Regrets is something I don’t do I’m the type that let things play out. The denouement of my life will
read that I was a man that stood by his own convictions and who decided to fall on his own sword. An old friend of mine told me a long time ago that if I ever decide to write online it shouldn't be just about soccer and to add other facets so I don’t become one dimensional. I agreed for a little while but quickly rubbished it because simply, nothing appeals to my soul more than slipping thoughts onto a page about soccer. He was right! I could had conquered the world a lot sooner. Believe it or not I actually have more things to say besides discussing the woes of Andalusian outfit Xerez who make their living in one of the lower regional leagues of Spain. I meet a ton of wonderful people every week and my life experiences are so varied sometimes I feel the need to share it. For example a few months ago I think I met the smartest man I have ever met in my life. I won’t say his name because I believe brilliance like his has to be sought out and not revealed. Well...we spoke for a bit while we were traveling together and he was spewing his thoughts to me which was a treat but with all conversations my turn had come and I told him I wanted to be a soccer writer. He said you must right a lot! My honesty got the best of me and I said not as often as I should. “I had a roommate that was a writer, he writes everyday until his hand cramps up and is sick of it...but when you read his work it is really good. You have to write and read everyday that’s the only way you make it.” He said. Here is a man I only had a working relationship for no more than two days and his words had more impact on my mind than people I’ve known my whole life. My soccer blog can’t highlight my life but know I will drop some gems along the way. I will though leave this kind of talk for my memoirs. A collection I will compile when I retire in my native Barbados somewhere on empty beach. Right now it’s soccer time and I’m bringing back an old underutilized favorite of mine the “Eye On Asia,” series. So let me hop into that.
The last “Eye On Asia,” post was on Monday March 26th 2012. That was a crunching three and a half years ago and that's just not going to cut it. In fact this post that you're happening to skim over right now was planned like two years ago. The player that is the focus of this piece has since move to another club. Embarrassing! I know trust me I know but we are here to rectify. If you aren’t aware this series looks to highlight the players, the leagues and rumors emitting out of Asia. This edition I will be raving about South Korean hybrid forward Heung Min-Son. A rave that is long over do like as I mentioned before. Son makes his living in the German Bundesliga a league that that is very hospitable to Asian players. At the moment he is one out of 21 players from the Asian Federation working in the German top flight. Players coming from Asia have been ultra successful while playing in Germany a fact that I find a little odd. I don't if it's the culture in Germany or the mindset of Asian players but there seems to a real level of comfort when it comes to the scenario on both ends. I urge anyone to watch a documentary or scan over the multiple articles on why Asian players flock and thrive on the German soccer scene. I think Son is not only the best Asian player in the Bundesliga he is to me the best Asian player in the world. Never has there been an Asian player ever considered to be the best player in the world overall and I won’t say the 23-year-old forward is even close to that but he is a tidy footballer. The fading star of Japan’s Keisuke Honda and the inconsistency of his countryman Shinji Kagawa has open the door for the young Korean to take up the idea of being the best player from Asia.
The fact of the matter is his current club Bayern Leverkusen has and his former club Hamburg SV had the best player from Asia for what is now the past three years. Evidence of this is his Asian Player of the Year award he snapped up in the 2014-15 campaign. As much as I have been watching Son over the years I couldn’t put a finger on who he reminds me of. It’s a weird combination I’ve pegged him to. In full flow he reminds me of Pedro the Spanish international. The way he cuts inside and the close the little touches he uses the manipulate the ball reminds me of the once Barcelona man. When he strikes the ball he has a quick snapshot sort of like Ronaldo and Bale. The ball leaves his foot so quick while in stride the opposition just can’t react. He isn’t of the calibre of those players but this young man is special. Hamburg couldn’t hold onto him and if he has another stellar season in a Bayer 04 shirt I will bet they won’t be able to keep grasp of him either. The energy he posses is a typical trait of players from Asia but his ball control sets him apart from the rest in the region. Him and Shinji Kagawa definitely are the point guards of the AFC. They handle the ball with such dexterity it’s unsettling. I get uneasy when I see Son and Kagawa on the ball just because it seems surreal.
It’s not like Heung Min-Son is a mystery at this point I should had hopped on this article years ago. Hence why this article is a little short on the footballing side. Ironically as I write this I checked my Twitter and saw Tottenham Hotspur just tabled an 18 million bid for the Korean. I couldn’t even make this up! The week I decided to put this article to rest something comes about to debunk my findings. Let this be a lesson to all.Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today. In my case don’t put off till three and a half years.
If you haven't been hiding in a cave or just don't care you probably know who Jeremy Lin is. If you are on this site you probably do but if your a passerby let me give you the low down on Mr. Lin. He is an Asian American of Taiwanese ilk. He went to Harvard, made it to the NBA floated around the D-League for a little while before he got scooped up by the New York Knicks. Knicks had a few injuries here and there and Lin gets thrown into the deep end. Long story short after his baptism in the NBA the New York Knicks find that they have a real gem on their hands, some one with immense potential and a real world wide star appeal. So, what does this have to do about soccer? Jeremy Lin is a superstar not only in the United States but also in China and his native Taiwan. I dear anyone to name a Chinese soccer player of any pedigree. I would go as far as ask the average Chinaman on the street to name me any of their blossoming soccer players and I think they would be hard press to do so. We all remember Yao Ming the 7 ft Centre that dominated the paint for the Houston Rockets. He was idolized, iconize and all types of prestigious tags were donned on him. Simply because he was good. In contrast Yi Jianlian another Chinese export to basketball isn't a great player but is still loved in China. So all it really takes is for a Chinese star to make it to the biggest stage for the billions in China to fall in love.That is the problem with Chinese soccer there isn't anyone of real class and has that superstar appeal for the Chinese people to venerate. Japan and South Korea has held the FIFA World Cup in the past and for the most part their respective leagues have enough quality in them to give the world of soccer mainly western Europe some very tactful players. These two have superstars that their peoples can cling to. Park Ji Sung of Manchester United is pretty much a demigod in South Korea. Likewise Japan's Hidetoshi Nakata in his day. These superstars that found themselves to the highest level being Europe were able to take their experiences and nurture their national sides, the result being South Koreans and the Japanese enjoy their lofty FIFA rankings and the title of regional favorites. Even North Korea has been producing the odd player that makes it to Europe and are frequents at World Cups but where is China? Where are her players? The fact is they hardly have ever produced a type of player that is attractive enough to ply trade in the wildes of Europe. There was Manchester City's Sun Ji Hai and he did do well but since then China has rarely put out a household name. Sun was one to begin with in fact talent wise he was very average. Soccer heads find it hard to drum up one or two Chinese players and the for those who rarely bat an eye to the sport they would not even know what to say. It seems like a lot of belly aching from my end but there has been some movement and the heads of the Chinese game are doing all their can to get their boys and girls out there. Case and point Brazilian powerhouse Chorintians in an odd move signed Chinese midfield man Chen Zhizhao on a two year loan deal. Some say it's a PR stunt and I myself am a bit perplexed by it but good for the young man who will if he takes in the tactics and soccer know how from the Brazilians will no doubt serve China well. Long Tan is a promising young forward who is in the MLS. Now, if the league doesn't ferry him around like they like to do in American sports style trade offs and allow him to settle and give him some game time he has an outside chance of doing something for his country both sporting wise and maybe as a culture icon. To sum up China's fascination with stars I leave you with this story. Two days into Jeremy Lin's whirlwind NBA dream I asked one of my Chinese friends. Do you know who Jeremy Lin is? He said. "I don't know who he is. Who is he?" I said he is a Taiwanese American who is helping the New York Knicks win a few ball games. His reply was, in the best English he could muster. "I'm sorry I don't watch basketball." A few weeks passed and I saw him again and he tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and there he is a kid who just moved from China 2 years ago and he has on a Jeremy Lin Knicks jersey and he says to me. "I know who Jeremy Lin is now." Maybe China needs all her athletes to reach a cosmic level before her people could start caring and in that case it will take a while for soccer to have it's day in the sun over in the east.
New segment!, really excited I finally had my dream come through. Finally a player out of China that is worth mention. Ladies and gentlemen may I introduce you to Long Tan of Liaoning province. This maybe the shortest post I ever made but I couldn't keep my excitement contained. I am one of those people who often poke fun at China for not yielding at least one decent footballer. Out of their billion they couldn't field 11 men of any great worth, skill or who could even kick the ball straight. It is too soon for me to detract these comments but Long Tan is a start for me and maybe I will jump on the Chinese bandwagon in a little while but for now I'm not ready to. I won't sit here and act like I am a premier on Chinese soccer, I fair somewhat better when it comes to the Korean and Japanese games but in Long Tan I see something very promising and I'm sure China has very useful players and maybe they are better than Long. As for right now in my mind I think Long Tan is the most hopeful candidate that the state has to offer. With all my verve for the guy I have to keep it in perspective. At the moment he is playing in Major League Soccer. For now he isn't a starter and also he hasn't to date have a Chinese cap to his name and to make matters worse their is a fellow called Gao Lin who is the premier frontman for "The Great Wall," as they are so affectionately known. There is another youngster named Zhang Chengdong who plies his trade in Portugal at the moment for Beira-Mar so he obviously has some talents that brought him to Europe. The good thing about Long Tan is that he is in North America, it isn't the most lucrative market when you compare it to South America and Europe but it does get the odd glance from the guys in Europe, ask Clint Demspsey and Sacha Kjlestan what those looks from the Old World did for them and they will tell you. Long story short no pun intended. I like Long Tan. Good dribbling skills and has some aerial ability about him and who knows he could be a North American superstar and may one day feature for China.
Regrets is something I don’t do I’m the type that let things play out. The denouement of my life will
