In possibly the biggest anti-climax in football since Fernando Torres’ disastrous transfer to Chelsea, Brisbane Roar kicked off their Asian Champions League campaign in the worst way possible, failing to live up to the hype in a disappointing 0-2 loss to FC Tokyo in Brisbane overnight.
Playing on their home turf Brisbane entered the match as overwhelming favourites.
Excitement was in the air. Roar coach Ange Postecoglou spoke confidently of his aspirations to win the thing and dreamt of lining up against the top clubs in Europe.
People were salivating at the imperative question of the night – how would Brisbane Roar, widely regarded as the best ever A-League team, stack up against international competition? Betting markets gave them short odds of $1.60 while FC Tokyo were given little hope of victory at $5.50.
Then slowly but surely the reality check sunk in.
Each making their debut in the Asian Champions League, both teams took a while to warm up in the early stages with a handful of chances going either way.
The styles of play were similar but the execution from Tokyo was far superior than the efforts of the home team.
It was as the first half came to a close however, that FC Tokyo really came into their own and began to exploit Brisbane’s weak points in defence. A poor effort from the back four men in orange allowed a Tokunaga cross which was aptly put away by Yazawa in the final minute of injury time.
The Emperor’s Cup Champions then doubled their advantage through Hasegawa not long into the second half, leaving a mountain to climb for Brisbane to get back in it.
After the game, Postecoglou put the first half capitulation and overall performance down to nerves, proving that even for seasoned professional footballers, testing your skills against an international outfit can still be daunting.
“We’re obviously disappointed with the result. As expected it was a tough game,” he said.
“Our pressure wasn’t what it should be to be honest. We didn’t win the ball back pretty quickly as we do in the A-League.
“It’s challenging, but from a team point of view I think the experience will do us good.”
Brisbane never really played to their potential.
In defence there were many lapses, with towering fan-favourite Mohamed Adnan having a particularly difficult night.
In attack, the likes of Thomas Broich, Henrique and Besart Berisha were never afforded enough room to work some of their magic while facing the stealthy Tokyo backline.
There were long balls, something not seen very often from Brisbane in the A-League. The Roar appeared fragile and slow in possession, bumped off time and time again by the strong Tokyo men, who would then break away with incredible speed.
Brisbane played deep for long periods of the game, pressing too infrequently and unable to keep up with Tokyo’s quick tempo, which gave the visitors plenty of time on the ball in the attacking half.
Not that they needed it.
Their one touch passing through midfield was beautiful to watch and saw them toy with the Roar in a way we’re used to seeing Brisbane toy with other A-League teams.
Serbian FC Tokyo coach Ranko Popovic was beaming post-match at the display from his players.
“This game, we played very smart. I think we were one step ahead of Brisbane,” he said.
“Big respect to Brisbane, and I’m not someone to give out compliments for no reason.
“They are doing very well but I’m happy. Today we were a little bit better and we won the game.”
Whether you were one of the 12,037 ACL fans in wet conditions at Brisbane Stadium (Suncorp Stadium) or one of the many keen ACL followers watching from home, it’s hard not to feel a little deflated at the result.
FC Tokyo are a great side who were never worthy of playing in the second tier. They are rightly back in the top flight of Japanese football and showed all their class against Brisbane.
Despite little game time, they never looked flustered by the reigning A-League champions. Even without two key players they proved to be miles ahead of Brisbane at almost every stage of the match.
The best side won it; no-one can argue with that.
Still, even though Brisbane now sit at the bottom of Group F on goal difference following Ulsan Hyundai’s win in the other match, from all accounts Postecoglou and the team remain positive about their chances of advancing through to the knockout round.
However, you can’t help but think that if they play like they did tonight, it’s hard to see them getting very far.
It’s harsh, but true.
dasilva
Guest
I would say that if one teams defeats another team on the day and done it in a fair manner and there isn't any referee controversy then they proven they are the best team on the day. If they do that for the entire competition then they prove they are the best team of the competition that season. If teams from the same league do it on a regular basis then it proves that at least the top team of the league are better than the top teams of other leagues participating in the competition. It does get more confusing though when you have results influence by referee mistakes and unsportmanship behaviour. that's where debates come in despite the results of the match (such as what you get with the whole hand of god, hand of suarez controversy etc) However, i will say on the whole the best way to determine strength it is on the pitch instead of other hypothetical subjective factors. For the belief that the best of K-league to be evenly match to the J-league side but the rest of the league isn't up to the standard. That's an interesting argument that may well be true. I remember the whole EPL vs La Liga/Serie A argument that happen when EPL were dominating the champions league in the middle of the 00's where other leagues claim that the teams below the top 4 were stronger than the EPL equivalent. It's a nice hypothetical debate that people can go on about forever but due to lack of competition between the lower levels, it is a debate that can never get an answer from. For what is worth, I do wish one day the financial rewards of the ACL becomes large enough to make it worth the while for j-league club to take it seriously. In the end you can't argue that the rewards of the ACL doesn't match the risk currently.
Matsu
Guest
Dasilva~ "don’t want to prove that the j-league are better teams than the K-league team and hence concede the best team in asia to korea then that’s fair enough. I think that should settle the arugment." Nice try, but thats not the sort of bait that attracts me. You read what I said and know exactly what it means. The issue here is whether it makes sense - given the very serious downside risks - for J.League teams to make the effort to "prove" something that wont really end up being "proven" anyway. Come on - just look at what happened last year. Can you really look at that sort of blatant manipulation and claim that Al-Sadd "proved" anything, or that they have any legitimate claim to be "better" than Jeonbuk? Be careful . . . . because if you answer yes, that merely demonstrates that you view every concept of fairness, honesty and sportsmanship as somehow "less important" than the final score, regardless of how many players had to be "unsuspended" and how many tournament rules had to be swept under the rug to make that result happen. As I said before, I consider the top few K-League teams to be on a par with any in Japan. The parity in the league is not there, so comparing leagues as a whole is another matter, but as for who is the best team in Asia, I think KLeague teams like Jeonbuk, Suwon and Ulsan have as much right as anyone to make that claim. As for whether the same can be said for the likes of Al-Sadd . . . not so much. At the end of the day, most (though not all) J.League teams view their domestic competition as a higher priority. Most fans are happy with that prioritization. I was arguing strenuously that the competition was a waste of time, effort and money even in the two years that J.League teams won it (as Im sure VIctoryFan and Mike Tuckerman will confirm). Following Gamba's flirtation with a trip to the J2, in the year they won the ACL, most of the teams have come to agree with me. Thats all that needs to be said about this issue, so please, quit trying to fish for reactions that are never going to come.
dasilva
Guest
sorry double post
dasilva
Guest
Matsu I think we are getting into some kind of agreement here. If you believe that the koreans are just as good or even better teams than J-league. You don't feel that don't want to prove that the j-league are better teams than the K-league team and hence concede the best team in asia to korea then that's fair enough. I think that should settle the arugment. However, I don't think you can dismiss these previous comments to be "hypercompetitive" when professional sport is primarily about competition. What I have written is nothing more competitive than what people expect from professional sports. Please try not to associate Australian national identity with "excuses". All of us here represent individuals and are not ambassadors of fellow country men.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Here it is. Fantastic reading and insights. "How a Soccer Star Is Made" by Michael Sokolove (NY Times) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/magazine/06Soccer-t.html?pagewanted=all
dasilva
Guest
Roarchild They may be able to say they have the best quality players in asia or the greatest depth. However here's the thing, Barcalona has the best collection of players in the world but they have to prove they are the best TEAM in the world by winning the league and winning the champions league. Football isn't determine by who is the better team on paper but who goes out and win on the day. imagine if they pulled out of the champions league and say we know we are the best team in the world and we don't have to prove to europe that we are the best team.
Matsu
Guest
@Griffo, Thanks. Its a shame so few people seem to have read them (-_-)
Matsu
Guest
Everyone commenting about the "best league in Asia" has clearly failed to read what I have written, and instead, has focused on their own insecurities and prejudices. The. J.League is indeed the most well-organized and well-managed league in Asia. I dont think youll find anyone who disagrees with that. As for which league is the most competitive, I think most Japanese (though perhaps not all) would agree that Korean teams ARE extremely competitive, and that there is little difference in quality. Like I said before, Japan has been getting beaten by Korea for years at football. We recognize their quality and dont feel the slightest need to denigrate it. So when you say: "I think it’s a bit unsporting to say you are the best league in Asia when Korea is doing better than the ACL because Japanese teams are “above” competing in it." That is obviously a hypercompetitive, unable-to-accept-second-place-without-some-excuse Australian talking. Many - though certainly not all - J.League teams recognize that the tradeoff between financial rewards and physical demands make the ACL more difficult than its worth to try to win. Since few people (if any) suffer from an inferiority complex vis-a-vis Korea, nobody feels the NEED to "prove it on the pitch". KLeague teams are very good. The top two or three would be in the running for a J.League title, every year, if they were in the J.League. But they arent in the J.League. And "proving" something, by squandering resources on an ACL campaign that history has shown will, WITHOUT FAIL, hurt your performance in the J.League, isnt something that teams care to do, and it isnt something their fans WANT them to do. Please . . . . Read the above post at least three times before you bother to respond.
Roarchild
Guest
I think it's a bit unsporting to say you are the best league in Asia when Korea is doing better than the ACL because Japanese teams are "above" competing in it. I actually think the J league is better than the Korean league and certainly has more depth but it's not a huge gap and if your not taking the opportunity to prove you are the best then it's something you have to let others say for you. I guess it is similar to Brisbane Roar fans calling ourselves the best team in Australia while we sit in 2nd place not first :) Last nights result in Jeonbuk is a game changer I think. If Guangzhou win the competition this year it will get really interesting and I think the onus will really be on the J league teams to prove it on the field.
Griffo
Roar Guru
@Matsu Excellent series of posts and links. Hope to see you on here more often.
dasilva
Guest
Roarchild I'm hoping we do draw Iran I'm looking forward to avenging the 2-2 draw. Kewell is the sole survivor of the fateful match and it would be nice story to have Kewell eliminating Iran from the World cup.
dasilva
Guest
Your link proves that the J-league is less corrupt and a better run league than the K-league because it doesn't have the match fixing scandal. It doesn't prove that the best side in the J-league are a better team than the best side in the K-league. Serie A has match fixing scandal (in all honesty there seems to be less effort rooting that element out in italy than in korea) and yet no one claims it is an inferior league than all the leagues that doesn't have match fixing scandal. The quality of the league and the club can only be proven in a fair football match on the pitch. You see the thing that disturbs me about the whole "not take the ACL seriously" and then assuming that you are the number 1 league in Asia is that it isn't based on any results on the pitch which is what sport is all about. To me this takes precedent over determining the quality of the team then stuff like technical quality (no doubt J-league is the best in Asia in that but winning football matches isn't just about technical abilty), professionalism run league or players being poached by european clubs (good youth development doesn't mean better team). You claim it is because you don't have anything to prove to the rest of the asia. that is a valid argument if you are not interested in being the best league in asia. I think it's quite healthy for people to only have to prove to yourself and not anyone else. It's not a valid argument if people proudly state it is the best league in asia. I find it very easy for other countries to just say it is due to arrogance because they see it as Japan not having to prove it is the best because they assume their league is superior irrespective of result. It's a case of instead of reaching the conclusion by evaluating the premise as most logical arguments are based on, you have the conclusion first, "Best league in Asia" you don't have to justify it on the pitch because it s just assume it is natural and self-evident that the j-league is the best league in asia, You could lose to other asian side at domestic levels and international levels as much as possible but nothing would change the conclusion. This reminds me with all the time throughout the early 90's before Manchester United won the treble of people claiming that EPL is the best league in the world whilst being humiliated in europe. __________ By the way, I actually do sympathise with people dismissing friendly results. I have enough of people dismissing Australia for defeating european sides by saying it 's just a friendly (it was most infuriating after we defeatgermany match how people from Australia being party pooper about the result) or Australia reaching the final of the 1997 confederation cup and third place in 2001 and people say it didn't matter despite beating teams like france and brazil in those tournaments. So yeah your international record against European and south american sides are actually quite good
Roarchild
Guest
After all this we will probably get drawn with Iran instead of Japan in the WCQ's and all this quality banter and ribbing will be for naught :)
Matsu
Guest
Fuss~ Im sure youll insist on calling friendlies, or tournaments like the King Hassan Cup and Kirin Cup, "meaningless", so the dozens of results Japan achieved in key contests other than major FIFA competitions "wont count" in your eyes. But please, Please . . . . before you embarrass yourself any further . . . take some time to either visit my website: http://www.the-rising-sun-news.com/news/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=659&Itemid=182 http://www.the-rising-sun-news.com/news/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=660&Itemid=183 http://www.the-rising-sun-news.com/news/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=661&Itemid=184 http://www.the-rising-sun-news.com/news/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=717&Itemid=185 . . . or at the very least, Google terms such as "Confederations Cup". I can see that some people are confused by the fact that they cant get a rise out of a Japanese fan with digs about past losses or perceived weaknesses, but really, all it exposes is your own insecurities. dasilva - "If the J-league sides don’t want to try in the ACL then they . . . . really can’t claim to be the best in Asia" Its true! We all admit that the K.League is the best league that money can buy. http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Sports/Story/A1Story20110630-286902.html . . . but at the moment, I dont think that even Korean fans want to start arguing points like that one. Time to give it a rest guys. Now its just starting to get silly.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@ Matsu I know you won a couple of games when you hosted the WC. Heck that's the least you expect from the host nation. But, the only nation from Asia that fans remember from 2002 WC is Guus Hiddink's wonderfully talented and exciting KOR team. JPN had a talented but couldn't handle the pressure on the big stage of a FIFA WC ... and, they again couldn't handle the pressure in 2006 when they had AUS on the ropes in Kaiserslautern.
Matsu
Guest
Fuss~ "prior to 2010, JPN’s record against Sth American & European opponents in meaningful matches was rare and, when they did play such opponents, they didn’t win." Prior to 2010? What have you been smoking? Im not even going to waste the storage bytes needed to offer a list. I mean, come ON! That last comment of yours is so far out there that Im surprised none of your compatriots has jumped in yet to spare you the embarassment. Good lord man! If you had said 2000 . . . or perhaps 1998 . . . well at least it wouldnt be QUITE as laughable. But at this point youre just switching off memory, emptying your cache, and not bothering to even TRY to engage the logic circuits. I had no intention of provoking this sort of ridiculous rant, so on that note, Id say its time to stick a fork in it. Gday, all.....
SAMURAI
Roar Pro
This is getting off-topic. The bottom line is like it or not the J-League clubs do not care about the ACL. This is due to a number of reasons, if people want me to elaborate it will be worth an article. Like other Asian leagues, in recent years the J-League has gone from strength to strength. This is reflected in the success of the national team and the number of youngsters being snapped up by Europeans clubs. End of story.
Roarchild
Guest
Guangzhou Evengarde showing that money isn't so useless after all. They are thrashing Jeonbuk.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I was in Kaiserslautern on that glorious sunny afternoon in 2006 when AUS smashed JPN in a burst of football power and I can tell you the JPN players were shocked. devastated & embarrassed. The JPN fans were in tears. So, to say JPN don't care about playing anyone other than Euro nations or Sth America is pure fantasy. And, prior to 2010, JPN's record against Sth American & European opponents in meaningful matches was rare and, when they did play such opponents, they didn't win.
dasilva
Guest
Fair enough that the J-league fan don't care about winning in Asia. That's there choice However if they accept that then they have to accept that they can never claim to be the best league in asia. That is all I'm saying. If they are fine with that. Then everyone happy.