The goal that keeps the Asian Cup in Asia for at least one more cycle of the event was an absolutely fitting way to end the tournament in Doha, Qatar. It combined the speed and cross from the left wing by Yuto Nagatomo and the near perfection of Tadanari Lee, who volleyed the ball from just below hip height with his left foot. Such sweet timing, such coordination of minds and skills, and such promise for Japan’s future.
Nagatomo is 24, already a player with 40 caps, and already earning his fortune in Italy with Cesena. Lee is 25 but a relative unknown even in Asia. He had been on the field for little more than 10 minutes when he struck that fine shot Saturday, and maybe the fans of Sanfrecce Hiroshima were the only ones who knew of his striking qualities.
Lee, as his name implies, has family that originally hailed from what is now South Korea. He was born in west Tokyo, but his family members are among the 900,000 “Zainichi,” ethnic Koreans whose forebears were taken to Japan as wartime laborers in the coal mines and factories.
Lee played, once, for South Korea at the under-20 level. But he received his Japanese passport in 2007, joined Hiroshima in 2009 and is as clear about his status as he was when his chance came during extra time in the final in Doha. “When the ball came, I just thought I needed to smash it,” he said in the Khalifa Stadium. “I am proud of this game. I’m not Korean, I’m not Japanese, I’m a footballer.”
Lee is a player who has youth on his side, and he’s hardly alone on this team in that regard. This squad won the final without the injured playmaker Shinji Kagawa, who has had a fantastic first season with Borussia Dortmund in Germany, and it looks like the best is yet to come.
The impressive goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, Kagawa, Keisuke Honda and others are a full decade younger than most of the Australians beaten in this tournament.
Australia, a convert to Asia for the convenience of soccer, will stage the next Asian Cup in 2015 — but first it must find successors to Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill, Lucas Neill and Mark Schwarzer.
Those battle-hardened, European-domiciled veterans had a far easier passage to the match Saturday than the Japanese, who went to extra time and penalties against South Korea in the semifinals. Their fatigue was evident from the kickoff. Their passing fluency was missing. As Japan’s coach, the Italian Alberto Zaccheroni, observed, it needed reserves of spirit, strength and ultimately the fresh mind and legs of substitute Lee.
Japan, the winner of four of the last six Asian Cups, endured one downside from the final: Some supporters who journeyed to Qatar were locked outside the stadium. They had tickets but were denied entry when the gates were closed five minutes after the match started. Organizers said Sunday that tight security was in place because members of the emirate’s royal family attended the match.
The issue of Qatar’s ability to host a major international tournament was a desert wind whipped up by the FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who stole some of the event’s early thunder when he suggested Qatar was too hot in the summer to play soccer. All this after Blatter and FIFA energetically boosted Qatar as the host of the 2022 World Cup.
Empty stands caused speculation that local interest in soccer may not be a great as in other recent (South Africa and Germany) and future (Brazil and Russia) World Cup locales. Then again, the Asian Cup does not draw visiting fans with the number and intensity of the World Cup.
Technology became a factor in driving up interest and viewership: all the games were available live and in high-definition on television, as well as on broadband and mobile devices. Last summer’s World Cup established a model for delivering big-game soccer to fans anywhere anytime on any device, and the Asian Cup extended and refined those technologies.
The two most interesting Asian leagues to track post-Doha will be the Japanese J-League and the Chinese Super League, because the former emulates European league organization and depth, while the latter may soon give a hint of a future Asian soccer giant.
Doha has changed a lot in the last few years and it will certainly continue an evolution fueled by petrodollars and a desire cast a shadow greater than one might expect from an desert nation with 1.7 million people. Qataris are gracious hosts and won the hearts of virtually everyone who attended the tournament.
With the Asian Cup, did Qatar show it is capable of hosting a World Cup? Is 11 years enough time for the country to prepare for 2022?
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