Parte bene

Era finito nell'occhio del ciclone dopo l'umiliante sconfitta senza appello, 3-0, subita dai rivali del Giappone nell'ultima amichevole giocata fra le due nazionali. Ora, dopo la partenza roboante del girone di qualificazione ai Mondiali del 2014, un secco 6-0 ai danni del Libano, la posizione di Cho Kwang-Rae, tecnico dei Taeguk Warriors, sembra più tranquilla...almeno fino alla prossima partita. Certamente, il Libano non è un banco di prova attendibile. Ma comunque meglio partire con il piede giusto. Cho Kwang-rae ha schierato un 3-4-3 al Goyang Sports Complex con tre europei - il centrocampista del Wolfsburg Koo Ja-cheol, il centrocampista del Valenciennes Nam Tae-hee e l'attaccante del Sunderland Ji Dong-won -  come trio offensivo. Park Chu-young è stato invece utilizzato a centrocampo, da dove è potuto partire per dare supporto all'attacco. La Corea ha giocato bene ed ha mosso bene il pallone. Ora il prossimo test, che sarà più duro: i coreani dovranno infatti affrontare il Kuwait in trasferta, al Peace and Friendship Stadium di Kuwait City. Sotto la guida del serbo Goran Tufegdzic, i Kuwaitiani, reduci dal successo in trasferta contro gli EAU, sono diventati una delle nazionali emergenti del calcio arabo ed hanno in Bader Al Mutwa uno dei migliori attaccanti asiatici.

The day after

UAE 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign started bad after Emirates were beaten 3-2 by Kuwait in Al Ain.  Manager Srecko Katanec's exit talks were dismissed by UAE team manager Ismail Rashid. "I blame the players, they let us down," Al Rumaithi said.  But the performances was the worst possible and the pressure on the Slovenian raised up. The team committed too much errors and the coach was blamed for failing to create a solid defensive play. Also, critics went on Katanec's decision to play with Ahmad Khalil as lone forward and to leave out Ali Mabkhoot e Ahmad Ali. Katanec picked in the second forward, Salem Saleh, only after the Kuwait's second goal and some fans called for manager’s head, as usual in these situations. It's early to ask for the Katanec's dismissions but the Whites might have done better. Katanec's side was trailed by three goals before Ismail Al Hammadi and Ahmed Khalil scored two late goals. As the UAE's manager pointed out, the team didn’t move the ball well and was abused by Kuwait's counterattacks while goalkeeper Majid Nasir avoided a worst score. The attack was nullified by the Kuwaitis back line. Goran Tufegdzic’s side showed to be the strongest gulf football team. Withes wasn't are in good shape with several players missing training past weeks. Ramadan affected the physical condition of the players? Maybe, but it was a problem of Kuwaitis too. The second Group B game with Lebanon, trashed 6-0 by South Korea, is now pivotal: should the UAE fail to return with full points, the continuance of Katanec in charge fo the Whites could be in serious doubt.

UAE vs Kuwait preview

Qualification for the 2014 Fifa World Cup through the Asian Football Confederation, involving 20 teams, are ready to start. For UAE's football fans the focus is on Group B, where the Emirates will face Kuwait, Lebanon and South Korea to claim one of the top two spots, essential to progress to the final qualifying round. South Korea is the clear favourite to win this group: the Kwang-Rae's side is one of the best Asian team, despite recent problems due to injures, with Lee Chung-Yong and Son Heung-Min out, and poor performances, as 3-0 loss to rivals Japan showed. With Lebanon on the other side, as the probable weakest team in the group, UAE wil have to fight against Kuwait for the second place behind Taeguk Warriors. Kuwaitis won the Gulf Cup last season, defeating Saudi Arabia in the final but are coming from a bad 2011 Asian Cup. Srecko Katanec made some experiments recently, lining up young forwards Amer Abdulrahman, 22, and Salem Saleh, 20. To get the result they need, Emirates can also count on 20-year-old Ahmed Khalil, that scored twice in the latest friendly-macth against Qatar, and on veteran Subait Khater. The probable starting XI could be a 4-4-2 formation, with Majed Naser as keeper; Khalid Sabeel, Yousuf Jaber, Walid Abbas and Al Kamali on defense; Ali Al Wehaibi, Al Shehhi, Khater and Al Hammadi in midfield, and Abdulrahman and Khalil up front. UAE's job will be hard: in fact, despite several members of Kuwait's team will not be available, Serbian coach Goran Tufegdzic's side has a lot of weapons in its arsenal, starting from Saudi Arabia Ittihad FC's midfielder Fahad Al Enezi. 

Thoughts on Michale Bradley's pick

USA'midfielder Michael Bradley was formally introducted on Wednesday by his new team, Serie A'side Chievo Verona. "I will try to give pace to the yellow and blue midfield. And keep it compact," he said. Now that his adventure is started, what about the chances of Bob Bradley's son in the Italian soccer higher level? The young American midfielder gained many fans following a standout performance at 2010 World Cup. A lot has happened since those days and latest performances were bad enough to made Michael dealing with the pressure of the USMNT not performing well in the 2011 Gold Cup. Michael received some criticism from American national team fans in recent times: in Italy, he will have to face no more questions about how a head coach's son get more playing time than he deserves. Bradley has been consistent as holding midfielder but often he was judged based not only on his on field performances. Will Michael Bradley fit in at Chievo? The 24-year-old is famous for his attitude, intensity and ferocity that he shows tackling opponents. In the probable Chievo's 4x3x1x2 formation, Bradley can be lined up in all the four midfield's positions, also as attacking midfielder. Italian football had a trend recent seasons to line up former holding midfielder as attacking midfielder. Playing behind the forwards for Chievo, Bradley could use his strength and speed running at defenders and threatening back lines. Chievo is a team that will fight to avoid relegation but has the men to hit it on the nail. They are not been impressive in the transfer window with no major arrivals but the team's core is good enough to allow the squad to be ready quickly. "I know that I am the third American to get here. I realize how will be difficult to impose. I never failed to follow your football. It's competitive, challenging. And I feel really excited to be able to contend with this new reality. " Much time is passed from Alexi Lalas days...after Oguchi Onyewu, now it's time for Bradley to raise up American flag in Italy soccer.

Dunga in Qatar

UAE-Pro League has Diego Maradona as coach of Al Wasl? No problem, now also Qatar Stars League has appointed a star coach. In fact, Doha's side Al Rayyan, seven-time Qatari champions, hired Carlos Dunga as its new head coach. The 47-year-old Brazilian replaces compatriot Paulo Autuori, who changed his position to coach the Qatari Under-23 team. A former holding midfielder for the Brazilian winning side at the 1994 World Cup, Dunga played in Brazil, Italy, Germany and Japan. "His name was recommended by Autuori," a club source said. Dunga is the second former Seleção head coach to work in Qatar: this summer, the country that will host the 2022 World Cup named Sebastiao Lazaroni as national side coach after Serbian Milovan Rajevac was sacked. The 2011-12 QSL season will start next September 14. Dunga will have the goal to reach the title with Al Rayyan that haven't won the league since 1995. With Al Rayyan play four Brazilians: Moisés, Nathan, Afonso Alves and Rodrigo Tabata. Forward Alves has been called up by Dunga when he was in charge of the seleção brasileira. Tabata, coming here on loan last January from Turkish club of Besiktas, helped the team to win the Prince Cup last season. Centre-back Moises also went in Qatar last January, coming from Sporting Braga. Also in the team are Fabio Cesar, a Brazilian born player naturalized Qatari and Korea Republic international Cho Yong-Hyung.

Time for debuts

Australian defender Lucas Neill made his debut for the UAE champions Al Jazira in the International Friendly Football Tournament match against Syria’s Al Ittihad this week. The team was trained by Hugo Broos, new head coach Franky Vercauteren’s assistant. “We want to see the players and analyse their strengths and see how and where they fit into our plan for the season ahead," Broos said. Neill played as centre-back alongside Saleh Basheer. This Sunday, Diego Maradona's team will have his debut as manager of Al Wasl against Ittihad Kalba. Argentine Mariano Donda, Uruguayan Juan Manuel Olivera, and Chilean Edson Puch also will face their debut with Maradona's team. Donda, a former Serie A's player with Bari, likely will be line up as holding midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Puch on the left side and Olivera as forward. On his first press conference, Maradone pointed out that he want young but experienced players that could offer the a good display. All three Sud American players came to UAE with still plenty left in the tank.

Some tactical views on Thai

After the final cut, Winfried Schaefer lead a 23 players roster in the training camp in preparation for the World Cup qualifiers matches against Australia and Oman. Thailand seems a team built to run a 4x4x2 formation. Certainly, Schaefer could make tactical changes for the Australia matches. "The players must be able to play in any formation, whether it is 4-4-2 or 4-5-1, since the situation in either half could be different,” Schaefer once said. By the way the coach admitted that a 4-4-2 may be the best choice for Thailand. And that was against Palestine. Also against Myanmar Schaefer started with Teerasil and Kirati Keawsombut up front, in a 4x4x2 formation but then switched to a 4x3x3 in the second half. Looking back to Palestine match, what we learned? Thailand tried to play high tempo football. On the otuside situations, they searched too much to look to the ball, flattening the back line too much  toward the goal and leaving free the forwards. Team was organized in a 4x4x2 based on the wings play, with insertions from behind by the central midfielders, specially captain Puritat Jarikanon, the real playmaker. But both central midfielders are playmakers and are utilized to change the offensive front. The choice of Puritat Jarikanon in midfield was unexpected due to injuries that prevent him to make the club starting lineup this season. Weak physically, they play on the ground, putting emphasis on short passes more then on the 1 vs 1 situations. It’s a possession football. Try to attack on one side just to change the offensive front if the spaces are closed there. Try to gain the ball immediately after they lost it: in any case, try to play with a very high difensive back line. By the way, they are weak and unbalanced when the first line of pressure was overcomed. Specially on the flanks are weak on the counterattacks. We will see if changes will happen against a more physical opponent like Australia is.