AFC Asian Cup in Canberra, the verdict

Korea Republic 2 v Iraq 0

Stadium Australia

Monday 26 January 2015

Twitter @ball_sup

My group game/Quarter Final shift in Canberra is over as the Asian Cup moves to Semi Finals. Declaring an interest, I've got friends in Canberra. As sports fans, it's a running joke between us that "nothing ever happens in Canberra". There are proper Canberra/ACT teams for Rugby League (The Raiders) & Union (The Brumbies). The Greater Western Sydney Giants AFL (Aussie Rules) team play occasional matches in Canberra. In cricket, The Australian Prime Ministers XI routinely play the touring team in a 50 over game in Canberra.

Indeed, in November 2014 Canberra hosted an ODI between Australia & South Africa. And in the coming days/months will have 3 ICC Cricket World Cup matches AND the T20 Big Bash Final - which is a very big deal.

But, the Holy Grail in my world would be a football/soccer A League franchise. There are currently "Derby" expansion teams in Western Sydney Wanderers & Melbourne City (nee Heart). And, previously, failed expansions in Gold Coast & North Queensland. Canberra has not featured in any A League expansion.

The word on the Terraces is that a successful Asian Cup set up in Canberra will help/prove/demonstrate the viability of a Canberra A League franchise.

Not having that.

It's chalk & cheese. Large & partisan ex-pat communities have been the thing. Sure, Canberrans have pitched up. But I'm not sure that gives any indication for A League. Good luck to them though.

I am going to comment on Australian spectating techniques. Canberra stadium does have a Concourse. A promenade/walkway between the lower tier & upper tier. You can bowl around that. You can queue for your beer/pies. You can chat to your mates. All in full view of the pitch.

But, one thing it makes you notice is the comings & goings. I'm a product of the English - cram the last beer in the pub/are we leaving early for a drink - school. But, you know, the game has a kick off time & (generally) lasts 90 minutes. In my experienced opinion, significant numbers of Australian fans wander in 30 minutes after kick off. Many (not necessarily the same people) start drifting off home 10 minutes into the 2nd half. And they don't half like standing in the aisles - ie IN MY WAY.

Come on mate. It's a grid system. Rows are letters. Seats are numbers. Surely you can find it. And to be honest, staring at the seat while blocking my view - well it's not magically gonna change from Row P Seat 15 to whatever it says on your ticket.

A few Aussie fans, unable to find their seat, have quizzically shown me their ticket. Gleefully, on one occasion, I pointed to the ticket & said - "it's right there, 17:30 kick off, where've you been".

Whhhhooooossshhhh

No big deal. The come & go as you please irrespective of kick off time & game duration style is uniquely Australian I feel. I think it shows the admirable cheap ticket prices attracting intrigued, novelty value, once in a lifetime, spectators. Be careful in assuming they'll turn up for A League.

But, the Canberra Asian Cup experience has been great. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. But that's history now.

A simple & efficient display by South Korea here in Stadium Australia in Sydney. Iraq never really got going. South Korea stayed strong in the tackle, were difficult to shift off the ball & took their chances. They've yet to concede a goal in the tournament.

79/188

Female Fans Welcome. ...

Iraq beat Iran 7-6 on Penalties
3-3 after extra time

Canberra Stadium

Friday 23 January 2015

Twitter @ball_sup

Same opening gambit for 3 Blogs in a row. Come on, for a football fan from Europe, that's a game featuring two teams I never expected to see. Basically, that game has had everything.

A sending off.
One team being a goal down, then 2-1 & 3-2 up.
An everybody out, benches cleared mêlée. Lengthy injury to one of the keepers.
Bookings galore.
Penalty shoot-out.
The lot.

A great atmosphere. But not really anything I've experienced before. Noisy. Partisan. But not hostile. In a way, this Terrace connoisseur was slightly disappointed it wasn't more mental. The noise was incessant. Bongos we'd call 'em in the West. The Iraqi mob did a lap around the concourse before the off. That stirred things up a bit. But mainly booing & thumbs down.

To me, the Iraqi lot looked gloriously chaotic & improvised - I warmed to 'em. There were far more Iranians. They had a handful of fellas in fluorescent orange orchestrating the chants. Sinister if you ask me. Oy Mate, maybe you were making sure only the regime approved ditties got an airing.

But, great to see thousands of my Iranian Sisters there. They wouldn't be allowed into games "back home" of course.

The Iranians were a bit "sing when you're drawing". Fairly quiet when the Iraqis were winning.

The sending off. What happened there? In real time I've seen it as.....

Iraq keeper comes out to dive & smother ball running away from Iranian forward.

Iranian clatters into Iraqi keeper.

Keeper not happy, gets up & gives the Iranian a "face shove".

Iranian goes down as if poleaxed. Ref is right there.

.... take it all in, he's clattered him, but he's raised his arms & made contact, but then he's play acting. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Yellow Card to the writhing, cheating Iranian get. Ooohhh. Correct & brave that from the Australian ref. Loved the way the A League was reffed from the first kick I saw. This is just a continuation.

Uproar, gestures. Free-kick to the keeper. Ref backtracks towards halfway. Bit of discussion. RED CARD - He's done. I was guessing now. Already booked? Some verbals? No idea.

Hindsight. He had already been booked. 2nd Yellow offence for keeper clattering, not diving & writhing. Needed an Iraqi player to remind the ref he'd had him twice......Maybe.

Two teams bang at it. In front of tribally partisan fans. With the female fans (including Mrs Ball Sup) unwittingly sending out a political message to The Rulers. That was some game.

I had an Aus Beer Tick in the pub. A.B.C. 8 Days Lager. My 322nd Aus beer. A nice, crisp, no nonsense Pilsner style.

78/185

The Best, The Minnows & The Rest

Iraq 2 v Palestine 0

Canberra Stadium

Tuesday 20 January 2015

Twitter @ball_sup

Same opening gambit as the last Blog. Come on, for a football fan from Europe, that's a game featuring two teams I never expected to see.

I'll have a go at explaining qualification for the Asian Cup. So, we'll see how Palestine ended up here. It's the hosts, the best, the minnows & the rest.

The hosts (Australia) & the top three from the previous 2011 tournament qualify. That was Japan, Australia & South Korea. So, Australia "qualified twice".

As well as "the best", two qualification spots are held for "minnows".  The AFC Vision Asia programme is/was a plan to raise the standards of football in Asia. Central to that is the AFC Challenge Cup. An international football competition for AFC member countries categorized as "emerging countries". The AFC Challenge Cup gives "the minnows" experience of  playing a continental competition with an AFC trophy at the end of it. AFC Challenge Cup 2012 (North Korea) & 2014 (Palestine) winners qualified for the main AFC Asian Cup.

Then the 20 remaining teams fight it out for 11 slots. To make 16 qualifiers.

It's an interesting approach. Teams at your major continental tournament are NOT all there on merit. Two are there for "the greater good of the game". There'd be hell on if UEFA tried that at the EUROs. But, of course, we accept that at the FIFA World Cup. Some poorer teams are there as regional representatives.

There now follows a cynical view. India are poor in footballing terms. But giants in terms of population, market, TV rights & revenue generation. The AFC Challenge Cup for minnows is a way of getting the Indians into the Big Show. But they keep stuffing up by not winning it. The Mugs.

In 2012. Played 3. Won 0. Drawn 0. Lost 3. Goals for 0. Goals against 8.

In 2014, they didn't even reach the Challenge Cup for minnows finals. Myanmar knocked them out in qualifying.

Mugs.

India did however previously qualify for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup (in Qatar) after winning the 2008 Challenge Cup (for minnows).

That was a great atmosphere in Canberra tonight. First time in my experience that the fella leading a football firm on a march to confront their rivals has carried a MAP above his head. A map showing (I assume) what he felt constituted Palestine.

All a great advert for Multicultural Australia. And no one in sight screaming SPEAK ENGLISH.

77/182