Good, bad and ugly for Asia

Traditional heavyweights Japan, South Korea and Australia excelled in 2009, highlighting a year blighted by a vitriolic battle for power within Asian football.

The three Asian giants did what was needed to qualify for next year’s World Cup in South Africa and they were surprisingly joined by North Korea, who made the showpiece event for the first time since 1966.

But there was heartache for tiny Bahrain who once again lost in the play-offs, crashing 1-0 to New Zealand.

In domestic soccer, the revamped AFC Champions League went from strength-to-strength with South Korea’s Pohang Steelers shocking two-time winners Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the final in Tokyo.

It was a memorable year for Korea, with Pohang voted club of the year, South Korea best national team while their handler, Huh Jung-Moo, was named top coach.

Even the long-criticised China had something to shout about with the Chinese Super League setting new records for attendance and television audiences in a season when Beijing Guoan gave the capital its first title.

In Japan, Kashima Antlers made J-League history by winning a third straight crown while Yasuhito Endo had a memorable season to be named player of the year.

Elsewhere, Thailand got a new high-profile coach in former England captain Bryan Robson and Uzbek side Bunyodkor secured the services of ex-Chelsea and Brazil boss Luiz Felipe Scolari. “I have to say that 2009 was a very successful year in terms of competition and the AFC’s ongoing development programmes and educational activities for referees and coaches,” AFC president Mohamed bin Hammam told AFP.

He was particularly happy with the way the AFC Champions League grew, with more prize money on the table and a bigger television audience.

“The ACL is a newborn competition with strong legs that can support its progress in the future,” he said. “I was personally very happy with the media coverage, the stadium attendance, and the technical standards.”

But for all the successes of Asian football in 2009, there was an ugly side to the year.

It all kicked off with Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa challenging Bin Hammam in May for his FIFA executive committee seat.

What followed was allegations of vote-rigging, cheating and claims that Bin Hammam had a mental problem and needed hospital treatment. The Qatari, who has held the FIFA position since 1996, threatened to step down as Asia’s most powerful football figure if he was defeated.

Ultimately, he won by the narrow margin of 23-21, but faces a difficult few years with the organisation riven by animosity.

Bin Hamman also decided to open bidding to relocate the AFC’s headquarters from Malaysia, which has been its home since 1965. It sparked claims by former top official Peter Velappan that Bin Hammam was “a dictator”, as he called the proposal “a travesty to everyone who has given so much to put Asian football on the map”.

Doha, Abu Dhabi and Singapore initially showed an interest in hosting AFC House but Malaysia eventually won the day after the government in Kuala Lumpur agreed to improve conditions for the organisation. Bin Hammam was keen to stress the sometimes ugly politics simply showed democracy in action. “This year marked the rise of competition in the May elections that attracted media attention,” he said.

SINGAPORE, AFP