 |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Asian Roundup Nations closing gap on Japan, South KoreaPosted: Monday March 17, 2003 7:45 PMKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) --The shock exits of Japanese and Korean teams from Asia's premier club tournament indicates that soccer in the rest of the region is improving, the Asian Football Confederation said Monday. The fall of Kashima Antlers and Shimizu S-Pulse of Japan and Taejon Citizen and Seongnam Ilhwa of South Korea ended the two countries hopes of at least qualifying for the semifinals of the inaugural AFC Champions League. South Korea and Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup, the first time soccer's showpiece event had been staged in Asia. It was also the most successful World Cup for Asian teams, sparking unprecedented popularity in the region as the Koreans made a stunning run to the semifinals and Japan reached the second round. The surprise entries in next month's semifinals of the inaugural Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League are Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan, Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates, Dalian Shide of China and BEC Teo-Sasana of Thailand. "It is not that the standards are dipping in Japan and South Korea but rather teams from countries such as Thailand and China are making good progress by playing with a lot of aggression and purpose," AFC spokesman Subramaniam Alagasundram told The Associated Press. "For us this is a good sign." Kashima -- one of the eight seeded teams in the tournament and among the favorites to win the title -- earned just one point from its group matches. Shimizu had four points. The two Korean teams each finished with six points but were denied a berth in the semifinals by Dalian Shide of China and BEC Teo-Sasana of Thailand. Japan's J-League is considered the strongest and most popular in Asia, and the exits of two of their top teams will surely raise alarm bells in Japan, which made the quarterfinals in the World Cup, soccer's premier event. Seongnam and Taejon's exit was likewise disappointing for soccer-crazy South Korea, which was a surprise semifinalist in the 2002 World Cup, which it co-hosted with Japan. The Asian confederation launched the continent-wide club competition in August, offering US$3 million in prize money. Modeled on the European Champions League, the tournament is the richest in Asia and replaces three existing tournaments. Officials say it will raise soccer standards across Asia. Following the ouster of the Japanese and Korean clubs, Subramaniam predicted soccer officials in the two countries would take a closer look at their leagues. "The leagues in Japan and in South Korea are still of a high standard but maybe the soccer administrators will want to have a relook and plug in any holes," he said. A spokesman for the Japan Football Association said the president would not comment on the early exits of Japanese clubs. "Frankly, it's not the first time Japan has exited in such a manner," he said.
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
