitive. The league in Australia is also
getting bigger by each passing season and performance of Australian team in
World Cup 2006 has given a fresh impetus to the overall development of the
game in Australia and should be an eye-opener for the other countries in Asian
region.
Asia with over 3.5 billion population has the potential to win the ultimate prize in
World Football in future. Football in Asia is on the rise and there are various
initiatives taking place to improve the standard of the game at all levels. Now
there is a major thrust for club development around Asia and Champions League
in Asia for clubs will be re-launched in 2009 under full professional structure.
In depth analysis of above description only indicates that Asian football will have
to meet the standards at every aspect of European football in order to have
similar competitive atmosphere in Asia. It’s only then an Asian team will become
a serious contender for winning the World Cup. The challenge is enormous, yet
a lot of emphasis and thrust is there to make it happen. However, it is difficult
to pin point a year by which Asian teams will be prepared enough for that
challenge.
Mist is gradually lifting.
Certainly the Future is Asia……….
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