The 2011 Asian Cup will wrap up Saturday with Australia facing Japan for the continent’s biggest prize.
It’s an important but overlooked tournament in this part of the world, made more compelling this year by the fact that its hosts, Qatar, beat out the USA in controversial fashion for the rights to host the 2022 World Cup.
Since then, the desert state has been the victim of withering criticism, with allegations of collusion and bribery being lobbed at the hosts from journalists, and undercutting comments about the state’s weather piling on from the halls of FIFA. That has put a spotlight on this year’s Asian Cup as never before, and both Qatar and the AFC know it.
In fact, this year’s Cup has been called a “dry run” for 2022 by no less a luminary than the Asian Federation president, Mohamed bin Hammam.
If he’s correct -- and it’s not apparent that he is -- then Qatar has some things to work on.
Qatar apparently has so much money that sacks of cash are just lying around on the streets. It should come as no shock that the oil-rich state pulled out all the stops for Asian Cup, and it shows.
The facilities and the organization have been world-class, and the Cup’s presentation worldwide rivals that of its better-known neighbors in Europe (note to CONCACAF: your Gold Cup looks even tattier compared to this show).
But while money can tart things up, it cannot paper over the fact that not enough folks have bothered to show up and actually see the games.
Sadly, the empty seats at the Cup have been the big story, overwhelming the feel-good tales of Uzbekistan’s shock semifinals appearance, the overall quality of play and the tense Iran-Iraq showdown that was the highlight of the first round.
The stories on the field have been compelling -- but who has seen them? Under 4,000 people showed up to see two critical quarterfinal games -- that means 90% of the available seats were vacant. And the absence of significant, cable TV coverage in the United States meant that the event was a challenge to see unless you sprung for one of the satellite or pay-per-view packages.
More damaging was the fact that Qataris didn’t show up to see their own team play, leaving a critical quarterfinal match against Kuwait only two-thirds full. This was an image killer for a country that is struggling with the perception that it bought the World Cup as a plaything for its idle rich.
The Australians continue to play their long-ball, counterattacking game and against this level of competition they can also win most of the physical battles. Japan, so often the victim of a last-minute loss, turned the tables on Qatar with a last-minute quarterfinal winner, then had the nerves to take the penalty kick shootout from South Korea despite seeing a 2-1 lead evaporate in the last minute of extra time.
The Asian Cup also had some shocks. The performance of Saudi Arabia was inexplicable, as the nation that once dominated Arabian Gulf football is clearly no longer a major regional force. China's failure to get beyond the group stage again calls into question the development program in that nation.
In contrast, India’s debut at this level suggested that it may only be a matter of time before that nation takes its place as a contender. Bobby Houghton's India were so naive defensively that it was easy to forget that they actually could fashion something on attack. Perhaps the experience of the top level in their region will pay off sooner than expected.
There were historic wins for Jordan and Syria, continuing frustration for Bahrain, which seems to come so close to the breakthrough without getting the final piece just right. And both Iran and Iraq are so good despite years of war and turmoil in their region that you cannot help but think a decade of real peace would boost both of them to the levels that Australia, Japan and South Korea routinely now attain.
The focus probably should be more on the field than the stands, more on 2011 and not 2022. After all, until Qatar was handed that World Cup, nobody would have expected this event to suddenly turn into a box office blockbuster or for the FIFA rankings to be overturned by the results.
It would have been regarded as what it actually is -- a relatively low-key regional championship in a part of the world that is still taking baby steps when compared to the old boys of Europe and South America. The small crowds would not have gained much notice had the Cup not been in Qatar. It’s fair to say that they won’t be when fans don't flock -- and they won't -- to some of the lesser Gold Cup pairings.
As a test run for 2022, well that's also overstating the case. That will be a world-class, big time, every-day's a holiday event for the Middle East with Qatar smack in the middle of it. From what we've seen these past weeks, they can get the job done.
Jamie Trecker is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering the UEFA Champions League and European football.
