Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bangkok: Tristan Do has praised the decision to switch the Thai League 1 season to a September start, with the Bangkok United defender believing the competition will have greater appeal to players around the world.
Thailand’s 2020 domestic season is currently on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but plans are in place to resume in September should the situation have improved enough to allow competitive sport to restart.
The Thai FA has long-since discussed the idea of moving the schedule to be more in line with European leagues and the unprecedented situation around the world at present could have inadvertently offered them the chance to do so sooner than expected.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/tristan_do_3.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/tristan_do_1_1.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/tristan_do_-_thailand_-_afc_asian_cup_uae_2019.html
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: In the fourth part of this series, the-AFC.com takes a closer look at five players from the UAE who have left a lasting mark on the AFC Champions League.
Though the country boasts only one title, several players have left a lasting mark on the competition since it was inaugurated in the 2002-03 season.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The-AFC.com's '5 of the Best' series has taken in some spectacular goals in recent weeks and the latest compilation from the AFC Champions League will not disappoint as we look back at some delightful dead-ball deliveries.
After previously featuring the finest acrobatic goals, solo goals, volleys, long-range screamers and chips, this week's selection sees stunning set-piece specials from some of the biggest names of the Continental game including Paulinho, Theerathon and Abdulrahman, so enjoy the trip down memory lane and vote for your favourite in the poll below!
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Taipei: Despite the current COVID-19 pandemic, on the weekend of the 11th and 12th of April, football returned to East Asia with the 2020 season kick off of the Chinese Taipei Premier League. We spoke to two young stars from the men's and women's teams of top-flight side Hang Yuan FC to get their views on playing in one of only a few active domestic football championships in the world.
Highly rated 20-year-old midfield prospect Wu Yen-shu, who idolises Ronaldinho and Son Heung-min, and Hang Yuan FC Women's captain Chen Ying-hui, 21 and a fan of Cristiano Ronaldo and Chinese Taipei veteran Lai Li-chin, revealed their experiences, hopes and goals for this season in an exclusive interview with the-AFC.com.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Since first leaving his homeland in 2006 for a short stint in Saudi Arabia, Daegu FC striker Dejan Damjanovic has spent a long and fruitful career in Asia.
During that time, the 38-year-old has represented Montenegro with esteem, become the second-highest goalscorer in the AFC Champions League’s history and claimed a number of titles along the way.
Looking back at his spells with clubs including FC Seoul and Suwon Samsung Bluewings in Korea Republic and China PR’s Beijing FC, as well as with the national team, Damjanovic tells the-AFC.com what his Dream XI among those he has played alongside would be.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Brasilia: “I put my name in history”.
Only one player has scored a hat-trick in the Premier continental final since the first Asian club champions were crowned more than 50 years ago.
That remarkable feat occurred on April 22, 2000 – 20 years ago today – when Al Hilal’s on-loan Brazilian striker Sergio Ricardo scored a third-minute free-kick, a last-gasp equaliser and a decisive 103rd-minute golden goal to bring the Asian crown back to Riyadh for the second time in history.
Al Hilal’s 3-2 win over a Jubilo Iwata side featuring the likes of Masashi Nakayama and Naohiro Takahara sent a vibrant King Fahd Stadium into euphoria and gave the Saudi giants a title they would need to wait 19 years to replicate.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: April 19 marks the 90th anniversary of the PSSI (Football Association of Indonesia), which was founded back in 1930, eight years before Indonesia – then known as the Dutch East Indies – became the first Asian nation to appear at a FIFA World Cup.
Vote in the poll at the foot of the article to choose your favourite all-time Indonesian legend
You could travel the length and breadth of the Earth but struggle to find a place more impassioned by football than the Southeast Asian country, where the finest players are idolised and expectation remains heaped on the national team.
The Garuda qualified automatically for the 1938 FIFA World Cup in France, but the team had to wait almost six decades until they advanced to another major tournament, when they reached the 1996 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
While the side of the late 30s deserve their place in history, we look a little closer to modern times to highlight five players who have helped shape the beautiful game in a football-mad nation.