It's going to be hot in Bangkok in July. The usual monsoon rains and oppresive humidity face the fans...never mind the players!
The stadium is a long way from the city, in an outer suburb called Huamark. Local transport from the city to the stadium is poor.
The stadium in Bangkok is a 65,000 seater, but only 20,000 seats are under cover.
Ever been to an English Premier League game? Watching football in warm Thai rain, who's complaining?
Korea Republic winger Park Ji-sung looks likely to miss the AFC 2007 Asian Cup.
The AFC website reported Sir Alex Ferguson, Park's Manchester United manager saying, "We have not been able to get to the bottom of it, so we have sent him to the best specialist in the world," said the United boss
Dr Richard Steadman will operate on Park on friday in Colorado.
Socceroos fan Rod has got his flights booked and tickets for Aussie games purchased. He'll stay for four games in Bangkok.
"If Australia top the group, the quarter-final is also in Bangkok."
Good planning Rod!
"I've got no accommodation yet, but there's plenty of time."
Rod's been to four World Cups; USA 94, France 98, Japan/Korea 2002 and Germany 2006.
This is his first Asian Cup. The lad is up for it.
How are your plans going? Like to see your AFC 2007 Asian Cup story in print, here and elsewhere. Post here or email me.
There will be more dancing and rejoicing in the streets of Canberra this winter.
The Green and Gold Army have organised to show the AFC 2007 Asian Cup live into Garema Place on the big screen.
Prime time, with lots of Asian fans at the Universities, its just possible some games involving Japan, Korea Republic and China get a bigger crowd than the Aussies.
Either way it leaves other cities looking poor. Last I heard Federation Square in Melbourne said they couldn't show events not on free-to-air.
Hello Melbourne. Welcome to 2007!
ZIBO CITY, China: AFC’s revolutionary football development programme Vision China was launched yesterday in Zibo which is located in Shandong province, the officially recognised birthplace of world football.
The AFC have announced its in Zibo City, China
Bet you didn't know that did you!
Australia play hosts Thailand in this years AFC 2007 Asia Cup. The Thai's have a reasonable record in the tournament qualifying for the last four tournaments.
Asian Cup finals record:
2004 Group Stage
2000 Group Stage
1996 Group Stage
1992 Group Stage
1972 Third Place
Thailand captured the gold medal for a record seventh time at the 2005 South East Asia Games. This tournament is for under-23 sides and gives Thailand great hope great hope for this years AFC 2007 Asia Cup.
Australia play Thailand in the final group game on July 16 in Bangkok
Did you know the first AFC Asian Cup was held in Hong Kong in 1956.
The first winners were Korea Republic.
Previous winners of the AFC Asian Cup include current holders Japan(3 times), Saudi Arabia(3), Korea Republic(2), Iran(3), Kuwait(1)and Israel(1).
Can Australia win this years AFC Asian Cup?
Depends on injuries and how the players hold up after the World cup and long European season. I think thye will get to the last four, after that who knows.
Graham Arnold revealed today that the Socceroos have four major injury concerns ahead of the 2007 AFC Asia Cup.
Arnold is confident of securing the services of the majority of his squad despite fitness concerns over World Cup stars Tim Cahill, Craig Moore, Harry Kewell and Josh Kennedy.
"There may be a few hiccups but I'm positive we can get most of the squad," he added.
"This is an extremely motivated group. They've never won anything as a nation at any level and they want to go to the Asian Cup and do well.
"At this moment we have four injury concerns with Tim, Harry, Moorey and Josh - they've either had limited playing time or been out for extended periods so we'll see how they go in the next few weeks."
Who would you replace these players with? Spiranovic, Valeri/Holman, Djite, Burns/Kilkenny?
What do you think?
Here come the tickets!
Tickets for the AFC Asian Cup 2007 shall be available online for sale from Tuesday, 24th April (4pm Malaysia local time - GMT+8).
Australian fans will be able to purchase tickets for any or all of the four venues by clicking on the link and then by selecting your venue(s) of choice.
http://www.the-afc.com/english/media/default.asp?mnsection=media§ion=newsDetails&newsID=8462
The AFC state tickets can be purchased online or by contacting the relevant call centres directly ONLY via the Official Websites of the third party ticketing agencies appointed for each venue.
Problems getting tickets for the Socceroo games? Let me know.
Celtic star Shunsuke Nakamura capped off a perfect day as he was voted SPFA Player of the Year overnight.
The Japan international, 28, recieved the award just hours after Celtic clinched the Bank of Scotland Premier League title following his superb last-gasp winner at Kilmarnock, earning the Hoops a 2-1 win.
Nakamura has been in outstanding form this season and is hoping to make a big contribution for Japan at the AFC 2007 Asian Cup to be held in Thailand, inodnesia, Malaysia and Vietnam in July.
Socceroos preparation for the 2007 Asia Cup is looking frail.
The Socceroos play Uruguay on June 2nd in Sydney and were supposed to play Argentina in Melbourne on June 6th. The Argentinean game has been postponed leaving little time to organise a new opponent.
After the Uruguay game, the players will have a two-week break before heading to Singapore on June 21 for a training camp and friendly against the Singaporean national team.
Most European seasons finish early May so it could have been better to give the players a longer break, say 3 to 4 weeks, then bring them back mid-June for the Uruguay international before heading off to Singapore.
Looks like the FFA may have got this one wrong? What do you think?
Four Cup hosts a problem, AFC chief says
The president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has admitted that his organisation had made a mistake be allowing four countries to host this year's Asian Cup.
"With four countries this is a problem," Mohamed bin Hammam told Reuters late on Thursday.
He added: "If one country fulfils its obligation and another one doesn't, this is no good to us."
The July 7-29 Asian Cup will be shared by Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, and the AFC has made no secret of its dissatisfaction with some of the co-hosts.
They'd better get it right! Seems to me the AFC have a number of organisation problems.
They'll be a lot of upset football fans across Asia if this tournamnet doesn't match international standards.
The credibility of the AFC is on the line here.
What do you think can the AFC pull-off a successful tournament?
QANTAS SOCCEROOS VERSUS ARGENTINA RE-SCHEDULED Football Federation Australia today announced that it had agreed to the Argentinean Football Association’s request to re-schedule the international match with the Qantas Socceroos which had been confirmed for the MCG on 6 June.
“We share our fans disappointment about re-scheduling the match, but we hope that they will accept that a postponement was necessary so that we will see a full strength Argentina.” said FFA CEO Mr. Ben Buckley.
Australia only wished to play against a top Argentinean side. Argentina were unable to guarantee this so the game will take place later in the year.
The FFA states tickets will be valid for the rearrange fixture.
AUSTRALIA’S 2007 AFC ASIAN CUP DRAW
Group Stage
Australia vs. Oman
Sunday 8 July 2007, 5.20pm
Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok
Australia vs. Iraq
Friday 13 July 2007, 5.20pm
Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok
Australia vs. Thailand
Monday 16 July 2007, 7.35pm
Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok
Malaysia will spend three weeks in Australia from May 7-23 preparing for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.
They are expected to play three friendlies against the Australian Olympic side, Sydney FC and Western Australia while they are here.
Malaysia, one of the co-hosts, are grouped with Iran, China and Uzbekistan in Group C which will be held in the capital Kuala Lumpur.
Spare a thought for the modern international football fan. In the old days you lived where you were born (mostly) and providing the borders weren't redrawn and country renamed you had your team.
England, Yugoslavia, Brazil , Potugal, Japan.
Simple, right?
Your team turned up for the World Cup and you bellow like crazy when they win a game, any game. You lost, you cried, end of story.
Now I was talking to Susanna last night. Fanatical football fan, just talks, talks and talks football.
She was born in Angola, grew up in Portugal, now an Australia citizen.
Portugal draw Angola in their World Cup group. Happy? She was distraught. She'd flown back to Portugal, like she did for Euro 2004 to watch the games with her family in Lisbon. Torn between her Uncle who is screaming for Ronaldo to take the dive, and Angola the contry of her birth. She was drained at the outcome.
If that wasn't enough the Socceroos were up next.
"I'm still hurting from the Italian game, I just had so much emotion during the World Cup. It was just so hard, and the Aussies we were robbed."
She's getting into it now and the pain is flooding back.
Maybe it was easier when the Aussies didn't qualify and we all lived where we were born!
The 2007 AFC Asian Cup will follow the following format:
GROUP STAGE
The 16 finalists will be seeded and divided into four groups of four teams each during the final round draw. Each team plays each of the other teams in the same group according to a league system (three points for a win, one point for a draw, no points for a defeat). The winners and runners-up in each group will advance to the quarter-finals.
KNOCKOUT STAGE
Quarter-finals
The winners of each of the four groups will meet a runner-up from another group in the quarter-finals. All four quarter-finals will take place over one match with the winner progressing to the semi-finals. If the score is tied at the end of the regulation playing time, an extra two periods of 15 minutes each will be played. If the score is still level after extra time, the winners will be determined by kicks from the penalty mark.
Semi-finals
The four winners of the quarter-finals play the semi-finals over one match with the winners progressing to the final. As with the quarter-finals, extra-time and penalties will be utilised in the event of a draw between two sides.
Final
The winners of the semi-finals play in the final to determine the AFC Asian Cup 2007TM champions. As with the quarter-finals and semi-finals, extra-time and penalties will be utilised in the event of a draw between the two sides.
Matthew Spiranovic replaced Michael Beauchamp after 69 minutes in FC Nurnberg's 4-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt last night.
Spiranovic, 18,in his first season in the Bundesliga is probably the youngest Australian playing at the highest level.
Only Harry Kewell has had such top league game time at a young age.
I'm wondering if Spiranovic could be an outside bet for the Asian Cup squad.
Has any other 18 year old Australian played at a higher level?
Can he make the Asian cup squad?
With the first warm-up game against Uruguay in Sydney on June 2nd, focus starts to turn to the Socceroos Asian Cup squad.
New coach Graham Arnold is sure to continue along his path of renewal as Australian football looks to the future after the successful 2006 World Cup Campaign.
Inclusion of A-League players Mark Milligan(Sydney FC), Bruce Djite (Adelaide United), Danny Vidovic (Central Coast Mariners)would help the profile of the local A-League. Neil Kilkenny (Birmingham City) Brad Jones (Middlesborough) Carl Valeri (Grosetto) and Brett Holman (FC Nijmegan) could also give the squad a futuristic look.
There is still enough quality to win the tournament with the likes of Mark Viduka, Tim Cahill, Lucas Neill, Mark Scharwzer still around.
Here's my possible squad:
Goalkeepers
1 Mark Schwarzer (Middlesborough, England)
2 Brad Jones (Middlesborough, England)
3 Danny Vukovic (Central Coast Mariners, Australia)
Defenders
4 Lucas Neill (West Ham, England)
5 Michael Beauchamp (FC Nuremberg, Germany),
6 Scott Chipperfield (Basle, Switzerland)
7 Craig Moore (Newcastle United, England)
8 Mark Milligan (Sydney FC)
9 Patrick Kisnorbo (Leicester City, England)
10 Neil Kilkenny (Birmingham City, England)
Midfield
11 Mark Bresciano (Palermo, Italy),
12 Jason Culina (PSV Eindhoven, Holland)
13 Vince Grella (Parma, Italy)
14 Luke Wilkshire (Twente, Holland).
15 Tim Cahill (Everton, England)
16 Brett Emerton (Blackburn, England)
17 Carl Valeri (Grosseto, Italy)
18 Mile Sterjovski (Basel, Switzerland)
Forwards
19 Mark Viduka (Middlesborough)
20 John Aloisi (Alaves, Spain)
21 Harry Kewell (Liverpool, England)
22 Brett Holman (NEC Nijmegen, Holland),
23 Bruce Djite (Adelaide United) to replace Josh Kennedy if Kennedy is still injured.
Reserves
24 Archie Thompson
25 Josip Skoko
26 Nicky Carle
27 Michael Thwaites
Can this squad win the 2007 Asia Cup? What do you think?
Australia will warm-up for the 2007 Asia Cup with games against Uruguay, Argentina and Singapore. Uruguay in Sydney on June 2 and Argentina in Melbourne on June 6 will be followed by a two-week break.
The squad will meet-up in Singapore on June 21 before playing a final friendly against Singapore on June 30.
"The camp and match in Singapore will give us a good indication of what to expect at the Asian Cup," coach Graham Arnold said in a statement.
"Acclimatisation will be a key to success at the tournament, so training and playing in Singapore will get us in good shape for the conditions that we will face for the tournament.
"All three matches are vital. The games in Australia will be the players' last chance to push for selection for the Asian Cup and the tough opponents will give us the hard workout we need."
Australia's historic debut in the Asian Cup finals will be against Oman in Bangkok on June 8 followed by games against Iraq and Thailand
The July 7-29 tournament is co-hosted by Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia
The Socceroos have another summer(Northen Hemisphere)of football. Their third in a row.
2005 Germany: Confederations Cup
2006 Germany: FIFA World Cup
2007 Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam: AFC Asia Cup
You thought David Moyes (Everton manager) was annoyed last year when Tim Cahill went back tired. Will Harry Kewell play for the Socceroos in this years Asian Cup? Will he go back to Liverpool fit?
The schedule is too punishing for our players. Sixty English Premiership games including European games and FA Cup. Then the increased tempo of International football when bodies are demanding a break. No wonder many Socceroos want to retire!
What do you think? Are our players asked to play too much?
Met Rod for coffee on Saturday. Talked turned to football...then we said hello.
He's been to four World Cups. USA, France, Japan/Korea and Germany. He's kicked a ball since he was five and never thought he 'd see his country at a World Cup.
He's such a pessimist, his words not mine. He was drinking so much before the Uruguay game (World Cup final qualifier, Nov 2005) because he knew we would lose. He decided to slow down after half-time just in case he needed to remember the game.
Well Rod's off to the 2007 Asia Cup. No tickets yet, no flight booked but he's off.
The Green and Gold Army are making plans. Socceroo supporters are on the move again. This time its Asia. First stop is Thailand and Bangkok.
This time we're favourites.
Imagine an Australian team winning a major international tournament. You know you want to be there.
Any travel plans? Let me know.
One of the biggest sporting tournaments in the World takes place in July in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. I'll be in Bangkok for all the Australian group games.
