The story does not end there. If you look at the Asian players playing abroad, the majority of them are on the bench. This can be seen from the complaints on many Iranian soccer message boards. So, will Asia forever be second to European soccer. I do not believe we will stay this way, and I am encourage by the performances of the Iranian and Japanese teams during the last World Cup, and the performances of these two teams and Korea during friendlies. I believe that we can be as good as European teams, but there are problems that are huge obstacles to us in our fight to dominate the soccer world. Among them are the lack of chances given to Europe based Asian players, soccer corruption in Southeast Asia and infighting and back stabbing in national football associations. Let me give my opinion on the problems.

Let us begin with the lack of chances given. This is not caused by us. But this is one problem which I feel hinders the development of
talented Asian players playing abroad and prevents them from bringing glory to Asia. Let me talk about the Iranian players since they are the most familiar to the reader and also the majority of overseas Asian players. I do wonder why German clubs bother to hire Iranian players when all they do is to let them sit on the bench. I wonder why some coaches have no faith in their Iranian imports when they have drafted them into the team. I also wonder why clubs are so "scared" of hiring Iranian players when they declare they want to sign on a player and than drop him the next minute. Let me use Germany as an example.

What are three of Asia's best player doing in Germany. Look, Asia's
best striker is spending 90% of his time on the bench, when I cannot see the true talent of the Bayern forwards, who do not look more threatening. Asia's most talented player is playing in Germany's division two, and no club has come forward to take him when players not as talented as him are playing in division one. Asia's youngest talent has been let down time and again by clubs who do not seem to be sincere in signing him. And I am talking about Ali Daei, Karim Bagheri and Mehdi Mahdavikia respectively. Let me voice my views.

When Bayern Munich signed on Ali Daei, I was wondering, why didn't they sign on Karim Bagheri as well? If a club like Armenia Belefeld was wise enough to sign on two Iranians who would have telepathic understanding of each other on the field, surely Bayern can also do so?
Especially when it is loaded with cash. It would be wise to sign both Bagheri and Daei, as it will be Bagheri who would be able to supply Daei and the other strikers with his crosses, especially when Daei and Bagheri have good understanding of each other. To sign Daei with Bagheri would be an advantage as the link between the strike force and midfield would be solved. Or at least partly. Bagheri has played very well for Armenia when Daei was there, and he has proved himself. So why did Bayern sign only a player who is good in scoring when there is another player who is not only good in midfield skills but also scoring. Why take one and not two? Poor Bagheri. Asia's most talented player is in division two. Is Bayern afraid to take the risk of signing two Asian players as it has the view that Asian player's skills are inferior. The club must not forget what Bagheri did against Germany in the World Cup. 

Mehdi Mahdavikia was first approached by Borrusia Dortmund, and for many months it seemed sincere in signing Mehdi. But than, Mehdi could not get out of Iran because of his military service. That is none of Borrusia's fault. But, when he was finally exempted from military service, where was Dortmund? It did not keep up with its desire to sign Mehdi. If it was keen and really wanted Mehdi in its ranks, it should have kept its word and signed him. I hear that he is going to sign for Hamburg. But I think that will not erase the possible disappointment he has in Borrusia Dortmund.

I must clarify that both Bagheri and Mahdavikia are not my favorite players, and I am not siding with them. But this is what I  feel when I read reports about them on the message boards. And this does not happen only to them, but to other Iranian players who play abroad.

Frankly speaking, I am so tired of these reports that I wish that I could tell the clubs straight that such players must be given a chance to play in the first team. These players come from a culture so different from Germany, or even Austria. They must be given time to adapt and prove themselves. But, are they given the chance? One or two matches are not enough, even if they start in the first eleven. The players are young, and this is their first venture out of Iran. What can the club expect from them from just the first match? I feel that the coaches judge the players too fast. I wish and hope that the coaches will be more open minded and play more Iranians in their first eleven.

What is the use of just signing them and than leave them on the bench. I feel that this problem is caused by unfounded fears that the players cannot perform and prejudice. I hope that mindsets will change. In the mean time, I urge all Iranian players not to give up and not to let this affect their self-esteem. I believe they are on par with the locals in the league they are playing.

Another problem which Asian soccer faces is the hard core problem
of soccer corruption which does not seem to eradicate despite so many years of effort by countries involved. Recently, an anti corruption seminar was held in Singapore in which awareness was created about this problem, and ways on how to battle it was discussed. This problem is a Southeast Asian problem, and the seriousness of this problem was only realized when nearly a hundred players playing in the Malaysia Cup (most of them being Malaysians) were charged for soccer bribery. This incident happened in 1994, and this led to Singapore pulling out of the Malaysian Cup (and league) to form its first professional league in 1996. Singapore had won the Malaysian league and Cup double, but it was found out that in that same year, many footballers were receiving bribes to either win or lose matches, and most of them against Singapore. A Singapore footballer, Australian Abbas Saad, was also charged with bribery. This controversy caused the football associations of Malaysia and Singapore to go their separate ways. But this did not seem to end the chapter of soccer corruption in the Southeast Asian region. For Singapore, even in its new professional league, a small number of players have been charged with soccer corruption.

Even though only four players were convicted, it was seen as a big problem, especially when Singapore had gone through the nightmare of winning the double in 1994 and being wrecked with soccer corruption controversies the next. The charging of these players meant that the problem of soccer corruption had not been weeded out. Because of this, Singapore decided to launch its first soccer betting system this year, in an attempt to weed out  illegal soccer betting, which leads to bookies bribing players. This  system, called SCORE, was highlighted during the seminar. The rest of the region will be watching to see if this system is successful here, before deciding whether to implement it in their own countries. So far, SCORE has been successful, for it has increased match attendance as people who are now able to bet legally will want to come and watch the match as their moneys are at stake. With legalized betting, there are no need for fans to bet on outcomes of matches through illegal bookies who may have underworld connections. These bookies turn to players and either force or persuade them to throw matches. So one can say that SCORE has been successful for match attendance have gone up, revenues of clubs have increased and the interest in the league matches have increased. But, although the good results are there, one cannot help feel a tinge of sadness. There is a danger of unconsciously encouraging people to gamble, and in turning Singapore into a nation of gamblers. But this had to be done in order to keep the game clean. Soccer corruption can also be seen in other parts of the region. But I choose to focus on Singapore as it is my country and thus the information is the most accurate.

I think one reason why players receive bribes is that they earn very little, unlike their counterparts in the Middle East and Europe. Greed for money is one of human's weakness, and thus this problem may not be easy to solve. But it is good to see the Asian Football Confederation coming into the picture and actively trying to solve this problem. The seminar is one step towards solving this problem, and I hope that the good name of Southeast Asian soccer will not be again smeared by soccer corruption.

Other problems regarding Asian soccer include lack of effort by  national associations to improve welfare of their national teams,  politicking among officials, and also the mindsets of some Asian fans who feel that Western Soccer is always better. I think one reason some fans do not support their local team is that they are tired of the  behavior of their national associations. Some associations do not   bother to provide the national team with proper training kits, and do not take the initiative to organize training tours. They just sit there  and expect the results from their national players. National associations should realize that it takes two hands to clap, and the associations cannot expect good results from the national team if the officials do not provide the team with training kits, fields in proper conditions and proper training schedules. Sacking coaches and replacing players may not solve the problem of a team which is performing poorly. I am sure that every soccer fan wants to have a national team they are proud of, and not one in which it is restricted by the irresponsibility of the national soccer associations.

The problems listed above are some of the problems Asian soccer faces. But I am not giving up on Asia yet. For me, I am proud that my country's soccer league has managed to go into its fourth season successfully and I am hopeful that with the league, my country's soccer will improve and be one of the best in Southeast Asia. Also, I am proud to be a fan of Asian soccer, and I am not ashamed to say that my favorite footballer is not a European but an Asian-- Iranian Mohammad  Khakpour.

By Iran Kicks Reporter Elizabeth

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