【英语生活】南非世界杯亚洲球队能否脱颍而出？

The World Cup, which began this weekend in South Africa, will give teams from the Asian-Pacific region another chance to back up the promise they briefly showed eight years ago.

But with some tough draws and an expected home-field boost to surging African teams, even big backers predict the high-profile matches will show the sport remains a work in progress despite vast economic potential.

The region's four representatives will face strong opposition in the initial round, in which a team must finish in the top two amid its group of four. South Korea -- which beat Greece 2-0 over the weekend -- must compete against perennial power Argentina as well as Nigeria. Australia, which was set to play Germany on Sunday in Durban, will also face Ghana, while Japan's group includes the Netherlands and Cameroon. Poor North Korea, meanwhile, must get past mighty Brazil, the talented Ivory Coast and soccer-mad Portugal.

Only Australia -- ranked No. 20 in April according to global soccer federation FIFA -- will face a lower-ranked team in its group.

'Unfortunately, Asian teams have fallen in tough groups in the 2010 World Cup,' says Mohamed Bin Hammam, president of the Asian Football Confederation, to which all four of the region's teams belong. 'It will be an accomplishment if we have one or two teams in the round of 16.'

Soccer has already captured the hearts, minds and wallets of Asia. The Asian Football Confederation last year signed a new seven-year marketing deal with Singapore-based World Sport Group that it expects will bring in $1 billion in revenue over that period, five times its previous seven-year deal. Broadcast rights for England's Premier League sparked bidding wars last year in Hong Kong and Singapore. Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung last year took control of the Premier League's Birmingham City in a deal that valued the club at GBP 81.5 million, or $119 million at current rates.

The trick has been translating that financial interest into quality teams. Eight years ago, the sport seemed to make headway in matching that growing interest with strong play on the field. In 2002, co-host Japan played as far as the second round and fellow co-host South Korea reached the semifinals, the region's strongest-ever showing.

But in 2006, at the following World Cup in Germany, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran faltered in their groups. Australia, who joined the AFC in January 2006, got through its group but quickly fell to eventual champion Italy in the round of 16.

A similar showing in 2010 along with African success will strengthen calls that Asia needs to follow Africa's example and send more players to the intense competition of Europe's top leagues.

'There are still too few Asian players who have made that breakthrough,' says Marcus Luer, chief executive of Hong Kong-based sports marketing company Total Sports Asia. 'Money is available for professional sport and there is no reason why the Japanese, Korean, Chinese and some leagues in the Middle East cannot be world class in the near future,' he adds.

'Asian teams do not have the proper base to compete in the World Cup, and the weak local leagues do not produce strong national teams,' says Mr. Bin Hammam. Participation in elite leagues in Britain, Italy and Spain has boosted Africa's rising stars. The likes of Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast and Ghana's Michael Essien play for U.K. powerhouse Chelsea. Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o left European champion Barcelona last year to join Italian stalwart Inter Milan. By contrast, of the eight players from the AFC region in the Premier League, five are Australians, two are South Korean and one is Omani. The most famous Asian player is Park Ji-sung, a South Korean who plays for English champion Manchester United. Japan's biggest name, Shunsuke Nakamura, returned home in January after struggling for playing time in Spain with Espanyol.

Physical play has always been a barrier to Asian success, says Peter Withe, a former England international striker who has played in South Africa and coached the national teams of Thailand and Indonesia. African leagues have followed the European trend, and increasingly larger players are better able to handle the physical demands of European soccer. The secret, says Mr. Withe, is to develop players technically and physically at home and then send them overseas.

'African players are physically stronger than Asians . . . but you can see now that players in some Asian countries such as Japan, Korea and Iran, they have strong leagues so the players are competing regularly at a high level and then getting a chance in Europe.'

Mr. Bin Hamman is serious about improving standards in Asia. The AFC, which includes 46 national associations stretching from Saudi Arabia to Australia, launched the Asian Champions League in 2003, one year after he took office. The continent-wide club competition is increasingly lucrative with a total prize pool in 2010 of $14 million, up from $4 million in 2008, for the 32 participating clubs but restricted only to nations that meet strict requirements, which range from the effectiveness of marketing, number of fans and the quality and quantity of international airports.

Asia's growing affluence is also expected to help long term, giving local leagues the resources to upgrade play. 'Asia has very sophisticated markets,' says Mr. Luer. 'Money is available for professional sport and there is no reason why the Japanese, Korean, Chinese and some leagues in the Middle East cannot be world class in the near future.'

********

Team capsules

South Korea

FIFA rank: 47th

Group (Rank): B -- Argentina (7), Greece (13), Nigeria (21)

Marquee player (professional team): Park Ji-sung (Manchester United, England)

Profile: South Korea showed what it can do Saturday with an impressive win against Greece: use its tenacity and defense to control the pace.

Outlook: South Korea could make waves if the team uses its deliberate pace to offset more-physical opponents.

Australia

FIFA rank: 20th

Group (Rank): D -- Germany (6), Serbia (15), Ghana (32)

Marquee player: Tim Cahill (Everton, England)

Profile: Strong and powerful, Australia likes to get the ball forward quickly and use its height advantage to score. A lack of a Plan B could be the stumbling block.

Outlook: Playing the Germans is never a great way to start a World Cup, but if Australia plays its usual aggressive game, then it has a chance.

Japan

FIFA rank: 45th

Group (Rank): E -- Netherlands (4), Cameroon (19), Denmark (36)

Marquee player: Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow, Russia)

Profile: Technically proficient, Japan can pass the ball around all day but sometimes struggles to find that final killer pass that leads to a goal.

Outlook: Japan needs to keep the ball well against the talented Cameroon team and use its strength with free kicks to make the difference.

North Korea

FIFA rank: 105th

Group (Rank): Brazil (1), Portugal (3), Ivory Coast (27)

Marquee player: Jung Tae Se (Kawasaki Frontale, Japan)

Profile: Well-organized and very hard to break down, North Korea works hard and each player gives everything for the team. This team relies on strong defense and a quick counterattack.

Outlook: Overmatched North Korea will pack the defense line against Brazil and hope to force its opponent into making mistakes.

在周末开幕的南非世界杯中，亚太地区的球队将再次获得一次机会，让它们在八年前短暂显露的希望得以彰显。

但一些球队在抽签时遇到强大的对手，而势头正盛的非洲球队预计也会获得主场优势，所以连重要的支持者也都预计，虽然这项运动有着极大的经济潜力，但南非世界杯中广受关注的比赛将会表明，亚洲的足球事业还处在建设过程中。

Stuart Franklin/Getty Images6月14日南非世界杯日本对喀麦隆的比赛中，日本队员松井大辅和喀麦隆中场球员艾诺争球。亚太地区的四支代表球队将在小组赛中遇上劲敌。在这轮比赛过后，打进小组前两名的球队才能进入下一轮比赛。韩国队周末以2比0战胜希腊之后，要和资深强队阿根廷以及尼日利亚对决。澳大利亚周日在德班迎战德国，以0比4告负，接下来还要面对加纳。日本所在小组包括荷兰和喀麦隆。朝鲜很可怜，它面前将是强大的巴西、人才济济的科特迪瓦和为热衷于足球的国度葡萄牙。

只有澳大利亚会在小组赛中对阵一支排名在自己后面的球队。据国际足联(FIFA)的数据，澳大利亚4月份排在第20位。

亚洲足球联合会(Asian Football Confederation)主席哈曼(Mohamed Bin Hammam)说，很不幸，2010年世界杯亚洲球队都分到了实力强大的小组中，如果我们能有一两支球队打进16强，那就是一种成就。上述四支球队都属于亚足联。

足球抓住了亚洲人的热情、心灵和钱包。去年，亚足联同新加坡世界体育集团(World Sport Group)签署了一份新的七年期营销协议。亚足联预计，这笔交易会在这七年里带来10亿美元的收入，是前面一份七年期协议的五倍。去年在香港和新加坡，英格兰超级联赛(Premier League)的转播权拍卖引发了一轮竞价潮。同在去年，香港商人杨嘉诚(Carson Yeung)取得了英超旗下伯明翰俱乐部的控股权，根据这笔交易，俱乐部的估价为8150万英镑，以当前汇率计算折合1.19亿美元。

关键在于怎样把这种财务投入转变为高质量的球队。亚洲球队八年前的赛场表现非常精彩，越来越大的财务投入似乎是取得了一定的实效。2002年世界杯上，作为东道主之一的日本队打到了第二轮，另一东道主韩国队则打进了半决赛，是本地区史上最好表现。

但在接下来的2006年德国世界杯当中，日本、韩国、沙特阿拉伯和伊朗都折戟于小组赛。2006年1月加入亚足联的澳大利亚突围小组赛成功，但很快在16强赛中输给了最后夺冠的意大利队。

如果2010年世界杯亚太球队的表现仍是这样，而非洲球队取得成功，人们就会更加呼吁亚洲球队学习非洲的榜样，把更多的球员送到欧洲顶级联赛中去参与激烈的对抗。

香港体育营销公司全能体育亚洲(Total Sports Asia)首席执行长鲁尔（Marcus Luer）说，取得这种突破的亚洲球员仍然很少。他还说，亚洲有体育职业化所需的资金，在不远的将来，日本、韩国、中国和中东的一些俱乐部没有理由不成为世界级的。

哈曼说，亚洲球队没有参与世界杯的合适基础，薄弱的本地联赛产生不出强劲的国家队。而在非洲，通过参与英国、意大利和西班牙的精英联赛，越来越多的新星正在涌现。科特迪瓦队的德罗巴(Didier Drogba)和加纳队的埃辛(Michael Essien)等人，都在英国强队切尔西俱乐部(Chelsea)踢球。喀麦隆的埃托奥(Samuel Eto)去年离开欧冠赛冠军巴塞罗那队(Barcelona)，加入了意大利强队国际米兰(Inter Milan)。相比之下，参与英超联赛的八名亚足联地区球员中，五位是澳大利亚人，两位是韩国人，一位是阿曼人。亚洲最知名的球员是韩国球员朴智星(Park Ji-sung)，他在英格兰联赛杯冠军曼彻斯特联队(Manchester United)踢球。日本最知名球员中村俊辅(Shunsuke Nakamura)曾为西班牙的西班牙人队(Espanyol)效力，并常常坐冷板凳，他于今年1月份回国。

英格兰球员彼得•韦特(Peter Withe)曾在南非踢球，并曾执教泰国和印度尼西亚国家队。他说，身体素质一直是亚洲队伍取胜的一个障碍。非洲的联赛球队一直以来追随欧洲的趋势，身材越来越高大的球员也更能满足欧洲足球对身体条件的要求。韦特说，个中诀窍在于在国内培养球员的技术和体能，然后送他们出国比赛。

“非洲球员身体比亚洲球员强壮……不过现在你可以看到，像日本、韩国和伊朗等一些亚洲国家有很强的联赛，因此这些国家的球员得以经常在高水平的环境中竞争，然后有机会去欧洲。

亚洲足联主席哈曼认真看待提高亚洲足球标准一事。亚洲足联包括了从沙特阿拉伯到澳大利亚在内的46个国家的足球协会，于2003年、也就是哈曼上任后第二年开办亚洲冠军杯联赛。这一全亚洲范围的联赛“钱途”日益诱人，2010年针对32支参赛俱乐部的总奖金金额达到1,400万美元，2008年仅为400万美元。但亚冠联赛仅限于能符合严格要求的国家参与，要求包括市场营销的成效、球迷人数以及国际机场的数量和质量等等。

亚洲日渐增长的财力预计也将带来长期提振，令各国的俱乐部有资源对赛事进行升级。Luer说，亚洲有非常完善的市场，有职业化所需的资金，日本、韩国、中国和中东的一些俱乐部有理由在不远的将来成为世界级的。


********

亚洲球队情况一览


韩国

FIFA排名：第47位

同组对手及排名：B组──阿根廷（7）、希腊（13）、尼日利亚（21）

当家球星及效力球队：朴智星(Park Ji Sung)，英超曼彻斯特联队(Manchester United)

简评：韩国队上周六小组赛战胜希腊给人留下深刻印象，展示了他们的能力：利用自身的顽强和防守控制比赛节奏。

前景展望：如果能够运用谨慎的节奏抵消面对强壮对手时的劣势，韩国队也可能在世界杯上掀起波澜。


澳大利亚

FIFA排名：第20位

同组对手及排名：D组──德国（6）、塞尔维亚（15）、加纳（32）

当家球星及效力球队：蒂姆•卡希尔(Tim Cahill)，英超埃弗顿队(Everton)

简评：强壮有力的澳大利亚以快速长传为主，利用身高优势破门得分。缺乏备用战术可能会阻碍澳大利亚在世界杯上的脚步。

前景展望：世界杯一开始就对阵德国绝对不是什么好事，不过要是澳大利亚拿出平时那股进攻势头没准本来还有希望。


日本

FIFA排名：第45位

同组对手及排名：E组──荷兰（4）、喀麦隆（19）、丹麦（36）

当家球星及效力球队：本田圭佑(Keisuke Honda)，俄罗斯莫斯科中央陆军队(CSKA Moscow)

简评：日本队技术细腻，可以不停地传球，不过有时难以找到能进球的终极射手。

前景展望：日本对阵实力强劲的喀麦隆队时需要小心控球，并运用任意球方面的优势取胜。


朝鲜

FIFA排名：第105位

同组对手及排名：巴西（1）、葡萄牙（3）、科特迪瓦（27）

当家球星及效力球队：郑大世(Jung Tae-se)，日本川崎前锋队(Kawasaki Frontale)

简评：组织严密、作风顽强、兢兢业业，每名球员都为球队奉献了一切。这支队伍依靠的是强有力的防守和快速反击。

前景展望：面对实力悬殊的对手巴西队，朝鲜将严防死守，寄希望于迫使对手犯错。