Three footballers were named as the best players
in Asian Cup history without even winning the title.
In most competitions, whether at the club level
or on an international stage, the MVPs or best players in the tournament mainly
come from the winning team. However, there have always been some exceptions. In
the FIFA World Cup, Luka Modric and Lionel Messi are the most recent examples.
They were awarded Best Player in the 2018 and 2014 editions, respectively,
although their teams lost in the final.
In the AFC Asian Cup, such exceptions existed
too. Throughout the tournament's history, three players have been named MVP
without lifting the trophy. One of them did not even play in the final, as his
team did not advance to the summit. Nevertheless, their success earned them the
opportunity to play for European clubs. Check out these three extraordinary
figures in Asian football.
Jia Xiuquan (PRC)
He won the Best Player award in the 1984 Asian
Cup. Jia helped China reach their first ever final in the continental
competition and even shared the top scorer award with three goals despite
playing as a centre back at the age of 21 years old. The current China U19
manager also helped his nation finish fourth and third in the following two
editions, 1988 and 1992, before hanging his boots.
Unfortunately, Jia had been unable to play in
the senior World Cup finals as China had a disappointing campaign in the
qualifiers. Nevertheless, he was part of the squad when China qualified for the1983 U20 World Cup and the 1988 Olympic Games.
Such success led him to change his move to
Europe by joining Yugoslavia’s FK Partizan Belgrade. He was one of the few
Chinese footballers to play in Europe and the first Chinese to play in the UEFA
Cup. Jia came off the bench in the match against AS Roma in the 1988–89 season.
The former Chinese women's team boss also contributed well when Partizan won
the Yugoslav Cup in the same season. Overall, he made 34 appearances for the
Balkan side and netted once.
At the latter stage of his career, Jia signed
for J-League side Gamba Osaka in 1992 and played 25 games during the Japanese
professional top flight’s inaugural season. He was notably the first Chinese
player in J-League history.
Kim Joo-Sung (South Korea)
He was one of South Korea's legendary players.
Joo-Sung was awarded MVP in the 1988 Asian Cup, where he bagged two goals after
helping his team reach the final. Sadly, the Taeguk Warriors suffered a defeat
on penalties while taking on Saudi Arabia at the summit.
On the global stage, Joo-Sung made nine
appearances in three World Cup final rounds from 1986 to 1994. The versatile
midfielder played three games each. He was also part of the squad in the 1988
Olympic games, when he helped his team hold the eventual winner, USSR, in the
opener in a goalless draw.
The former Daewoo Royals star had a chance to
play in Europe in 1992 by joining Bundesliga side VfL Bochum on loan. He even
brought them back to the top flight in 1994 after their relegation in his first
season. Overall, the attacking winger, who was often deployed as a sweeper,
made 40 appearances and contributed six goals and one assist during his
two-year spell in Germany.
Khodadad Azizi (Iran)
He was one of the Melli team sensations in the
late 1990s, alongside Ali Daei and Karim Bagheri. They were the key players in
the rise of Iranian football, as they managed to qualify for the 1998 World Cup
after missing out for 20 years.
Azizi was named the Best Player in the 1996
Asian Cup, despite the fact that Iran failed to reach the final. They were
beaten in the shootout after a stalemate in 120 minutes by the eventual
champions, Saudi Arabia. The versatile forward notched two goals in the
competition.
His most notable goals were probably his brace as an equaliser against Australia at the second leg of the World Cup continental playoff in 1997, which helped his country seal the last berth in
France in 1998 through away goal rule. Ironically, those were his last
international goals.
His success in the Asian Cup brought him to
Europe, where he joined FC Koln in the summer of 1997. Despite scoring five
goals and providing three assists in 20 Bundesliga games, Azizi failed to save
his club from relegation in his season debut. The former Persepolis man eventually
plied his trade to the USA in 2000 by joining MLS side San Jose Earthquakes,
where he was named one of the MLS All Stars in the same year.
Azizi is currently one of the technical coaches
for the Iran national team. His managerial career was not impressive at all.
The last club he was in charge of was only the team from Iran's second tier,
Sepidrood Rasht, back in 2018.
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