Monday, March 3, 2008

Football

Serious About Football

Asian countries have long ago learned that to be competitive quickly, one way to do it is to import talent from outside of Asia.

Football is no different, however China, South Korea and Japan have also learned that their players need experience playing regularly in the more competitive European leagues. Below is a list of players currently active in Europe.
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21 year-old soccer prodigy 董方卓 (Dong Fangzhuo) scored 18 goals in 28 games for Antwerp in the Belgian First Division. He is now with Manchester United.

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But before today, Asian clubs have only ever imported coaches from Europe. Currently, more than 20 European players play in The United States or Canada. They are imports intended to raise the level of play across the league. One importan, David Beckham at 33 was brought in to sell tickets as much as anything. Beckham is struggling to persuade England to put him on the squad for his 100th national team appearance in a friendly game against France later this month. Beckham currently plays for DC United.


Chinese Footballers In Europe

Name Team Country Division
Dong Fangzhuo Manchester United FC Flag of England England 1st
Sun Jihai Manchester City FC Flag of England England 1st
Zheng Zhi Charlton Athletic Flag of England England 2nd
Li Tie Sheffield United FC Flag of England England 2nd
Shao Jiayi Energie Cottbus Flag of Germany Germany 1st
Xie Hui SV Wehen Wiesbaden Flag of Germany Germany 2nd
Yu Dabao C.D. Aves Flag of Portugal Portugal 2nd
Yu Hai Vitesse Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands 1st
Shi Jun FC Lucerne Flag of Switzerland Switzerland 1st
Wang Chu FC Metz U17 Flag of France France 1st
Zhang Chiming FC Porto Flag of Portugal Portugal 1st
Zhan Xu Herta BSC U23 Flag of Germany Germany 1st
Wang Juncai F91 Dudelange Flag of Luxembourg Luxembourg 1st
Wang Gang Benfica U19 Flag of Portugal Portugal 1st
Zhang Shichang Belenenses U21 Flag of Portugal Portugal 1st
Guo Xiangwen SC Bettembourg Flag of Luxembourg Luxembourg 3rd
Source: Wikipedia

South Korean Footballers in Europe

Name Team Country Division
Lee Dong-Gook Middlesbrough F.C. Flag of England England 1st
Lee Young-Pyo Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Flag of England England 1st
Park Ji-Sung Manchester United F.C. Flag of England England 1st
Seol Ki-Hyeon Fulham F.C. Flag of England England 1st
Kim Do-Heon West Bromwich Albion F.C. Flag of England England 2nd
Ou Kyoung-Jun FC Metz Flag of France France 1st
Cha Du-Ri TuS Koblenz Flag of Germany Germany 2nd
Kim Byung-Suk Vitória F.C. Flag of Portugal Portugal 1st
Lee Hyung-Sang S.C. Beira-Mar Flag of Portugal Portugal 2nd
Lee Chun-Soo Feyenoord Rotterdam Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands 1st
Oh Bum-Suk FC Krylia Sovetov Samara Flag of Russia Russia 1st
Kim Dong-Jin FC Zenit Saint Petersburg Flag of Russia Russia 1st
Lee Ho FC Zenit Saint Petersburg Flag of Russia Russia 1st


Japanese Footballers in Europe

Name Team Country Div
Kenji Fukuda Las Palmas Flag of Spain Spain 2nd
Masashi Oguro Torino Flag of Italy Italy 1st
Takayuki Morimoto Catania Flag of Italy Italy 1st
Daisuke Matsui Le Mans Flag of France France 1st
Sho Ito Grenoble Flag of France France 2nd
Junichi Inamoto Eintracht Frankfurt Flag of Germany Germany 1st
Makoto Hasebe Wolfsburg Flag of Germany Germany 1st
Shinji Ono Bochum Flag of Germany Germany 1st
Naoya Kikuchi Carl Zeiss Jena Flag of Germany Germany 2nd
Keisuke Honda VVV-Venlo Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands 1st
Shunsuke Nakamura Celtic Flag of Scotland Scotland 1st
Koki Mizuno Celtic Flag of Scotland Scotland 1st
Koji Nakata FC Basel Flag of Switzerland Switzerland 1st
Tsuneyasu Miyamoto Red Bull Salzburg Flag of Austria Austria 1st
Source: Wikipedia


Will Reinaldo Turn Korean Football on its Head?
Dispite the Brazilian soccer player 'Reinaldo' has left Queensland Roar to join Korean K-League franchise Busan on a two-year deal. Aside from Reinaldo, their appear to be no other players of international caliber from outside Asia playing in Asian countries.

Reinaldo, scored 15 goals in 47 A-League appearances for the Roar.

"I have loved my time at Queensland Roar and although I am sad to leave, this opportunity is a good one for me," he said.

So, the real question is, will Reinaldo do for South Korean K-league Football what David Beckham is supposed to be doing for the L.A. Galaxy and U.S. soccer? Or is the young soccer player just going to cash in while he is still young enough to play well?

认真足球

亚洲国家早就据悉,为得到快速提升竞争力,这样做的一个方法就是要引进人才,从亚洲以外的地区。

足球是没有什么不同,但是中国,韩国和日本还了解到,他们的球员需要经验,发挥定期在竞争性更强的欧洲联赛踢球。下面是一份名单的球员,目前活跃于欧洲。
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21岁的足球神童董方卓(董方卓)拿下18个球,在28场比赛安特卫普在比利时的第一部。他现在是曼联。 ---------
不 过,在今天之前,亚洲俱乐部都只有引进教练到欧洲。目前, 20多个欧洲球员发挥,在美国或加拿大。他们进口的,旨在提高比赛水平全国联赛。其中一个重要的是,贝克汉姆在33个被带在出售门票高达什么。贝克汉姆正 竭力说服英格兰向他介绍了国家队,他的第一百次国家队露面是在友好的比赛中法国在本月晚些时候。贝克汉姆目前效力于美国哥伦比亚特区。

尽管巴西足球运动员'雷纳尔多'已经离开昆士兰咆哮加入韩国K联赛的专营权,釜山就一份为期两年的合同。除了雷纳尔多,他们似乎没有其他球员的国际口径,从亚洲以外的发挥,在亚洲国家。

雷纳尔多, 15分,目标在47联赛亮相,为的轰鸣声。

"我爱我的时候,在昆士兰州的轰鸣声,虽然我感到非常难过,休假期间,这个机会是一个很好的一对我而言, "他说。

所以,真正的问题是,将雷纳尔多为韩国K联赛的足球是什么,贝克汉姆应该是这样做,为洛杉矶银河队和美国足球?或者是年轻的足球运动员,只是为了套现,而他还年轻,足以发挥好?

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Lantern Festival


With the end of the Chinese New Year, came the Lantern Festival this past week. For a few short hours Linfen shed its dusty persona, and came aglow with the dazzling colors of handcrafted lanterns, bringing a very festive feel to Gulou Square.





It was not all the traditional red lanterns that hang so majestically almost floating from loosely strung wires.

Numerous animals represented some long standing themes in China, indeed, symbols of Chinese culture and thinking. The Olympics were well represented with several lanterns sporting the Olympic Rings, one in particular was lead by two dragons.

A long held belief in China is that Chinese people descended from Dragons. The dragon represents the solidarity, courage and unbent spirit of the Chinese people, despite the arbitrary or selfish characteristics attributed to dragons in western mythology.1

Off to the left of the dragons were a couple of Giant Pandas munching on bamboo leaves. Thee was a very well made lantern that sported two rabbits, the Chinese zodiac animal for 2011. Hares are often associated with the lunar cycle, as symbols of rebirth, fertility, and longevity. This symbol may have migrated to Europe along the Silk Road and contributed to modern day Easter's rabbit.2


This is of course the year of the rat...I personally feel that calling it the year of the mouse would be a more acceptable idea, but the clever rat is a strong symbol in China. This lantern sported a pair of mice with the long snouts of rats. Like all the animal lanterns, the pair of animals seemed to tell a story of the eternal ideal of live and companionship...kissy, kissy!

China is rightly, very proud of the Olympics which at this writing are 159 Days, 11 hours, 31 minutes and 52 seconds away. This very large lantern was highly photographed but the crowd.

Happy New Year to all you Rats out there!

1 "Is the Dragon a Symbol of China?" Forum from Beijing Review, No.1 Jan 4, 2007.
2 The Symbolism or Rabbits and Hares by Terri Windling, http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/rrRabbits.html, viewed online March 2, 2008.


Korean Flash Cards