Today Sydney FC will unveil one of the most recognisable players in Asian football. A household name in two of the biggest cities in the world, the proven goal scorer is regularly mobbed by fans.
I’m talking of course about Joel Griffiths, the former Beijing Guoan and Shanghai Shenhua striker who became a massive hit with supporters during his three years in the Chinese Super League.
Such was Griffiths’ impact in China, where supposedly he was as well-known as Nicole Kidman, his name was mentioned by Trade Minister Craig Emerson at a recent Lowy Institute conference as a driver of links between Australia and Asia.
It’s a good thing players like Griffiths are being recognised for their impact in Asia, but it’s a little belated.
After all, Australia joined the Asian Football Confederation in 2006 and by now everyone connected to the sport has had ample opportunities to engage with the Asian game.
Yet, often when the topic of Asian football comes up – particularly online – there’s a prickliness to the discussion which hints at our general unease with the subject.
A few years ago I wrote a piece for The World Game website in which I suggested most Australians would struggle to tell the difference between Shunsuke Nakamura and Kengo Nakamura.
What I meant was that as the pair shares the same surname, those with a limited knowledge of Japanese football would struggle to differentiate between the two.
Yet I was instantly and repeatedly called a racist.
Some of those who complained made references to hair colour and eye shape as they accused me of being racist, despite my only ‘crime’ consisting of highlighting the fact the pair have the same surname.
Though it’s frustrating to be misconstrued, I think a bigger problem is the habit of branding those who want to talk about Asian football as ‘racist’ at the drop of a hat, because it serves to shut down legitimate discussions of a topic most Australians should be interested in.
And I suspect that some fans – though I should stress I’m talking about a minority here – find the concept of talking about Asian football so alien that their first and only response is to mention hair colour or physical size and move on.
Of course, I felt compelled to think about this after some readers took offence to my suggestion certain fans didn’t rate Shinji Ono because he’s Asian.
Though I’m not particularly enamoured with his J. League team of choice, I was grateful to regular reader Nelson for pointing out that I wasn’t accusing anyone of racism, but rather highlighting the fact Australians generally don’t rate Asian football.
And they don’t. To wit, here’s one fan’s justification of why Ono shouldn’t be considered a marquee player.
On a broader level, is there any topic which gets fans more riled up than the issue of Australian players moving to the Gulf States? Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup, perhaps.
The most obvious reason I can think of for our struggle to understand football in Asia is a linguistic one.
As English speakers, we’re not accustomed to learning foreign languages and it goes without saying that the AFC is full of those.
And when the scripts of those languages in no way resemble the Roman alphabet, it’s not surprising Asian leagues are largely ignored in Australia.
Not everyone ignores Asian football though, as Paul Williams’ outstanding Asian Football Feast attests.
SBS correspondent Scott McIntyre is even in the process of writing a book about Asian football, and I’m sure Paul and I won’t be the only folks keen to read it.
But I’m just as sure that for all the intelligent discussion which takes place on The Roar, there’ll be criticism of this topic.
It seems to be a reflex to shut down or simply ignore discussions about Asian football, something which needs to change if Australia is to genuinely host a successful Asian Cup.
Haron
Guest
Great article again Mike. Good to see that you're reasserting the point you made in the earlier Ono article. I think that most Australian fans tend to take for granted our place in the AFC and where we stand in it. 90% of supporters have the "we should be smashing these guys or we're not good enough" mentality without really knowing who or what we're up against. The funniest thing is that when we find that these sides are actually competitive or actually expose our own weaknesses, the Australian media never acknowledge the opposition and often place the blame on the coach, the lack of effort of the players or even logistical factors such as the pitch, the weather or jet lag - often it's a combination of these three. There is an immense market there for highly talented, technically gifted players and HAL clubs have ignored this for many years. What's the wager that even after Ono leaves or retires from the WSW as one of the best foreigners to play in the HAL (as well as becoming one of the first legends for the Wanderers) that Australian clubs will shrug of his contribution and continue to skip Japan as a place to find players? I know I for one would love to see the impact of say someone like an Ogasawara, Maeda, Sato, Okubo or Endo would have here - and I know it'd be of better value of some of the marquees we've had here.
cliffclavin
Guest
"I adore cricket, but cant find much time for the Pakistani domestic championship" and you call yourself a cricket fan. ....... we stream it!!! haha
cliffclavin
Guest
+2
cliffclavin
Guest
setanta showed the j-league for 2 seasons but cut it for this current season. if they or fox could get it back, that would be great. I have emailed fox regarding this and the k-league. Whilst the j-league is great - given previous exposure - i would actually prefer the k-league given the number of aussies there. Regarding more involvement with asia: could we not play an a-league socceroos 'test' series each june/july of season against our closest Asean neighbours. I'd loved to see our young guys play indonesia or vietnam each year. they could be played in non-trad socceroo areas like Newcastle (or Adelaide - given current FFA policy). I think this could build good relationships
wisey_9
Roar Guru
Can you back that ludicrous claim up with any sort of evidence? Perhaps the general ignorance of other competitions doesn't just extend to Asian football as Mike's article suggests - but to most other competitions in general?
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
"Maybe when I am retired and have more spare time I will follow the fortunes of the Korean 3rd division more intimately." Precisely the sort of attitude I'm talking about.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
Don't know about something like Marca but I often read Asian newspapers online. http://www.thenational.ae/sport/football http://www.gulf-times.com//ListingNews.aspx?catId=192&catName=Sport http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/soccer.html
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
I'm glad you mentioned Yasuhito Endo. In an off-the-cuff online poll on Facebook the other day, the question was posed of which AFC player Australians would most like to see play in the A-League. Aside from the usual assortment of stupid answers (Messi, Kim Jong-Il, Puyol etcetera) many fans mentioned Endo. It took me by surprise that most fans voted for an increasingly pedestrian 32-year-old whose club finished second-last and was relegated in 2012. But it obviously harks back to the exposure issue... Endo was the stand-out player when Gamba Osaka beat Adelaide United in the 2008 AFC Champions League final and having actually seen a Japanese player in the flesh, he's clearly been remembered Down Under. I just wonder why Australian fans have been so slow (almost as slow as Endo is these days) to comprehend the value of other Asian players. (Lee Keun-Ho, anyone?!).
Bondy.
Guest
Mike, Does asia have a newspaper circulation like Marca with english translation or Marca in english, (http://www.marca.com/en/),just curious.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
Realfootball - no one called you a cultural failure. The Nicole Kidman reference comes from chief executive of the 2015 Asian Cup local organising committee Michael Brown. http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/asian-cup-a-massive-chance-for-aust-lowy-20121123-29xk6.html
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
But when Australian fans want to read about La Liga, Serie A or the Champions League they can readily do so in English. I think there's a perception out there that they can't do that in regards to Japanese, Qatari, Chinese football etcetera, although in most cases it's not actually true.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
I have mentioned Football Asia before. It's better than nothing but would be far more engaging if it mirrored UEFA's excellent Champions League magazine shows.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
John Duerden was responsible for me spending a morning sprawled on the tiles with the hangover from hell while my wife went shopping in Dongdaemun. You've got to watch out for those Lancastrians.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
I have spoken often about how Eurocentric the Australian football community can be. http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news-display/Waiting-for-the-ACL-to-take-off/47129
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
I see the Gulf leagues denigrated by Australian fans all the time. http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/tuckerman-opinion-display/AFC-nomination-vindicates-Neills-move/53297
Arthur Fonzarelli
Guest
I m a casual football supporter. I follow the A League and the EPL closely, wth a particular interest in the Newcastle Jets and the Gunners. I have zero interest in any other league. I enjoy rugby union, but have no interest in the French First division or the Currie Cup. I love rugby league, and love the NRL, but take only a passing interest in the English Super League. I adore cricket, but cant find much time for the Pakistani domestic championship. There's only so many hours in a day. Maybe when I am retired and have more spare time I will follow the fortunes of the Korean 3rd division more intimately..
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
"sophisticated Premier League fans in Australia are obviously sourcing a lot of their info from the Australian meda" And, I laughed & I laughed. In the age of information - from any media source - being available at a click of a button, no sensible person would ever suggest any EPL fan logs into AUS mainstream media to access information about Euro football, in general, or EPL football, in particular.
David Heidelberg
Guest
No, apart from the ex-pat Mexicans nobody in Sydney knows or cares.
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party
Guest
Thats fair enough about Wigan,perhaps any game involving Stoke is more prescise.
Titus
Guest
While I don't have time to catch all the football I would like, I certainly don't have time to watch repeats of last years NAB Cup.........strewth!