Men From The Land Of Zen
Princes Of Persia
I absolutely love Prince Of Persia the video game, if you have not played it you should. I was just rambling on there about the title of today's article and a classic video game that shares its name pay me no mine. Well mi raza I have taken you all over Asia from the south east to the far east, we kicked it a bit in the south and we even went to that oh so wonderful center. If you are atuned to our cardinal point placings you would have noticed that we have yet to make a stop to the WESTSIIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!, which is ironically called the Middle East. Funny, I know absolutely hilarious but what is not so funny is the state of Asian football as a whole. They are a few marquee teams around and some fairly average ones as well but they are some embarassments among the clutch of nations. The AFC (Asian Football Confederation) as a unit is fairly sturdy one, I reckon if they had to put out and all star AFC XI, I would have to say they definitely wouldn't be raped by any team and not getting raped I would imagine is a good thing. The bulk of that team would mainly come from the Far East Asian nations Japan, the two Koreas and China. The rest of the team would come from I am totally speculating the Arab states, you know the guys from the Middle East. It comes as a shock to the uninformed but if you know your Medieval sports, football being one of them you would know the Persians aren't that bad, there is where we make our final stop on our Asian tour.
The land in which the Middle East sits is a sun baked and arid with very view physical rewards but that one they call oil is a very brilliant consilation. How anything can thrive is a mystery but yet for centuries people have eeked out a living. What does thrive in the region is the religion of Islam. This is Mohammad's land where the world's most rapidly growing religion was born but what also came from this land is some very decent footballers. The nations that make up this western Asian sect are Iraq, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Palestine. In no particular order there they are your Western Asians. As per usual I will start by getting the paper weights out of the way first and work my way up to the juggernauts. The three most lowly ranked out of the grouping of nations are Palestine ranked 175th, Lebanon ranked 151st and Yemen with the god like rank of 141st. Although I hate to talk about politics and football I most certainly cannot ignore it in this article. Palestine has been locked in a constant war over the years with another Middle Eastern state Israel. I need not explain the reason nor do I want to examine it. It is an issue larger than this trival sport called football. This the issue has been reported world over but what I will do is talk about their football. Due to the conflict between the two nations Palestinian football can go nowhere literally. The conflict has become so terrible that a training session is virtually impossible due to Israel's scrutiny. Palestine's players are not allowed to leave the nation because they would have to obtain a special visa, a visa that Israel aren't keen on giving. On top of that they live in a war zone so football has to be the least of concerns for the people of the Middle Eastern state. They are now looking for players of Palestinian roots to fight for the cost. They have no players of note and never made a World Cup appearance. Sadly for Lebanon's Cedars, war is also a key component for their cellar like rank. Lets not kid ourselves the region is troubled. I can say on Lebanon's behalf is that they are a battling little team and they do have one player of note one Youssef Mohamad who plies his trade in Germany with FC Koln but not even he can inspire the Cedars to reach the clouds in which the World Cup sits, no qualification to date for them and their performances in Asian cups are less than average. I have to be honest though I know little to nothing of Yemen as a country or a footballing unit. If you are a country that is not well known you are truly blessed it means you are quiet and reserved but that is what I thought of Yemen before I did research but my views other than on footballing matters are null and void. The Yemenites are not the greatest footballers in the world they are fairly poor actually no World Cup qualification to speak of and bearly a whimper in Asian cups. What I have learned that Yemen is a fairly poor nation not only as Arabian states go but on a whole maybe this is the minus that subtracts from their pluses, a little math for you.Our next trio are Jordan, UAE and Kuwait. Jordan and the UAE are tied at 122nd but that is where the similarities end. Jordan are decent at best and have never qualified for the World Cup and have very little players of note. May be they and the UAE are not hat different. The luxury capital of the world has the most important thing that is money. UAE is filthy with money, a factor I feel will see them shoot up the ranks soon enough. They have a World Cup outing, one of which came in 1990 in Italy. Clearly they have declined but with a money soaked league I expect a renaissance of sorts. The nation of Kuwait too has it riches as well both financialy as well as on the pitch. Kuwait has been to the World Cup which is always a plus and they have been also been crowned champions of the Asian cup once. They have a nice budding league and talented players, their rank can be rectified. Syria, Iraq and Oman are next on the chopping block. The Syrians are ranked at 95th in the world respectable. For nation who never qualified for the World Cup they have a surprisingly lofty rank, they never won an Asian title so I have to commend them on such a nice standing.Like most Arab states most of their players are locally based so they really aren't any players of great note but I'm sure the Syrians would beg to differ. Now to the feel good story of Asian football, the Iraqis. Iraq is ranked 94th in the FIFA census. I am very proud of Iraq, like many nations of this region politics have marred their legacies. Under the regime of the late Saddam Hussein Iraq went through a truly dark period in their history not only in the sport but in life as well. The Iraqi team was literally told they would be tortured if they gave lost, played poorly or failed to win. Their country is a war zone that fact can not be avoided but hope has come for "Asood Al-Rafidain," that would be the Lions of Mesopatamia for us who speak English to translate in Dutch I can not do. In 2007 Asian Cup held on the Malaysian peninsula the Iraqis shocked the world by lifting the the cup leaving perennial powerhouses such as Saudi Arabia and Japan in their wake. Was it a shock?, to the world yes but to this old reptile no. Iraq is a very good team and has been for years. They have been to the World Cup already and they hold many Asian titles such as the WAFF Cup,West Asian Cup and the Gulf Cup, a cup I might add they one thrice, three times for the ignorant. They have talent throughout their ranks the best of the litter being recently signed FC Twente Nashat Akram a playmaker in every since of the word. Here is hoping some brighter sparks for Iraq on a whole. Now to Oman the only country in the world that begins with the letter "O," bit of knowledge spat there. Oman is ranked 78th in the world, very comendable. However I have to question the rank. They never made it to the World Cup and are only runner ups in Asian cups so it does have me question their rank but if it is so high they are doing something right. I do know an Omani player which is really good on my part. Ali Al Habsi is the Omani goalkeeper a tidy one at that and plays in the English Premiership with Bolton Wanderers so they can produce some talent within their borders. I leave the best for last Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. Let me start with Qatar or "Cutter," as I like to call them who are ranked 86th. Yes you are right Oman is ranked higher and are probably stronger but what the Qataris have over most is a super rich league and wonderful grassroots programmes. Have you never heard of the odd European star going to play in the Qatari league the likes of Marcel Desailly, Christophe Duggary, Jay Jay Okocha and most recently Brazilian ace Juninho. This flury of International player adds some substance to Qatari football a wonderful spice to give the locals some flavour. "The Maroon," as they are known are the regions great under achievers. To many near misses have cost them any lenghty spell of glory but I am sure they will get it together. Bahrain their neighbours fair no better in the luck department . Bahrain have never made it to the World Cup but a 2010 birth may be on the cards. If any one in this region can take down the might Saudis Bahrain have to be the favourites. Crowned FIFA's most improved team in 2004 they certainly just don't kick around wildy and has more than justified their 66th FIFA ranking. Who knows maybe in a few decades they may be on par with the "Green Falcons," of Saudi Arabia. On that note you know our favourite color is green so we have to love the Green Falcons. Saudi Arabia are the true kings of the Persia. They are a World Cup stable ranked 61st in the world a rank I think can and should be higher and have a fairly strong team. They are champions from the Asian to the Gulf cup and a number of junior titles as well. They are great they are a testament of what can be achieved if investment is in place and when the public starts to care. They were not always the greatest but they are a decent force now. Their players are mainly home based but no matter so are the Europeans. The greatest Saudi player ever has to be Sami Al Jaber, if you want to know how it feels to be worshipped watch him walk the streets of Riyhad. They are thee team and that is a wonderful feeling the most feared and hated. Hate by opposition is a fantastic achievement it shows you have done all you were meant to do which is make your neighbours feel inferior in every way.
I am gald I did this whole potential hot bed thing. It showed me a side of football I knew but did not focus on to heavily. As far the Middle East states go in football I am pleased to report they do have passion for the game and more investment should be pumped into the region. There are those unfortunate nations however that have more important things on their plate than to be dealing with football a concept I can understand. As I will always state football when you look at it in comparsion with life is a very trival thing. The region is in good stead they love the game but the only problem is will external conflicts be an end of that love.
Reptile
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