A Tournament for Everyone | #KaranganBolaSepak
A Tournament for Everyone | #KaranganBolaSepak by Gary Koh
The Tournament for Everyone: the AFC Asian Cup 2007
This article was inspired by retired Australia captain Mark Viduka’s recent exclusive interview where he shared his thoughts and memories, particularly when he recalled his national team’s dismal AFC Asian Cup debut finals in July 2007.
Hosted by Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia, this was the first major international football tournament that was organized by more than two nations. And what a competition it was on and off the pitch.
For more than a decade on, people still talk about this particular Asian Cup finals with such poigant memories with its legacy as the tournament for everyone in Southeast Asia and beyond. As a young 23-year-old who covered the first week of the event in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur for the now-defunct Singaporean publication Football Weekly, these memories remain vivid to this day.
What began as the pre-tournament hype on Asia’s pre-tournament debutants Australia, who arrived with a big reputation on the back of a solid showing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, ended with the fairy-tale triumph of Iraq, who overcame the war and sectarian conflicts to unite as one to emerge victorious in tough conditions on and off the pitch.
For the immense unprecedented high level of interest in the Asian Cup, with strong foreign media contingents covering their respective national teams, to the twists and turns of the competition on the pitch, this Asian Cup will be forever remembered as the tournament for everyone.
The 2007 Asian Cup is the tournament for everyone, where Southeast Asia witnessed top-class European-based footballers in the likes of Viduka, Harry Kewell, Dong Fangzhuo, Shunsuke Nakamura, Ali Al-Habsi, Ali Karimi and Maksim Shatskikh in person on the pitch in their stadiums.
The 2007 Asian Cup is the tournament for everyone, for Southeast Asia witnessed the sunset of their finest regional stalwarts Therdsak Chaiman, Tochtawan Sripan and Kiatisuk Senamuang, who featured prominently in the dominant Thailand teams that reigned supreme in the region in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The 2007 Asian Cup is the tournament for everyone, as Southeast Asia caught the first glimpses of future international stars Teerasil Dangda (Thailand), Le Cong Vinh (Vietnam) and Aidil Zafuan (Malaysia) to the wider international audience.
The 2007 Asian Cup is the tournament for everyone, motivated underdogs belied their rankings and prospered. Apart from Iraq’s success, Vietnam’s march into the quarter-finals and Thailand’s and Indonesia’s credible showings were moments to remember.
The 2007 Asian Cup is the tournament for everyone, because strong contingents of locally-based overseas fans thronged the stadiums to cheer on their East Asian national heroes. Local fans were also won over by the tenacity and skill of several Arab national teams in action.
The 2007 Asian Cup is the tournament for everyone, for the world, who had previously not paid attention to previous editions, took a keen interest, particularly as war-ravaged Iraq, a side of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds led by their inspirational Kurdish captain Younis Mahmoud, upset the continental order throughout the finals.
The 2007 Asian Cup is the tournament for everyone, for previously-fancied continental favourites United Arab Emirates, Qatar, China and Australia, flopped under the combined weight of tropical conditions and complacency.
The 2007 Asian Cup is the tournament for everyone, where interesting sub-plots emerged with Japan’s interpreter bursting into tears due to Ivica Osim’s tongue-lashing during a post-match press conference, and Vietnam’s Pham Van Tai Em forgoing a quarter-final appearance for his pre-arranged wedding not knowing his nation would reach that far in the finals.
The 2007 Asian Cup is the tournament for everyone with notable disgraceful acts from Malaysia (for their disastrous on-pitch displays and results) and South Korea (where four players, including notably Lee Won-Jae and Lee Dong-Gook, broke team curfew for a drinking binge at a local bar before a group stage match).
While this tournament was logistically challenging with differing football cultures and moods prevalent among the co-hosts, a fine eclectic concoction of tropical intrigue, notable names and storylines makes this 2007 Asian Cup such a unique tournament to remember for all who witnessed the action and news on and off the pitch.
Note from padangbolasepak.com: During the Restriction Movement Order 2021 Malaysia to combat Covid19 - Padangbolasepak.com encourages you from home to write essays about our beloved game of football. Can be anything. Why you fell in love with it? Your first game watching or playing? Friendships forged? Etc. Stars the limit.
500++ words.
The objective is simple. Sharing the joy of football. Challenge you to write about the joy you may want to share. As well as keep you occupied and encourage to write. Provided that you have nothing else to do. Email us your essay with a photo attached at contact@padangbolasepak.com & we’ll post on the website as well on social media.
Thank you and take care brothers and sisters.