One weekend, three games, Worldwide. All the information.
Weekend is the time for our recap. This time we will say goodbye to the Asian Cup with its grand finale, we will kick start the Brazilian football season and then check the heart beats of a Middle Eastern intense derby game. Are you ready?
(All the hours are in CET local time)
Saturday, 10:00, Australia – Korea Republic (AFC Asian Cup)
After three weeks of an Asian football celebration, the Asian Cup will conclude with its final and two of the major teams of the continent – Australia and Korea Republic. The teams met already in this tournament, it was in the group stage and the Koreans won 1:0.
Australia will try to win their first title since they joined the AFC, while Korea Republic will try to win their third title and the first since 1960. Australia, the host nation, qualified to the final for the 2nd time in a row. In the previous Asian Cup, the Socceroos survived for 109 minutes, until Japanese Tadanari Lee scored the winning goal.
After years of dominance in Oceania, Australia joined the AFC in 2006, and now it seems that they completed their transformation to become part of Asia –Western Sydney Wanderers won last season’s Asian Champion League, and now it's time for the national team to achieve its recognition. Manager Ange Postecoglou leads his players to the final in much style: except for the defeat against the Koreans, they played well and eliminated China in the quarters and UAE in the semis.
The most popular player of the team is veteran Tim Cahill, 35 years old, who scored three goals in this campaign and he is the all-time top scorer of the national team. More experienced players of the Socceroos are Mile Jedinak from Crystal Palace, James Troisi from Zulte Waregem and Mark Bresciano from Al-Gharafa. Australia have also several ambitious youngsters such as Swindon midfielder Massimo Loungo, Zwolla defender Trent Sainsbury and Tomi Juric, striker of Western Sydney Wanderers.
Despite its reputation and the fact that it is one of the most powerful teams in the continent, Korea Republic have failed for years to win the Asia Cup. They won the first two Asian titles in 1956 and 1960, but since then they reached the final three times and lost, last time in 1988.
German manager Ulli Stielike made a tremendous run up until now, with no defeats and the elimination of Uzbekistan and Iraq in the knockout stages.
The two top players of the Korean team are complete opposites. The first is Song Heung-Min, the biggest star of Korean football nowadays, who was part of the Hamburg youth system and now plays for Bayer Leverkusen. The second is Lee Jung-Hyup, who also serves in the Korean army and play for Sangju Sangmu, Korean Army’s representative team in the local league. More players which will draw attention are Cha Du-Ri, the son of the Korean greatest football legend, Cha Bum-Kun, who will try to get the title that his father failed to win, and Swansea player Ki Sung-Yueng, who was the key player of the U-23 team in the London Olympics in 2012, and led them to the bronze medal.
Winning an international trophy is always about honor, glory and history. As both teams want to re-write there own ones, you can’t miss this final.
Sunday, 20:00, Joinville – Avaí (Campeonato Catarinese)
The beginning of February is when the Brazilian season begins. The season in Brazil runs from February to late November, and now it's the first match day of the State leagues. While in European regional leagues the teams are amateur, in Brazil these leagues are composed by the strongest teams in the region. The matches are a mixture between old rivalries and match-ups between big clubs and smaller teams.
This week we will focus on the Campeonato Catarinese, the championship of Santa Catarina state, when two of the biggest teams in the region, Joinville and Avaí will clash.
Joinville’s last campaign was a success, as they finished 2nd place in the state league, but their greatest achievement was the promotion from the second division to the Brasileirão for the first time since 1986. The coach, Hemeson Maria, wants to win his second championship title in Santa Catarina. Ironically, his first time was as the coach of Avaí. The most notable player of Joinville is Jael, ex-Atlético Mineiro and Flamengo, who was the top scorer of the team last year with 12 goals. More major players are Bruno Aguiar, who was part of Santos’ Copa Libertadores winning squad in 2011, Marcelo Costa who played for Palmeiras and Gremio, Rafael Costa, loaned from F.C. Seoul, and Wellington Sachi, last year's best player of the Campeonato Catarinese.
Their rivals, Avaí, come from the city of Florianapolis, a city famous for its beautiful beaches, but Avaí’s players aren’t beach boys. Last year, the team won the promotion to the Brasileirão from the 4th spot after a tough battle in the last matchday. Coach Geninho was appointed for the role last year, and this is the 28th club he manages in Brazil, and the 31st of his career, as he also coached in Portugal and Saudi Arabia.
Avaí have several experienced players, such as Diego, who played for the youth teams of Flamengo, and Uelliton, who played for many years in Vitoria. More players who made a decent career abroad are Eduardo Costa, who played for Bordeaux, Marseille and Monaco, and André Lima, who spent time in Germany and China.
As the Brazilian regional leagues produce big rivalries combined with a Jogo Bonito touch, when two teams with long history of matches meet on the first match of the season, it is going to be worth to watch.
Monday, 19:50, Maccabi Tel Aviv – Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israeli Premier League)
Israel is a country where football is a bit complex. On the one hand, Israel is a UEFA member, and its football is always in a mission to improve, in order to be a legitimate part from the European football.
On the other hand, as a Middle Eastern country, in big matches you can feel the atmosphere at its best in the stadium. The derby of Tel Aviv is one of these big games, when two of the league’s biggest teams meet – Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv.
The last game between the two was suspended during the first half after a huge controversy.
Maccabi’s star player, Eran Zahavi, a 'mythological-ex' of Hapoel after starring there until 2011, scored a goal and celebrated in front of the Hapoel Tel Aviv fans. In response, one of Hapoel fans ran into the field and attacked the player, who responded violently himself. It had finished with Zahavi being sent off and another fan invasion into the pitch a few minutes after. The game was suspended, as a part of a disgraceful display of everyone involved.
Maccabi Tel Aviv is the oldest and most successful team in the history of the Israeli football – 20 championships and 22 cups. After a decade without a championship title, Maccabi Tel Aviv finally won it in 2013, and repeated that feat in 2014. The success of the club is named after two people: Owner Mitch Goldhar, who is part of the top 1000 richest people worldwide, and sports director, Jordi Cruyff, the former Manchester United and Barcelona player and the son of the legendary Johan Cruyff. The current coach is Spaniard Paco Ayestaran, who was an assistant for Rafa Benitez in Valencia and Liverpool. As mentioned, Eran Zahavi is the star and the top scorer of the team with 18 goals in 15 matches and has a short European experience after a spell in Palermo, Italy. Alongside him are Eden Ben Basat, who previously played in the French league; Home-grown captain, Sheran Yeini, and flamboyant forward Tal Ben Haim, who also played for Hapoel Tel Aviv. Pay attention also to Carlos Garcia, who played 7 seasons in Almeria before his adventure in Israel.
While Maccabi Tel Aviv celebrates its shiny revival, Hapoel Tel Aviv is stuck in thoughts of their glamorous past and current huge debts. 13 championships, 16 cups, UEFA Cup quarterfinals, victories over Chelsea, Milan and PSG, all seem far away now for the red club of Tel Aviv.
Hapoel Tel Aviv is facing a financial crisis in the past few season as a result of some bad management. The results of it are definitely showing on the pitch. After a run of bad results, last week they fired both their coach, Asi Domb, and their technical director, Eyal Berkovic, Israeli football legend, who played for Southampton, West Ham and Celtic.
The new coach is Eli Cohen, an experienced figure in the local scene, nicknamed "The Sheriff". Despite their financial situation, Hapoel Tel Aviv has a few interesting players. Goalkeeper Apoula Edel, who played for PSG and lately won the first ISL title with Atlético de Kolkata; Dudu Biton, who came on loan from Standard Liège and captain Gil Vermouth, one of the Israeli national team attacking midfielders, who played in Belgium, Germany and Netherlands.
Tel Aviv is on fire before every derby game. While everybody keeps in mind what occurred last time those two arch-rivals met, this date is going to be extra hot.