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Players from European clubs have long complained about midweek trips to the extremes of the continent for a Champions League game and then a return home for weekend action but such air miles and hours pale into insignificance compared with those being clocked up by the national teams of Asia.
As the final round of qualification for the 2014 World Cup kicks off, there are three games in nine days for some of the 10 nations still in contention for spots in Brazil. With the Asian Football Confederation spanning over 14,480 kilometers, acclimatization techniques can become just as important as tactics.
Lebanon is the lowest-ranked of the last 10 teams and is struggling to cope with the demands of the first half of June. The Group B outsiders started with a 1-0 loss to Qatar and a 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan at home on June 3 and June 8. Four days later, Lebanon will take on group favorite South Korea just outside Seoul.
“It took an awful amount of hours from Beirut to Seoul,’’ Lebanon coach Theo Bucker said. “We rushed to the airport after the game finished Friday and then flew from Beirut to Doha. There we waited for around four hours and then took the flight from Doha to Seoul, which in itself is 10 hours. In total, it was a trip of almost round 20 hours.”
As well as the smaller distances in Europe, those teams in the Champions League are not always traveling in the economy section of the aircraft but for a relatively cash-strapped national association such as Lebanon, there’s no luxuries.
“We have to sit in economy,’’ Bucker said. “It is not as important for me as I don’t have to play a game and haven’t just played a game but for the players who have, it is very difficult. They are also not getting the right food.’’
Lebanon lost 6-0 in South Korea in the previous round of qualification just nine months ago. Tuesday’s match is expected to be the toughest of its eight matches in the last round of qualifying.
There is one positive for Bucker and his men: Korea was on the same flight from Doha. After a 4-1 victory in Qatar, in temperatures of around 40 Celsius, South Korea quickly returned east ready for the Lebanon test. “Everyone is human and it will affect them, too,’’ Bucker said. (AP)
As the final round of qualification for the 2014 World Cup kicks off, there are three games in nine days for some of the 10 nations still in contention for spots in Brazil. With the Asian Football Confederation spanning over 14,480 kilometers, acclimatization techniques can become just as important as tactics.
Lebanon is the lowest-ranked of the last 10 teams and is struggling to cope with the demands of the first half of June. The Group B outsiders started with a 1-0 loss to Qatar and a 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan at home on June 3 and June 8. Four days later, Lebanon will take on group favorite South Korea just outside Seoul.
“It took an awful amount of hours from Beirut to Seoul,’’ Lebanon coach Theo Bucker said. “We rushed to the airport after the game finished Friday and then flew from Beirut to Doha. There we waited for around four hours and then took the flight from Doha to Seoul, which in itself is 10 hours. In total, it was a trip of almost round 20 hours.”
As well as the smaller distances in Europe, those teams in the Champions League are not always traveling in the economy section of the aircraft but for a relatively cash-strapped national association such as Lebanon, there’s no luxuries.
“We have to sit in economy,’’ Bucker said. “It is not as important for me as I don’t have to play a game and haven’t just played a game but for the players who have, it is very difficult. They are also not getting the right food.’’
Lebanon lost 6-0 in South Korea in the previous round of qualification just nine months ago. Tuesday’s match is expected to be the toughest of its eight matches in the last round of qualifying.
There is one positive for Bucker and his men: Korea was on the same flight from Doha. After a 4-1 victory in Qatar, in temperatures of around 40 Celsius, South Korea quickly returned east ready for the Lebanon test. “Everyone is human and it will affect them, too,’’ Bucker said. (AP)
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Articles by Korea Herald
