AFC Champions League Preview (The East - 2019)

Twelve titles from an available thirteen. That mere stat truly encapsulates the undisputed dominance of East Asia in recent Asian Champions League history. Kashima Antlers’ impressive run to the final last year, ultimately ended in muted fashion, as they eased past Iranian champions Persepolis in the final, but are such one-sided finals something we can expect to end going forward?

The perceived new wave of challenge was supposed to come from China. The increased money being funnelled down into the domestic game was becoming a real consideration for even Western Europe, let alone the rest of Asia. Despite the large amounts of cash flowing in initially, the picture looks a little more stable nowadays, and with one of the quietest windows for some time just passing by, the challenge from China in the Asian Champions League looks comparatively weak to years gone by.

Perennial contenders, and two-time winners Guangzhou Evergrande encapsulate China’s evolving yet diminishing threat continentally. Having lost out on their first domestic title for eight years, rather than jump straight back into the lucrative transfer market of highly sought after European talent, Guangzhou have bizarrely restricted their own overseas quota, instead looking to seek weaker nationalised options to bulk up their squad.

The purchases of former England youth international Tyias Browning and Peruvian born Roberto Siucho are the first part of a long-term strategy put into play by the club to exploit China’s vast waves of global diaspora. Ahead of the curve, fellow Asian Champions League side Beijing Guoan have already confirmed the national switch of Norwegian born midfielder John Hou Saeter (now known as Hou Yongyong) and are significantly along the way in doing the same for English born Nico Yennaris (to be known as Li Ke) who should switch allegiances in the coming months.

The quality of Chinese football, as demonstrated in January’s underwhelming, yet misleadingly successful Asian Cup campaign, is still lacking in a number of areas. The mere bright spot of the campaign, domestic golden boot winner Wu Lei, has now left for Europe, leaving his former club and newly crowned Chinese Super League champions Shanghai SIPG in a muddle heading into their first ever domestic defence and ACL pursuit. Shanghai have failed to sign up adequate cover for their outgoing talisman, and with an ageing squad to hand, growing ever more static (the physical size of star man Hulk is again on the rise), it’s hard to suggest that the current Chinese champions have it in their locker to make a dent continentally.

The title in the East then, as has been the case for the last two editions, looks favoured to return to Japan for a third year in succession. Back-to-back J.League champions Kawasaki Frontale look far better prepared to make a sustained impact on the continental stage than last year, given their close season signings of Leandro Damiao and Maguinho have already hit the ground running domestically. Group stage returns to face Shanghai SIPG and Ulsan Hyundai, the two teams to usurp Kawasaki last term, will prove an interesting yard stick to assess progression of each team individually, but an area the Japanese champions look best set to improve upon.

The two previous ACL champions in Urawa Red Diamonds (2017) and Kashima Antlers (2018) also return, with strong looking squads to progress deep into the competition. The off season purchases of Ryosuke Yamanaka, Ewerton and Kenyu Sugimoto have improved quality across the pitch for Urawa, whilst Kashima, who may have lost defensive duo Gen Shoji and Daigo Nishi in the transfer market, have been able to keep hold of both their AFC Player of the Year nominated stars from last term Kento Misao and Yuma Suzuki, and have brought in experienced forward Sho Ito, a player who has already scored in both his Champions League and domestic debuts for the club in the last week.

The only question mark, often labelled against Japanese contenders for Champions League glory, has been that of priorities. The J.League remains the most intense and extended of domestic schedules in the East, leading some in the past to field under strength squads in their midweek Asian excursions. One of the most regular abusers of this in the past, Sanfrecce Hiroshima already look to be treading on familiar ground, after deploying a second-string squad in their weary penalty shootout victory over Chiangrai in the ACL playoffs.

With this in mind, Jeonbuk Motors look well placed to be challenge the favourites at the tournament. The Korean champions, have few worries domestically, given their considerable superiority over the chasing pack, have a reduced schedule compared to their Japanese counterparts, and have strengthened their depth going into the new season. Boasting an almost relentless attacking force, including the likes of Moon Seon-min, Bernie Ibini and Kim Shin-wook as mere bench options, Jeonbuk clearly have the playing staff to live up to being a worthy challenger. Outside them however, the Korean challenge is diminished (on paper at least), given the surprising rise of Gyenognam and Daegu last season.

Gyenognam backed up their K2 promotion campaign in 2017, to finish in behind Jeonbuk last term. Whilst they’ve lost leading scorer Marcao (Hebei), and centre back Park Ji-soo (Guangzhou Evergrande) to the Chinese Super League, the introduction of Jordan Mutch, formerly of Cardiff City and former Inter Milan winger Luc Castaignos looks to keep them competitive at the very least in the group stage. Daegu’s unexpected KFA Cup victory opens a historic continental challenge for the modest Korean club, yet with little star quality across the field, they’ll likely find it difficult against such experienced opponents.

One of their group opponents, Melbourne Victory however, look to have timed their improvement perfectly. The recruitment of Japanese international Keisuke Honda, alongside physical Swedish striker Ola Toivonen, looks to have been a masterstroke, and given their appeasing group stage draw against Deagu, Sanfrecce and Guanzghou could be the required game changer. In a stop-start league campaign to date, Victory have proved on their day, they have the best side in one off matches in Australia, a level of performance they’ll be keen on replicating in Asia.

Aiming to prove they’re more than simply going to make up the numbers, Thai champions Buriram United, heading into their seventh ACL season in eight years, and five times Malaysian champions Johor Darul Ta’zim, in their debut ACL group stage encounter are the potential banana skins no side will relish in facing. JDT in particular have stocked up impressively ahead of their historic debut in the tournament proper, bringing in Brazilian defender Mauricio and striker Diogo, who has already proven how highly effective he is in front of goal in Thailand last term.

VAR Revisited: Judgement Day Approaches

Thursday will play host of the 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup in Russia, but also the first to use VAR (Video Assistant Referee) technology. After a rough ride since its inception, FIFA’s sometimes blind ambition to pioneer this approach has led to numerous instances of error, confusion and delay that has widely split the footballing fraternity of how best to move forward. A year on from my initial questioning of this approach, I suggest that the early teething pains being felt are more likely to be long term symptoms of a technology that doesn’t quite fit the sport.

From the outset I’ve long been a critic of using video technology in football. Proposing that a categorical decision can be made on matters of opinion has always struck me as merely adding another layer of contention to an already heated arena. The subsequent delay and confusion would also in my opinion damage the essence of why football is so loved.

Off the back of a mixed pilot at the latter end of the 2016/17 Australian A-League season, I detailed a number of failings, highlighting further concerns that needed to be ironed out in the subsequent year ahead of the World Cup. The last 12 months however have done little to suggest this has been achieved.

The decisions up for consideration remain the same; 1) circumstances surrounding goals being scored, 2) penalty decisions, 3) red card incidents and 4) mistaken identity. While the initial pilots experienced quite significant failings in Australia and at the Club World Cup, the full season rollouts were introduced as agreed, in the German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, Portuguese Primeira Liga, sporadic English FA Cup ties and a full season with the A-League, alongside the FIFA competitions; Confederations Cup, U20 World Cup, Club World Cup and sporadic international friendlies. The testing ground was now vast, but with it came the inevitable hand-in-hand controversies.

The three areas of concern raised last year were the wide interpretation of the rules, the time delay in making the decisions and the behaviour on the pitch, which all had a significant part to play over the last 12 months. However, an additional concern can now be added to the list of snags; that being technological malfunction.

Interpretation

One of football’s enduring qualities has always been its freedom. There’s no steadfast way of playing the game and with it means there’s few laws that can be considered as categorical. While Goal Line Technology (GLT) has developed quickly into being a mainstay of modern football, VAR was always fighting an uphill battle as it considered multiple shades of grey over the unquestionable decision of whether a ball had crossed the goal line or not. 

Last summer’s Confederations Cup, the official warm up for this year’s World Cup had a number of interpretation issues that caused upheaval. Chile were denied a VAR review upon a clear enough looking penalty decision against Portugal in the semi-finals, while they conversely were the beneficiaries in the final when Gonzalo Jara was spared a red card upon an on pitch review for an equally clear elbow on Germany’s Timo Werner. 

Later that year, at December’s Club World Cup, Real Madrid who were affected by the VAR at the previous edition in 2016 were under scrutiny once again. On two occasions during their semi-final with Al-Jazira VAR stirred up confusion; first a goal for Casemiro was ruled out, overturned, then ruled out once more due to an open for interpretation offside decision against Karim Benzema which questioned whether he was interfering with play or not. 

Secondly, Al-Jazira had a goal ruled out for offside, when Mbark Boussoufa was judged to be offside (after a significant delay), again a call that caused debate. After the match Real coach Zinedine Zidane and player Luke Modric spoke of their frustrations of the system, citing their confusion and the scope for interpretation as the technology’s limiting factors.

The issues that VAR highlights tend to become more defined when a supporter’s team is affected, highlighted perfectly by the England national team over the last 12 months. Firstly, Raphael Varane was sent off for France against England in Paris last summer for a soft but likely last man foul on Dele Alli, widely praised in the country as a clear example as to why video technology was first introduced.

Fast forward nine months and the shoe was on the other foot, as England conceded a soft penalty to Italy after VAR intervention. Both decisions were very similar; clumsy but contestable. Predictably however there was outcry on this occasion; as former national team striker Gary Linekar put it England had a “clear and obvious victory taken away” from them. He, like many pundits that night pointed to the rules that state an overturned decision needs to be “clear and obvious”, while in the same year the same group of observers didn’t bat an eye lid at the red card awarded to Varane.

Time Delay 

There have been countless cases where VAR has worked perfectly, either as a sanity check to ensure the referee has made the correct call first time around or to pick up something that was initially missed. However, in plenty of cases this process has been lengthy and often misleading for fans in the ground and broadcasters/viewers around the globe watching on TV.

The most famous example occurred in Germany in April, when a relegation “six pointer” between Mainz and Freiberg descended into farce, as players were brought back out of their half time break to conduct a penalty for an incident that happened a good five minutes ago in the first half. Alongside the impeding logistics of recalling players out of the tunnel (some of whom didn’t even reappear for the penalty to be taken), fans who had made their way downstairs in the ground and TV broadcasts on ad breaks would have critically missed a key part of the action.

Concerning in-play decisions, some calls are also demonstrably time consuming to resolve. Central Coast Mariners midfielder Wout Brama’s eventual red card in the A-League took a whole two minutes, from initial yellow to its eventual upgrading. A short period of time on paper, but as can be attested on video footage a lengthy period that raised tensions on the home bench, particularly with coach Paul Okon.

Behaviour on the pitch

FIFA have taken preemptive action on the behaviour of players calling for a VAR check, insisting any call for such would be punishable by a yellow card. Given the lack of success FIFA and national leagues have had in clamping down on dissent towards referees from all quarters, it’s debatable this extra legislation will have any effect, but at the very least FIFA are accepting changes in behaviour have occurred since VAR’s implementation.

Players and coaches objection to initial decisions and the follow up reversions will be pointed to as passion, part and parcel of the game, but the question clearly is to why bother in introducing a system that exacerbates the debate rather than resolves it? The long term future will pile more pressure on the referees instead of the technology being there to support them, leading to occasions where referees are clearly changing the way they officiate.

In Australia, it has been regularly debated whether officials are often overlooking decisions, as they’ll be picked up by VAR anyway, to ensure a chance isn’t lost in real time play. The opposite happened in last summer’s U20 World Cup final between England and Venezuela. Venezuelan forward Adalberto Penaranda went down in the box under the challenge of Kyle Walker-Peters, which was quickly blown up by the referee as being a penalty.

Upon immediate questioning the referee rushed the decision up to the VAR box, seemingly suggesting, “I couldn’t be sure, but it’s getting checked over,” bringing the updated VAR processes into doubt, as referees are negating their initial job of making the decision on the pitch as they see it.

While the decision was agreed upon, or at least not seen as a “clear and obvious” mistake by the referee, even though from a personal standpoint there looked to be minimal to no contact, the resulting penalty was missed by Venezuela, muting any hard feelings from the England bench. A bullet dodged for the referee and FIFA, but questioning should be directed on the consistency in the use of the technology between individual referees. 

Technology Malfunction 

One aspect I hadn’t considered this time last year, was that the technology wasn’t fit for purpose in the required moment. The comical graphics used by the VAR team behind the FA Cup tie between Huddersfield Town and Manchester United went viral, as Juan Mata was called offside for United, justified by an uneven yellow line across the field. Hawk-Eye, the operators behind the technology put it down to a glitch in the system.

This year’s A-League Grand Final went one step further and saw its VAR system switch off for two minutes. While this could’ve happened another time to little effect, the period in question saw Melbourne Victory score the only goal of the game, despite the television audience being fully aware that James Donachie was offside in the build-up. The outcry was tremendous, but crucially for FIFA isolated in a low key league outside of Europe, but a comparison to a winning goal in the World Cup final would be disastrous. Despite a lengthy explanation citing a technical failure, the FFA have agreed to use VAR in next season’s A-League campaign.

Ironically after the affair, there were calls for the VAR referee in question to be banned from ever taking up the role again, irrespective of his lack of technological expertise. This surely culminates the VAR’s ludicrous moral 360, from introducing technology to take the pressure off referees, we are now calling into question the careers of those using it.

Quite possibly the most bizarre example however, came in Portugal, when a clear offside goal scored by Aves v Boavista in the Portuguese Primeira Liga was missed by the VAR cameras as a supporter’s flag was flown in the way of its sight. Clearly the most surreal incident in VAR’s short history, it’d likely raise a few smirks even from the Boavista fans, if we weren’t used to so many damning clangers in the past.

Throughout all this, FIFA carries on regardless to push their opinion that VAR has been of benefit to those who have introduced it into their competitions. An IFAB report from January suggested decision making has improved, from 93 to 98.9% success rate, yet still the biggest players in club football continue to be unimpressed.

In February, UEFA confirmed that they weren’t going to use VAR in their upcoming Champions League campaign, while the English Premier League followed suit in April stating; “The decision came after comprehensive discussions regarding the progress made in VAR trials in English football and key learnings from the many competitions elsewhere using it.”

It’s probably a wise decision for both organisations to take, given they haven’t yet experienced the crisis moments that FIFA had, back in 2010, where a few clear decisions were missed in South Africa’s staging of the World Cup. But even for those who were initial pushers of VAR, regular use has seen their opinion change.

As we edge towards the biggest football competition in the last four years, the previews have quite sensibly been looking at the players and teams that will hopefully make the headlines come the World Cup final. While I may speak as an unwavering sceptic of VAR, I can’t foresee a scenario where at least one team won’t be negatively impacted by the use of the system however. While question marks and technical bugs continue to hover over it, VAR will always be lurking ready to tarnish the greatest show on earth.

VAR: The case against video assistance in football

The future seems inevitable; video technology is set to play an integral part in football for years to come. FIFA have announced the roll-out of their Virtual Assistant Referee (VAR) system at next year's World Cup in Russia, off the back of a trial run at this summer’s Confederations Cup. The testing process has been going on behind the scenes for some time now, but over the last 6 months it’s fully taken flight. A version of which had been trialed at December’s Club World Cup, alongside one off friendly internationals, before Australia became the first “beneficiaries” of the new technology for the latter part of their domestic league program.

With a number of leagues queuing up for the privilege, the German Bundesliga, Saudi Pro League and Major League Soccer will all adopt the system later this year, the feeling is broadly positive for the technology, coming off the back of the highly successful Goal Line Technology (GLT) brought in across many leagues and tournaments, including the English Premier League, 2014’s World Cup and this year’s UEFA Champions League final.

The VAR system clearly differs however from GLT, as it involves less defined decisions, made by a human watching a screen, rather than a black or white decision determining whether a ball has crossed the line or not. The VAR system, which has gone through many trials with different implementations has been trimmed down to exclusively assess the following criteria; 1. Goals, 2. Penalty decisions, 3. Red card incidents & 4. Mistaken identity..

Each criteria (less so to a degree on the final point) has an element of opinion based to it, demonstrated in almost every decision its deployed, which has left me hesitant to view this system as the right direction for football. To my surprise I’m significantly in the minority, with a huge clamour from clubs, referees, pundits and fans for an extra pair of eyes when it comes to match defining decisions. In the short time I’ve experienced the technology through observing it at the Club World Cup and in the latter stages of the A-League, I’ve remained unconvinced that clarity can be provided on a regular basis and in some cases it can make tensions worse, with four shortcomings coming to mind when looking to implement this method going forward.

Interpretation

The area which I believe is the strongest case against VAR technology is that decisions at the end of the day are based on opinions. Even the most obvious calls are still opinions, even if they are roundly agreed with. In the initial stages of planning behind the VAR, examples of clear offsides, atrocious dives and obvious handballs will have been pointed to as the very examples why the VAR system needs to be introduced, effectively to irradiate “the howlers.”

But the VAR calls sadly can't and don’t stop there. Even in it’s infancy, the VAR got embroiled in decisions that even months after the event can be interpreted differently by different viewers. The first call made in a FIFA regulated match, at the Club World Cup between Kashima Antlers and Atletico Nacional brought up plenty of question marks. The call was made that a penalty was to be awarded to the Japanese side, despite strong suggestions that that player involved (Daigo Nishi) was offside and possibly inflicted a foul on his marker in the lead up the incident. 

Opinions were split, some pointed to a poorly implemented offside rule, as the referee interpreted that the offending player wasn’t active. Some pointed to the initial infringement that should’ve resulted in a free kick the other way (something not under the VAR remit). While some agreed with the referee, in that it was a penalty to Kashima. All opinions are valid, but the key to the matter is that the VAR’s debut decision wasn’t nearly as clear cut as FIFA would’ve hoped for.

The latest scenario occurred this last weekend in the A-League Final Series, where Sydney FC took on Perth Glory. Sydney's second goal, scored by Jordy Buijs, was initially ruled out for offside, as his colleague Bobo was adjudged to be interfering in an offside position despite not touching the ball. After a mellay of frustration and confusion, the referee went to the VAR, who overturned the decision, concluding Bobo wasn’t interfering with play. In real time, this left plenty puzzled at what had just happened, leaving two questions; what was the initial call? And why was it overturned?

The scenario was the greyest of greys which essentially came down to whether you thought the defender (Glory's Dino Djulbic) would’ve made up a distance of ground if he wasn’t impeded by the Sydney striker. The commentating team at the time thought he would have (which I agree with), ruling the final call incorrect, while back in the studio former Socceroo great Mark Bosnich took the opposite view. Either way, the initial call was far from a “howler” and questioned the legitimacy of the VAR butting in to effectively re-referee a decision, something the technology was never intended to provide.

Time delay

Probably the biggest bugbear of any technology naysayers is whether the time in which a decision takes is something that can have a detrimental affect on the match being played. The IFAB (the lawmaking body) have assured the VAR process will be swift in its action, to keep the game moving, a process that has been successfully proven by GLT. The examples that have taken place so far involving the VAR have however proved to be anything but smooth.

On a whole, a decision seems to take a minute, from incident to to decision, this was first seen in the clunky effort in Japan at the Club World Cup, where a referee used a monitor at the side of the pitch before awarding the penalty. The process has streamlined somewhat since then, with the referee keeping in touch with a fellow referee in the VAR booth via an earpiece, a change that should in effect allow for a much quicker review.

However, as was the case in the A-League’s debut VAR decision, the first of it’s kind in a top tier domestic league match; in the match between Wellington Phoenix and Sydney, the delay was illustrated to be much longer if the ball is still live. The decision, a handball by a Wellington Phoenix player in their own box was agreeable, but the conversation between referee and the VAR didn’t take place until 30 seconds had passed while the ball was still in play. This situation offers up a temporary in-play state where anything possibly can happen (ie. a goal, a red card etc.) which in the end could be upended if play is called back.

In the end nothing came of a Phoenix breakaway, but it brings into question the emotion change, as the home side went in search for a goal only to then find out they are conceding a penalty at the other end. Even if the play is dead, the seconds/minute delay to double check the findings can suck the atmosphere out of the moment, moments that define football’s worldwide popularity. Cristiano Ronaldo and Filip Holosko have both had to wait agonisingly to see if their goals have stood in the last 6 months, before half-celebrating at the end, as the news trickles through. The heart in the moment stuff that goals in this sport provides you with,will inevitably be lost in a simple 30 second delay.

Behaviour on the pitch

One thing that can’t be certain about bringing itechnology in is the long term behaviour of those in the stadium; players, referees, coaches and fans. GLT experienced little if any teething pains with this, due to it’s clear cut nature. If a player appeals, the referee can point to his watch to categorically answer his critics. With the VAR, no such certainty as I’ve discussed before can be given, which can only lead to lengthier appeals, questioning of officials and raised tensions, all adding to yet further delay in-play.

The A-League were quick to confirm their stance on this; stating that any player/coach appealing for a decision to be reviewed to the VAR would be booked, adding that the initial rounds of its implementation would largely allow players a “get out of jail” free pass as it was a new concept to get used to. However, as we all know confrontation of match officials is regularly a problem the game can’t get away from, so it begs the question if regular non-VAR decisions are regularly being allowed to be contested aggressively, what will stop players contesting to use the VAR?

The A-League elimination finals at the weekend saw multiple examples of confusion, aggravation and abuse from both sets of players pre and post the decisions being reversed. It also didn’t alleviate the pressure from the stands; Sydney FC fans, despite having two decisions reversed by the VAR in their favour, roundly booed the officials leaving the pitch at half-time. We may be going into this hoping it’ll clear up the games’ biggest talking points, but at present it seems to be creating more.

The change in behaviour stretches back from the players and coaching staff to the referees, as has already been seen. Referees in the comfort of having a second opinion in their ear have started to either play it safe or negate their duties altogether. There was an incident at the weekend where referee Peter Green pointed to his earpiece when questioned on a penalty decision, indicating “I haven’t been told it was a penalty,” effectively dodging his role to independently make the call.

How both players and referees view the game and it's decisions will also change. One of the first pieces of advice you are taught when you start to play the game is “play to the whistle”, but in a VAR world how can this still apply? In effect, if a striker sees the offside flag raised, and hears the referee's whistle, does he chance a yellow card for kicking the ball away, against the chance the VAR overturns the decision and he is allowed a shot on goal?

The same goes for the defending team, with VAR decisions now taking action, even when the whistle has blown for offside, if a defender stops as he hears the whistle, does that mean the goal can stand? There are going to be instances where the referee awards a penalty, when the play could continue to a goal scoring opportunity, only to be revoked on review; where’s the advantage there? We may get to the stage, where we regularly hear the whistle go, and play still goes on “just in case” the decision is overruled.

Just the beginning

Given the climate for continual changes to the laws of the game (cite the unnecessary amendment to kick off procedures, and the proposition of sin bins), it’s only going to be a matter of time before further technology is used. Already fans in large numbers have expressed an interest in a challenge based system, as is the case with tennis, where coaches/captains will be able to challenge calls, I’m assuming with the VAR in place, non-penalty box related action that doesn’t involve red cards.

While all in good intention initially, football isn’t the same sport tennis is. While tennis calls are done in the moment where play is stopped, these type of calls in football will demonstrably slow the game down, thus allowing a crucial tactic to kill the game dead. It’s possible to see coaches at all levels of the game, using their “challenge” to engage a timeout scenario, rather than using it purely to contest a call.

At the end of the day, the types of decision that we want clarity over, are the decisions that are the most subjective on the pitch, and in the end are the calls always going to be what we want? Former English Premier League referee Howard Webb, now playing an integral role in the implementation of the VAR in the MLS, appeared on BT Sport Score two weeks back to explain the new system, and it’s suitabilities, eventually to be introduced in England.

After a lengthy and interesting debate with ex-pros on the panel, Webb was called upon in live action to point out where the VAR would be used. It’s involvement was up for discussion quickly, as Hull City striker Omar Niasse was sent off for an overly aggressive challenge against Watford. While the panel of ex-footballers agreed in unison that the challenge shouldn't have seen a straight red. Webb concluded that the decision wouldn't have been overturned, as he wouldn’t be able exercise considerable doubt over the initial decision, to the disbelief of the studio. Ironically, two days later the FA panel overturned the red card.

These incidents are hardly reaffirming the need for video technology in football officiating. Those who back the implementation, will argue that it’s key to clean up a sport littered with missed howlers that need to bring balance back to key matches. However, I argue that bringing in the technology, will create yet another talking point when it comes to officiating, slow the game down and in the end take further attention away from the match being played.

AFC Champions League Preview (The East - 2017)

The growth of Chinese domestic football continues to generate headlines around the world, but despite the great spending, immediate success on the continent hasn’t been forthcoming. Shanghai Shenhua’s home defeat to Brisbane Roar in the AFC Champions League playoffs illustrated that patience will be needed if the Chinese Super League is one day going to dominate the regional, continental and eventually global domestic scene.

With the big money signings comes the inevitable frustration, envy and resentment from those around you. It’s hard to find a league or at least top team in East Asia that hasn’t been negatively impacted in a transfer sense by the growth in expenditure. This alongside the seemingly astronomical salaries on offer that football fans rarely take to, when Shenhua lined up to face Brisbane last week, they had little in the way of neutral support rooting for their progression.

While they created a number of promising openings, Shenhua were wortherly vanquished by their underdog opponents, who crucially had a team shape, a well worked gameplan and the much needed unity to take on a newly assembled, disjointed setup. The same pitfalls of assembling a side in such a small time period were felt by fellow CSL club Jiangsu Suning last term, crashing out at the group stage despite the high profile signings of Alex Texieria and Ramires over the preceding winter. The good thing in terms of longevity (something that has often been questioned when considering the large transfer spending) is that Jiangsu haven't thrown the towel in after their false start in the ACL, prioritising retention of their global talent over another window of transfer chasing this outgoing period.

It’s a plan that is shared by current CSL champions Guangzhou Evergrande, who also fell at the first hurdle in 2016. Headed by Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guangzhou have instead looked to strengthen their core, bringing in ACL winner Kim Hyung-Il from Jeonbuk Motors and domestic left back Zhang Chenglin from Beijing Renhe, rather than splurging on an additional foreign star. A year further down the line, with less impetus put on their imports, rather into their squad depth, both sides look to be stable and in a much better shape to at least better their disappointing showings from last year.

In the other corner however, Shenhua’s city rivals Shanghai SIPG have taken the completely opposite approach, despite making it through to the quarter finals in 2016. SIPG have been the most high profile spenders in the window having bought in on paper some of the best talents to be seen in the whole of Asia. In addition to their already bulging attacking lineup of Hulk, Elkeson and Wu Lei, SIPG have acquired another Brazilian international in attacking midfielder Oscar from Chelsea alongside one of the finest Asian midfielders available in Uzbek international Odil Akhmedov from Krasnodar. Coupled with the addition of Andre Villas-Boas in the dugout, SIPG look the team (at least in terms of personnel) to beat, but as was the case with Jiangsu last year and Shenhua already this, nothing is ever won on paper.

Outside the Chinese assault on the title, the contenders in the East will likely come from the usual suspects. With last year’s champions Jeonbuk Motors having been disqualified from this year’s edition for match manipulation, reigning K-League champions FC Seoul will be many’s favourites to challenge their rich Chinese neighbours. They’ll have to do this however without the ACL’s top scorer from last year Adriano, who himself was tempted to China (all be it the second tier). They’ve replaced him with another Brazilian in Maurinho, a support striker rather than an out and out goal poacher, tasked to assist Dejan Damjanovic in attack, where the Korean capital club impressed greatly in last year’s run to the semi-finals.

Elsewhere, J-League champions Kashima Antlers, who pushed Real Madrid to extra-time at the Club World Cup in December will thusly be highly fancied, yet they’re another to have lost their ace in the pack, with Japanese international Gaku Shibasaki moving to Spain over the winter break. Gamba Osaka, who usually progress well continentally alongside the best squad in Japan on paper Urawa Red Diamonds are two others who have the capabilities to compete at the sharp end of the year. It'll however be a case of balance; with J-League clubs previously either buckling under the pressure of a cluttered schedule, or choosing to prioritise their domestic ambitions over a lengthy continental assault.

One name that won't be muted about in terms of title contention is that of Hong Kong’s Eastern, yet their presence in the group stage remains highly anticipated in the run up to kickoff due to it’s historic significance. Eastern are the first side from Hong Kong to compete in the group stage of the Champions League and will do so under the stewardship of the first female manager to clinch a domestic title in Chan Yuen-Ting.

The odds are stacked against them, emphasised by their opening week’s schedule pitting them away against former champions Guangzhou, however there is a glimmer of hope that all is not lost, given the last year has seen immense improvement from Hong Kong football in general. Two goalless draws with neighbours China in World Cup qualification illustrates the standard in which their home players are now competing at, while Eastern were so nearly joined by domestic rivals Kitchee who only lost out on penalties in last week’s playoff with Ulsan Hyundai. Eastern’s progress in the coming months will be undoubtedly keenly observed across the continent, to see if any nation can truly break the top table dominance in East Asia.

Similarly modest ambitions will be plotted by Muangthong United. The difference with this side compared to those who have come from Thailand before them, the most recent example being Buriram United who were continually on the wrong end of heavy defeats, is that last year’s Premier League champions are in a much better place personnel wise. Not only do they possess some reputable overseas talent, but their home contingent are arguably in the best shape of their careers. Much of the starting lineup have been part of Thailand’s successful national team picture over the last 12 months which included a draw against Australia in World Cup qualification and a Suzuki Cup victory in December.

With these two sides coming into the campaign with little being expected of them, the same can’t be said of those coming from the Southern hemisphere in Australia. Given their league schedule, (running from October through to May, opposed to year long) and the highly competitive nature of the A-League, Australian teams have often lacked consistency going into the Champions League and it looks to be the case again this year. Champions Adelaide United, seem a million miles away from the side that won the title 9 months ago, currently propping up the league table, while fellow Grand Finalists Western Sydney Wanderers are going through a tough time themselves, failing to win at their newly adopted home this campaign leading to growing pressure on the once fancied Tony Popovic.

Momentum is a key aspect to assess when considering any team’s chances to progress past the group stages in the Champions League, with much already being affixed to those in the middle of their seasons like the Australians, that they must grasp their advantage over those in the East who are still in pre-season training. If the playoffs were anything to go by, the group stage itself could provide some real upsets, with more than one neutral hoping the likes of big spending Shanghai SIPG don’t have it all their own way. How luck would have it they travel to many people’s tip for the title Seoul for their opening fixture this coming week; the important matches start early in the East.

AFC Champions League Preview (The East - 2016)

You would've needed to have been hiding under a rock to have not seen the AFC off-season be dominated by one league in particular. The ramped up spending of the Chinese Super League has broken out of the Asian bubble and started to make waves across the globe, in particular in Europe where previously unseen transfer fees and salaries are being distributed out regularly.

Back in Asia, it’s hardly been a surprise given the CSL’s growth over the last 5 years. Going into a new AFC Champions League campaign, it does however remain an area of interest whether more of the league’s top clubs can go on to dominate on the continent. Of course this is a question that doesn’t apply to Guangzhou Evergrande, the CSL title winners of the last 5 seasons and ACL champions in two of the last three years, but rather can their success be replicated by their domestic rivals?

The club with the largest profile outside of Asia at the moment has been Jiangsu Suning who’ve bought in Brazilians Ramires and Alex Teixeria for a combined total of over £60 million. While the sudden influx of such high quality is undoubtedly going to improve Jiangsu’s fortunes (after only finishing 9th domestically last year), as their coach Dan Petrescu admitted their home based players are still way behind the quality of the top few sides in China, leading him to raise concerns whether they can truly compete on any front, let alone on the continent.

Greater focus in this year’s ACL should instead be paid to Shanghai SIPG. Finishing within 2 points of Evergrande last season, the heavily backed former “Dongya” branded club are currently experiencing a Guangzhou-like rise of their very own, given they only came into existence a decade ago, with only three years of CSL experience to call upon. However, the crucial difference between themselves and Jiangsu is their general calibre of players is much higher, a steady level opposed to that of Suning which has followed a more marquee signing model.

The squad can count on China’s most promising attacking midfielder Wu Lei, while former ACL top scorer Asamoah Gyan is now partnered in attack by former Evergrande striker Elkesson, a scorer in two ACL winning finals and still well in his prime to cause havoc on the continent. His signing proved to be one of the most interesting talking points of the window, with Evergrande claiming that they were selling the Brazilian to aid the league’s presence in the ACL, which comes across as more than perplexing given their recent domestic rivalry. In turn Guangzhou quickly sought to replace Elkesson with Colombian marksman Jackson Martinez to lead their title retention hopes.

On paper those two squads stand out as two of the best around but it’s far from being a CSL dominated title push. The likes of Jeonbuk Motors, Gamba Osaka, FC Seoul and Sanfrecce Hiroshima all have enough quality and pedigree to keep up with the improvement in China. Korean club sides are regularly high performers in the ACL, with champions Jeonbuk qualifying for the knockout stages in all 7 of their previous appearances in the competition, whilst the return to the competition of Pohang Steelers will instantly hark back memories to their three triumphs in the ACL, the last being in 2009.

Gamba lead the way arguably for Japan after managing to perform admirably on multiple fronts over the last year, including a semi-final appearance in the ACL and a domestic cup triumph. Holding onto Takashi Usami was always going to be the catalyst to their hopes of achieving anything this season, while the introduction of Jungo Fujimoto, expands further one of Japan’s hottest attacking line-ups.

You’ll notice I’ve ignored so far the A-League, a worthy candidate of course in terms of quality, no doubt but in particular with champions Melbourne Victory, Australia’s finest side at the moment are continuing to be infringed upon by the AFC’s overseas player limits. The A-League unlike pretty much any other league in Asia doesn’t apply a ruling restricting overseas player registrations. When it comes to AFC competition this has often limited their resources and once again this has watered down Victory’s chances of progression.

Kevin Muscat’s title winners have had to exclude key playmaker Guilherme Finkler and winger Fahid Ben Khalfallah from their ACL plans, two massive omissions, given both have been and currently are firm first choices for Victory. One overseas player who did make the cut however is Albanian Besart Berisha who has continued unabated in an incredible scoring vein since his switch from Brisbane Roar two seasons back. He’ll have his first opportunity to take on such form into the ACL in four years and will no doubt be one of the key features to look out for in the early stages.

From a neutrals point of view, what the East has over the West is a greater showing from some of the region’s developing nations; from Thailand and Vietnam. The Thai Premier League’s presence has ebbed and flowed during the tournament’s history, but recently all hope has been pinned with Buriram United who have well and truly been dominating the domestic game. In each of the last three showings they have at least made it within a head to head record of the knockout stages, making it through to the quarters in 2013 and will again prove a perilous opponent to Seoul, Shandong Luneng and Sanfrecce who have been drawn against them from the start.

A final point of interest at the start of the campaign is to see how far Vietnamese football has come on, in the form of champions Becamex Bình Duong. Largely considered in previous years as the whipping boys of the group stage, the V-League champions went someway to changing perceptions with a point against Jeonbuk followed up with victory in their last match against Kashiwa Reysol. Jeonbuk have once again been drawn against Binh Duong, while the Vietnamese open up against Asia’s hype club of the moment Jiangsu Suning, setting up an instant test for both squad’s to answer some early questions.

A-League Final Series (2015 Preview)

 

The A-League has ramped up in quality for its 10th anniversary season, but as is always the case, attention is about to hit its peak as the league enters the traditional playoff style “Final Series” to crown a champion. This structure continues to attract criticism over fairness due to its short, ruthless knockout system which offers little advantage to those who have succeeded over the course of the regular season. That being said without relegation threatening those at the bottom of the table, the AFF will attempt to keep the majority interested for as long as possible, whilst also attracting neutral observers with the enticement of a quick fire American style knockout series.

The three weekend long series kicks off on Friday, with the lowest four seeds (3rd place down to 6th) competing to face the duo at the top of the ladder next weekend who gain a bye to the next round. Given there’s only 10 teams in the division, it remains to some a farce that a below average league finish could still lead to a championship medal within three matches. This was further de-escalated with the Perth Glory salary cap scandal which saw the West coast side slapped with a $269,000 fine and demotion from the Final Series after a previously successful season saw them finish in behind the top two of Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC.

The lucky recipients of Perth’s exclusion are reigning A-League champions Brisbane Roar, who despite a drastic downturn in form which saw them finish 7th out of 10, are within one match of being placed on an equal footing as regular season Premier Plate winners Melbourne Victory. Roar’s season has seen them plunge deep into despair, only to be followed by occasional bounce backs in form that kept them in sight of the playoffs. Consistency hasn’t been seen despite continual domination of possession in much of their matches, even against the more successful sides ahead of them that finished some 10 points in front.

Their bluntness in front of goal has predictably been the source of much of Brisbane’s fortunes after hot shot Albanian forward Besart Berisha transferred to Victory in the close season. In remedy to this Brisbane have subsequently brought in Andrija Kaluđerović to supply a focal point since the turn of the year, but they remain a little in and out given the erratic form of their usually dependable Overseas Marquee player Thomas Broich. This could all be put aside given their experience at this stage of the season, clinching 3 of the last 4 playoff competitions.

Roar will travel to face Adelaide United in the first of two elimination finals, who despite finishing 12 points ahead of their initial opponent, will feel a little rough after a downtrodden run of form in the last few matches saw them slip out of top spot contention. Two defeats in the last three, most pertinently at home to Roar cost them a chance at the Premier Plate which has put a greater concern on the home fans that they won’t progress much further in the Final Series.

Adelaide for much of the season have been complimented for their solid defensive unit which starts from the front. Their coach Josep Gombau has earned rave reviews for integrating his Spanish influenced approach to his team’s play, which has seen United share the goals around the team, 5 players of which have recorded more than 5 goals, however notably none have made it into double figures. The experience has broadly come from Spanish imports, with Gombau showing his bravery by blooding plenty of home based youth talent to bolster their final series charge. On paper, as was the case at the beginning of the season, Roar’s experience could prove one of the few shocks in this knockout phases against a tiring United side.

The other elimination final sees a contrast of styles and fortunes in front of goal as Wellington Phoenix host Melbourne City. Phoenix have been one of the surprise packages of the season until a dismal last five matches which included 3 home defeats and a sole victory ended any dreams of top spot. Recent Australian international Nathan Burns has spurred on his side with 13 goals, as has Fijian Roy Krushna with 9, while Alex Gorrin in his breakthrough season and Dutch anchor Rolieny Bonevacia have also impressed in their rise. Melbourne City on the other hand, in their debut season under the Etihad franchise will be happy with their improvement but have been far from spectacular, illustrated fully in their league points total, some 3 wins off Wellington despite only a one place deficit. Their contrasting styles is simply summed up by comparing their dribbling/crossing stats where the ideology of their attacking ideology is some what stripped back.

A lack of a regular goalscorer has plagued City for much of the season, arguably all the way back to when David Villa guested for a brief 4 match cameo at the start of the campaign. Other notable names have had varying success; Irishman Damien Duff’s season was cut short through injury while former West Brom midfielder Robert Koren has lacked the forward thrust he once had. In their wake deep lying pacesetter Aaron Mooy tops the goalscoring charts with 7, 3 of which came from the penalty spot. The introduction of Harry Novillo last month has ignited a bit of excitement going forward but in all honestly most City fans will be expecting a tight display from their team, given their last two encounters against Phoenix ended goalless.

Whoever wins, will play one of the top two, with the highest ranking of them taking on freescoring Sydney FC. Austrian Marc Janko has proved more than accomplished to replace the outgoing Alessandro Del Piero, leading the line with 16 goals, the highest in the league, and at different times has found assistance from Shane Smeltz, Bruno Ibini-Isei and Alex Brosque, who have all aided in his effectiveness. While defensive slips have started to creep into their defence, goalkeeper Vedran Janjetivic finishes the regular season with the most clean sheets, while Jacques Faty has finally seemed to have settled down in front of him in place of their injured talisman Sasa Ognenovski.

That leaves the leaders Melbourne Victory who confirmed their Premier Plate victory last weekend with a comfortable victory over Central Coast Mariners. Kevin Muscat’s men have looked the strongest across all areas of the pitch, but most crucially up for the fight to clinch the A-League title. Many will point to the signing of Berat Berisha at the start of the season from Brisbane as the turning point, but the support of the ever green Archie Thompson and the growing influence of Brazlian playmaker Guilherme Finkler could’ve arguably been the greater catalysts in pushing Victory closer to their name sake.

Outsiders are already eyeing a 1-2 finale featuring Victory and Sydney, but as recent form dictates this could be far from a given. Both sides have performed tremendously well away from home, but considering their lofty standards have been pegged back too frequently in their own back yard. Sydney have been particularly robust away from home, continuing on a 100% record since the turn of the year and an unbeaten run that stretches back to the start of the season. Both sides have lost otherwise favourable matches at home, adding some extra spice once the Semi-Final draw emerges in the coming week.

It’s hard to make any against-the-grain predictions at this stage of the season, given the rankings have come into play when drawing the ties. One thing to consider of course will be the form in which they arrive in rather than the total points amassed before. Brisbane’s season has been given a rapid shot in the arm since the expulsion of Perth last month, while the likes of Wellington and Adelaide could start deflated after falling short of tasting silverware in the last few weeks.

At this point anticipation that a team outside of the top two will walk away with the big prize in three weeks’ time starts to grow, something that has yet to happen in A-League's 10 year history. With talk surfacing of a number of expansion clubs and possible relegation places in the offing, the days of playoff football could well be numbered in Australia. For all the negatives surrounding the format, the next three weeks of cut throat knockout football should keep the neutrals enthralled at the very least.

Season Preview (Australia 14/15)

League Name: A-League
Start Date: 10th October
Honours (13/14): Brisbane Roar (Champions)
Teams qualified for Asian football (ACL 2015): Brisbane Roar, Western Sydney Wanderers, Central Coast Mariners

Australia’s A-League celebrates its 10^th Birthday this season on the back of a promising World Cup campaign which may have left them with 0 points, but instead with an exciting young squad eager to make an impact at their home Asian Cup in early 2015. Many of the young squad either honed their craft in domestic football or are emerging as stars on the continental stage, testament of the great strides made by the A-League in the last few years.

In its decade of existence the A-League has generally drawn comparisons from outside of their Asian/Oceanic region, usually with that of the United States’ MLS club competition. While the rest of Asia have developed layered pyramid leagues, with relegation/promotion spots to fight for, Australia have continued with a much smaller single division structure (including only 10 teams) who compete to finish in the top six, gaining entry to the end of season playoffs.

While a similar structure has flourished in America over a longer period, the A-League has merited praise for its own achievements. Where the MLS have designated players, the A-League have followed with an arguable improvement upon the model with their very own Marquee players. A-League teams are now allowed to register one overseas player and one domestic player outside of the league’s salary cap, alongside a designated spot for a junior (under -23) member of the squad to be paid higher than his peers.

This is an interesting development that is hoped to enable A-League clubs to hang on to their valuable assets for longer, seen most recently in Australian international Matthew Spiranovic committing long term to his club side Western Sydney Wanderers as a Domestic Marquee player. While there have been some headaches with the system, such as clubs losing their better players after being restricted on paying only a few the extra salaries, the system is slowly bringing success.

Australia’s achievements on the national stage have been notable, with their bright young side under forward thinking coach Ange Postecoglou, impressing in Brazil and raising hopes of going further in the next World Cup cycle. It has also had an affect regionally, with Western Sydney Wanderers currently bidding to become the first Australian finalists of the Asian Champions League (ACL) in the coming week. Football is on the rise in Australia, but the temptation to run before they can walk is still a nagging sideshow, as fans push for league expansion.

Regarding the upcoming campaign, the favourites for glory are last season’s champions Brisbane Roar, who secured both the regular season crown before clinching the A-League trophy in the final play-off series. Their success was built on the creativity of German Thomas Broich from midfield, and the goals of Albanian striker Besart Berisha. For the upcoming season, Roar will have to settle for only one of their established overseas stars, after Berisha’s Marquee player salary demands were unable to be met by the league restrictions put upon Roar. Consequently they saw the striker move to title rivals Melbourne Victory, what was a bitter pill for Brisbane to swallow.

The return of Australian international Adam Sarota will ease Berisha’s exit, he will line up with fellow international Matt McKay in the Roar midfield, while goal scoring duties will now be taken on by Macedonian striker Mensur Kurtisi. Brisbane’s return to the ACL provides a step up in expectations of Australia’s most successful club, not just for their own benefit, but to push for an extra ACL qualification spot for future A-League campaigns.

A process that Western Sydney Wanderers, who lost out in the A-League final early in the year, can’t be criticised for straying from. A true underdogs tale has seen them battle through this year’s ACL to within a second leg appearance at home against Korean giants Seoul of a final appearance. Wanderers, led from the back by Matt Spiranovic have enough in their armoury to challenge for the title this season. Dutch winger Romeo Castelan is a constant threat, while Brazilian Vitor Saba and young Tomi Juric in attack have gained rave reviews for their continental displays.

Joining Roar and the Wanderers in the ACL next year will be Central Coast Mariners, who despite the a lack of big name stars have punched above their weight continually by producing a number of youth talents that have subsequently broke into the national team picture. Current Australian number one Maty Ryan honed his craft with the Mariners, and two further national team call ups; Trent Sainsbury and Bernie Ibini-Isei have left for pastures new in the off-season after decent campaigns. The next rookies to be rolled off the production line are centre back Zachary Anderson and striker Mitchell Duke, who himself has been capped by the Socceroos.

Of those who didn’t qualify for continental football, the likely challenge will come from Australia’s second city. Melbourne Victory are the usual heavyweight of the region, with another couple of star names coming in to supplement an already talented squad. Besart Berisha will be trusted to replicate his fine goal scoring form of last season with his new club, while former Bundesliga champion Mattheiu Delpierre has been brought in to add experience in the backline. Box-to-box international Mark Milligan has turned down the chance to move to Europe and will again be one of the most influential players in the A-League season.

Across town, this season’s new franchise is starting to take shape. As part of Manchester City’s expansion into overseas markets, Melbourne Heart have rebranded as Melbourne City with a flood of new signings entering the league. The big name transfer on everyone’s lips is Spanish striker David Villa who has joined on loan from one of City’s other sister projects New York City until the end of the year. Alongside Villa, Melbourne have brought in former Premier League regulars Robert Koren from Hull City and former Irish international Damien Duff from Fulham.

Elsewhere, Sydney FC are often touted as the side to break into the ACL spots, but after a below par campaign last term despite the high profile capture of Alessandro Del Piero, they’ll be hoping for much better this year. The lesser name of Austrian striker Marc Janko has come in to replace the Italian’s goals, while their home contingent of Sasa Ognenovski and returning winger Alex Brosque should push them forward. Newcastle Jets, another who scored plenty last term will also be without their main firepower after Emile Heskey and Adam Taggart exited at the end of last season. Ecuadorian striker Edson Montano will take up the mantle to replace their lost goals.

The only New Zealand based club; Wellington Phoenix haven’t fared too well since their introduction to the A-League but do possess a couple of familiar names in the form of Costa Rican Kenny Cunningham and former-Liverpool midfielder Albert Riera. Adelaide United and Perth Glory make up the standings, and with a host of new signings between them, they could also challenge for a playoff position finish.

The A-League is clearly a league on the up but in its relative infancy further struggles await. The league remains highly competitive due to the restrictions on Marquee players; while this has improved the standard of youth players coming through, it arguably has had a detrimental effect on Australian clubs’ efforts in the ACL. With Western Sydney Wanderers progressing well in this year’s competition, it could prove a catalyst going into an important season for Australian football.

Ones to Watch:

David Villa (Melbourne City) – World Cup and Champions League winner who is expected to be a revelation in his short time in the A-League. Brought in to fire goals in during the early part of the season before returning to New York City.

Bernie Ibini-Isei (Sydney FC) – Youngster whose break-through season with Central Coast Mariners impressed enough to be selected in a recent Australian national squad. Another fine season, this time in the capital could see him move to Europe soon.

Besart Berisha (Melbourne Victory) – Was in-sensational form with Brisbane Roar last season scoring 13 goals in the league. This year fans are expecting similar figures after he joined Victory to double his wages over the A-League salary cap.