Asia ready for kickoff

Asia is ready for one of its biggest sporting events. One month after the successfull Asian games,the continent is prepared for the coronation of its football Kings. Qatar is allset to host the 2011 AFC Asian Cup starting from 7th January. The joy of being selected as the host of 2022 world cup is still continuing in this small Arabian country. To that joy is the Asian cup arriving this winter. And this time to carry out a magic of the everlasting Arabian tales Indian football team is arriving after a gap of 26 years, to a place were millions of Indians had find their luck of life. A place were dreams came true for them. It is the right place to start a new era of Indian football.

After the arrival of Bob Houghton as the manager, Indian team has shown much progress comparing to the last few decades. Two Nehru cup winning and the winning of AFC Challenge cup which qualified the team for Asian cup had made the football fans of the country jubilant. Now they are eagerly waiting to see India at the biggest arena of Asian football. It is the dreams fulfilled for the players now. Baichung Bhutia, who is the face of Indian football for last 15 years is the most experienced player with the side. United States MLS team 'Kansas City Wizards' striker Sunil Chettri, is another attraction. Along with them is the best players of India lined up for the competition. They have being preparing for last one year at various places like Nou camp, Dubai, Portugal,etc., As Houghton said they are ready for a surprise among the giant opponents of 'C' group-Australia,South Korea and Bahrain.

Asian cup this time is aiming to showcase a worldclass performance. All the giants of Asian football are coming for an Arabian triumph. The thrilling performance of the continents teams at the South Africa world cup showed that the worth of Asian football had improved. This Asian cup is a step to many such great achievements. Even it dont have the best players of world football, Asian cup will feature all the best of the continent in Qatar. Manchester United player JS Park of S.Korea is the leading attraction. Along with him World cup star K.Honda,Nakamura(Japan), Tim cahill,Lukas Niel, Mark Schwarzer(Australia),Yazar Al Qatani(Saudi Arabia), Mehdi Mehdavikia(Iran),Last editions most valuable player Younus Mahmoud(Iraq) are the other leading stars of the event. Carrying over the dreams of decades, all 16 teams are well prepared for the battle. It raises the expectation of a close competition for the trophy and an everlasting memory filled tournament like the last edition.

Among the giants Indian team is like the Sindbads fleet in a vast ocean. They have to really show some magic for a good result. They dont carry big dreams like others since the teams standard is very low compared to the giants of Asia. Even diehard fans do not expect a second round. But the presence of the team at the event itself is a big victory. Whatever maybe the result in Qatar, it is a giant step to future. This is a path to bigger dreams for Indian team. After 12 years, when Qatar host the worldcup,India expect their team at event with the support from the millions of Indians there. This is only the first step,to recapture the crown of Asian football and to move to the world stage. Let it be. Come on Indiaa.....................