Asian Cup
Congratulations to Qatar which has won the Asian Cup, defeating Japan 1-3 in the Final, exceeding their former ambition of making the semi-finals of this tournament. No doubt, the ambitious and deep-pocketed Qatari's will have the 2022 World Cup in their sights also.
As Paul Williams wrote in our preview of the competition:
Qatar is a team built for the now and the future. The nucleus of this team has been developed from the underage level through to the senior national team, all under the guidance of Spaniard Felix Sanchez, who is now in charge of the senior team. Coming off an impressive series of results in Europe against Switzerland (win) and Iceland (draw), the Qataris will be full of confidence that they can go further than they’ve ever been before.
Almoez Ali was the leading goalscorer of the competition, adding to his tally for the tournament now holding the record for the most goals scored in the Asian Cup with nine tournament goals. Other goalscorers for Qatar were Abdelaziz Hatim and Akram Hassan Afif. Japan's goal came via a penalty from Takumi Minamino.
Our featured picture is an interesting one in light of the current blockade by some Middle Eastern countries against Qatar. Emirates Airline flight attendants with the Qatar team and the Bahraini president of the AFC whose nation is not only a member of the blockade countries, but has requested the extradition of Hakeem Al-Araibi.
Alen Stajcic
Ray Gatt has a report of “an insider with a deep understanding” of the women's football who claims that Alen Stajcic's sacking was “not about him as a coach but about a group of power-hungry women with a long-held hatred of him”. The source said people were aware of Stajcic's sacking 24 hours before he did. “For information like that to get around, you have to wonder how long it was out there. It also makes you wonder about the whole process.” The person says Gary van Egmond's job “is also on the line”, but the Matildas told FFA at the workshop on 21-22 January that if Stajcic could not be reinstated they wanted all existing staff to remain. The insider says they never heard “any talk of a poor culture” but that some parents were part of the problem.
Gatt points out that earlier in the week, FFA Chairman Chris Nikou said that “the Matildas understood the reasons behind the decision”, although some Matildas players are said to disagree with the Chairman's view.
A-League
With the new leagues’ working group membership set (see yesterday), former Adelaide United Chairman and now General Counsel of APFCA, Greg Griffin, says this is a “Neil Armstrong moment” for the game ('one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind'). He says the English Premier League is a good model to start with. He says the aim is to get an independent A-League while also “protecting and growing the grassroots and the operations of FFA”.
Western Sydney Wanderers, 1 v Newcastle Jets, 5
Could it get any worse for Western Sydney Wanderers? Their loss to Newcastle Jets last night is described as a “humiliating new low” ($), a “merciful release” once the final whistle blew, and “their most dire performance” of this season.
Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix
Tony Popovic says Wellington Phoenix's revival, engineered by Mark Rudan, is refreshing and good to see, but he is confident Perth “will come up trumps” in their match tonight.
Adelaide United
Marco Kurz is impressed with his new recruit, Jordy Thomassen, who is a recommendation from the Chairman, Piet van der Pol. Thomassen is unlikely to get a start in tonight's match against Brisbane Roar.
Melbourne City
Melbourne City has “two of the best ever strikers” ($) in the A-League on their books, Bruno Fornaroli and Jamie Maclaren, but they are unlikely ever to play together. Fornaroli will continue to train with Melbourne City but manager Warren Joyce is “adamant” he won't play with the club again and that “Jamie is very committed to the cause”.
Maclaren made Melbourne City “sweat” according to David Davutovic, but he may well be the key to greater success for the club which is focussed on reaching the Asian Champions League. Davutovic notes that Maclaren is “a classic poacher” who should enjoy “City's unpredictable attacking forays”.
Maclaren has signed a 3.5 year deal with the club, and is expected to be available for his first match with them next weekend against Adelaide City. The signing almost didn't take place because of issues to do with Hibernian (where Maclaren plays) and Darmstadt (his home club), but City's football director, Michael Petrillo, found a loophole which allowed it to proceed.
Maclaren may be joined by another striker, 21-year-old Shayon Harrison, on loan from Tottenham. Michael Lynch reports that Harrison is “a left-sided striker who has come through the highly regarded Tottenham academy”.
Sydney FC
New signing, Reza Ghoochannejhad, ($) may get a run in tomorrow's game against Melbourne City and says he is keen to “play his heart out” for his new club.
Most of us probably don't realise it but Ghoochannejhad is “the most popular player” in the competition with 1.3 million followers on Instagram alone, which is more than Keisuke Honda, Ola Toivonen, Adam Le Fondre, Siem de Jong, Steven Taylor and Oriol Riera together. What a metric! He is as popular outside of Iran, via the Iranian and Persian diaspora, as he is domestically.
W-League
Adelaide United, 1 v Brisbane Roar, 0
A massive upset in Adelaide with the home team defeating equal leaders Brisbane Roar, which meant Melbourne Victory could clinch the title with a win in the later game.
Perth Glory, 1 v Melbourne Victory, 2
Melbourne Victory have claimed their first Westfield W-League Premiership following their 1-2 win over Perth Glory last night in Perth, with two first-half goals to Christine Nairn and Emily Gielnik. Sam Kerr pulled one back for the hosts, and Perth had opportunities to equalise but the Melbourne defence held firm. Melbourne Victory has one more match to play – v Canberra United on Tuesday. They will be presented with the Premiers' Plate at that match.