With the 2010 Asian World Cup qualifiers and the AFC Champions League currently ongoing, Soccer City FC recently spoke with one of Asia's top football writers, Antony Sutton. Mainly covering the sport in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, Sutton kindly answered our questions regarding the entire region.
Here is some quick info from Mr. Sutton, "After many years following the Arsenal over land and sea I finally headed overseas myself in 1987. after following St George in the old NSL in Sydney I stayed away from the local scene until 2006 when I told my wife the time was ripe to get back on the terraces. Indonesian football is like the English game of the 1970s. I set up Jakarta Casual to chronicle the game in Indonesia, my adopted home the last seven years, but it has since expanded to cover Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand."
Q. Bahrain, while unlikely to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, has held its own against the likes of Japan and Australia. What can the team take from the tournament?
A. Bahrain has been investing a lot of money into the youth game in their country. Last year I saw them compete in an Under 16 competition in Jakarta and they were just a few seconds away from winning the title, Australia only equalizing right at the death. They will be delighted of course to have competed so well with the region’s accepted major powers but as long as they keep on investing in youth I’m sure one day they will have their opportunity.
Q. Out of all the Asian nations, who has the best chance in South Africa?
A. Probably between Japan and Australia.
Q. On May 20, the final AFC Champions League group matches will be played. What club has surprised you most in the group stage?
A. Sriwijaya! They dominated Indonesian football last season and I was really looking forward to seeing how they fared against the big boys. Their best bet was always going to be home games but the performances so far have been a real eye opener. The gap between Indonesia and the rest of Asia was shown to be massive and it’s going to take a long time to narrow. Perhaps they would have benefited by being in a slightly weaker group like Newcastle Jets!
Q. It is Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i vs. Newcastle Jets with a spot in the Round of 16. Who advances?
A. I spent several years in Australia back in the old NSL days so I’m going to plump for Newcastle Jets. The game down there has really progressed even over the last couple of years when Australians thought all they had to do was turn up and they’d win. Fair play to them though, they learnt the lessons and have come back stronger.
Thank you again to Antony Sutton and remember to catch his writing at -- Jakarta Casual.
1 comment:
Thanks for the insight. Here's hoping the Jets move forward.
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