Silent Lonesome Man

When the UEFA announced a new competition would take place, we wondered with a lot of questions. In the end, the UEFA really did: the establishment of the Nations League, modelled from the domestic leagues across the world, divided into four divisions: A, B, C, D. All 55 members were allowed to take place, and the league will act as alternative options for many countries to qualify for the UEFA European Championship, and to a lesser extent, the FIFA World Cup. The foundation of the UEFA Nations League was met with initial scepticism, but once the inaugural season began in 2018, it would become a massive success. Considering that the UEFA officials criticised the ineffectiveness of friendlies, it was quite realistic for the European football makers to have a new, competitive format. Soon after the UEFA did so, the CONCACAF - composed of countries from North America - also announced the same tournament. This left only three federations with little reforms in organising new football tourn

On 14 July 2021, I woke up only to receive a blowing new that even for some European football fans, might also perceive as a surprise. Of course, not that case of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, not even close. But the player here has triggered a lot of tense debate about whenever did he really think it was right or only just to impress for more money. Yes, we're talking about Joni Kauko. The Finnish midfielder, who was notorious for being the back of the Finnish squad that successfully took part in the country's first-ever UEFA European Championship, played in 2021, has stunned pundits by announcing that he would leave Europe for a rickshaw trip to India, by signing with Indian giant Mohun Bagan. At the age of 31, he is no longer young, but still on that age, he could also choose to represent clubs in Serbian, Croatian, Greek, Scottish or Turkish leagues, where football infrastructures are far more developed and wealthier to maintain fitness. Maybe he could have chosen Sout

How could you define a honest discussion? Well, when both sides truly want to settle down everything to restore some bilateral and commercial ties. Indeed, if you just judged the outside of the ongoing cycle of meetings between Iran and Saudi Arabia - two regional rivals, also with attendance from other regional powerhouses like Turkey and the UAE, then yes. Iran and Saudi Arabia are really, really engaging in secret discussions, mostly taken in Iraq, once a former hegemon in the same region. Yet, when you dig deep to these talks, there is one thing should be mentioned: nothing. It's a clear indication of a sitcom promotion show, where the Saudis and Iranians engaging in talks with memes and comical explanations - all to cover the reality that it was a forced compromise. Painfully, but true, most people in the Middle East have expressed negatively about the talks, as none of them believe the roundtable discussions will ever bring the results they sought. So, why are Saudi Arabia an

Iran tried to play the cards about supporting various groups, including sectarian and non-sectarian ones, as the mean to gather control for power. It has succeeded with a lot of groups at the initial phrase, to a point it has nothing to be worried, at least, in short term. Now, it is getting backfired, but in an unusual style, the Iranian regime has not shown any clear reactions. So, was the silence of Iranian regime an attempt to diffuse the bomb it has unofficially activated... against itself? The wrong gamble in Afghanistan Afghanistan was a country of instability since the Soviet invasion of 1979. When the Soviets left in 1989, it left an Afghanistan in ruins. Pakistan was quick to fill the hole, alongside Saudi Arabia, by arming the Taliban, facilitating its power to rise. Iran, already embroiled in a bloody stalemate with Iraq, didn't make further moves. It didn't intervene immediately to help Tajikistan, a fellow Persianic nation seceded from the Soviet Union, to fend of

Matchday 4 for any Asian football lovers will be a matchday to get addict with. It's not hard to realise there will be a major festival for football watchers, where major games will place teams in a serious gamble for wins or the losers take all. Group A United Arab Emirates vs Iraq Gaining only two points out of three games, both the UAE and Iraq are under tremendous pressures to gain a win to restart their already struggling campaigns, hence the upcoming 12 October face up is going to be a square off in Dubai's Zabeel Stadium. The UAE and Iraq are no stranger as they share common culture, language and has also squeezed off several times in major competitions, not to say even common managerial philosophy. The UAE, led by Dutchman Bert van Marwijk, has been unable to produce the same performance it did in the second round comeback, getting with only a goal scored by none other than Ali Mabkhout. The UAE's resistance to Iran was a bright point, as the Emiratis succumbed to o

When Thailand lost 1-3 to the UAE and 0-4 to Iraq away in the latest 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, it was seen as a dent. Thailand was the only country from Southeast Asia to be there, though, to be frank, if you count member from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), you may also think of Australia, the country where I have some connection over, due to my relatives studied in Down Under and some of my neighbours were students in here. But Australia and Thailand are totally two opposite polar. Australia has succeeded in establishing a name among Asia's mightiest, and a frequent World Cup participant since 2006, the year they joined the AFC. By contrast, Thailand has succeeded only in giving itself a supremacy in Southeast Asia - in fact, Thailand was, for a long time, the only Southeast Asian state to reach the final phase of World Cup qualifiers in Asia. Indonesia was the only World Cup participant there from Southeast Asia, though as a Dutch autonomous colony, it didn't p

The two first matchdays in September so far have ended with a number of surprise as a conclusion. It's no secret that this World Cup qualification is pretty unpredictable in Asia. October 7th will see the actions back as the remaining 12 nations scramble for four direct spots to Qatar. Change is likely to continue. Group A South Korea vs Syria This will be the second consecutive World Cup qualifiers that the two nations face each other, having already battled twice on the run to Russia. Back in the previous qualifying round, South Korea prevailed 1-0 on aggregate. Being the hosts of this fixture makes sense for the Koreans who are willing to repeat the same performance, maybe better, the head-to-head result also indicates a clear favourite toward South Korea, with the Taegeuk Tigers' only defeat to Syria came in 1984 AFC Asian Cup. However, South Korea will have to struggle to find out how to maximise the home advantage. Two difficult results (0-0 to Iraq and 1-0 win to Lebanon