2011 Asian Cup - My personal Review

I was in Doha for the whole duration of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup - Qatar and made my personal observations during course of the tournament. Asia's premier football tournament, which was held from January 7 to 29, showed that football in this part of the world is developing but there is still a long way to go before Asian football can challenge the best in the beautiful game though some nations are much closer then others.

The tournament also reaffirmed the fact that the Asian heavyweights from the East - Japan, South Korea, Australia - are moving fast ahead of their rivals from the rest of the continent. The best matches in this edition of the tournament where those, when these three sides faced each other.

Japan became fitting champions in the end after a 120 minute final battle royale against Australia on Saturday, January 29, through a great strike by substitute Tadanari Lee after the Samurai Blue had overcome archrivals South Korea in a penalty shootout in the semifinals.

While Australia came to Qatar under German coach Holger Osieck with an experienced squad with many of their key players above the age of 30, both Japan and South Korea came into the tournament with rather young and inexperienced squads. The coaches Alberto Zaccheroni (Japan) and Kwang Rae Cho (South Korea) both said before the start of the championship that their teams should gain valuable international experience and if possible bring home the title.

Japan continued their domination of Asian football with their fourth Asian Cup title in the last six editions, while South Korea failed once more as they remain without an Asian Cup title since 1960. And the Taeguk Warriors will have to wait until the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia to try and bring the title back to the Korean peninsula.

With the Asian Cup taking place in Qatar a lot of expectations had build in the Gulf that an Arabian side could be the surprise element in the tournament like Iraq had been in the 2007 edition. But the sides from West Asia did not really set the tournament on fire. There were the upset wins by Jordan and Syria against Saudi Arabia, but that had more to do with the Saudis, who aren't as strong as they used to be as a national team and Jordan holding Japan in their opening game, where the young Japanese hadn't settled as a team. By the quarterfinals all teams from the region where out of the tournament.

And then there are the most populous countries on the planet - China and India - who came into the tournament with contrasting expectations. China came to Qatar as the highest ranked team in Group A and with hopes of at least progressing to the knockout stages, but after an opening win against Kuwait, a loss to the hosts Qatar was followed by a draw against Uzbekistan to finish third in their group, which meant elimination.

India meanwhile were drawn in the toughest of all groups, in Group C. Little was expected from the Bhangra Boys, who suffered a 0-4 loss to Australia, a 2-5 defeat against Bahrain and lost 1-4 against South Korea. It was the expected last place finish for India, but acceptable defeats for a nation who returned to the top of Asian football after 27 long years. Still India's fans need to be complemented as they came out in numbers and supported the team in a very positive way.

Overall Asian football didn't take the leap which many had hoped for to show that Asian football has really arrived, but as the tournament progressed the quality of football got better. Overall an interesting tournament, but very few fans attending continues to be a problem for the Asian Cup and the Asian Football Confederation. And it is unlikely to be solved in the next edition as Australia is so far away from the rest of the continent.

To end on a personal note. I enjoyed being in Qatar for the whole duration of the Asian Cup. It has given me a much better insight of Asian football and also the strength and weaknesses of football across the continent plus one could watch nearly all games as the five venues across Doha where easily accessable. And I hope to be back for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia...