Skip to main content

Three MVPs in Asian Cup History Without Winning the Title

Image
By

 


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.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Father and Son Footballers who played for different nations

By
  A number of father-and-son footballers have surprisingly not played for different national teams due to a various number of reasons. Football often runs in the family. Ideally, they all shine and have a chance to play for the same national team. Unfortunately, in some families, it is not always the same. The father sometimes becomes the star while the son barely can match the father’s stardom, or the other way around. Having a father who was also a famous footballer does not always give you an advantage. On the contrary, it can put huge pressure on the son, which eventually has an impact on their form. Such could lead to their failure to earn a cap in his father’s national team. Let alone thrive with them. That is what Luca Zidane experiences. He is the son of Zinedine Zidane, Les Blues' hero in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and EURO 2000. His father was undoubtedly one of the greatest footballers of all time with three FIFA Best awards in hand. On the other hand, Luca has neve...
Post a Comment
Read more

The European Elite Teams’ Banter Era in Modern Football

By
  Each of Europe's elite teams has their own 'banter era' in modern football, during which they failed to win any prestigious titles. The 'Banter Era' is defined as a period in which a football team goes through difficult years without winning a notable top title, such as a league title or a continental top flight championship. In this era, teams consistently underperform, producing disappointing results and campaigns. In Europe, almost all elite sides and the powerhouses in the top five league, have experienced such a ‘dark age’, except perhaps Bayern Munich. Some clubs managed to end it before deteriorating , whereas others had to struggle for years before finally putting an end to their misery. Recently, more than one elite clubs have found themselves in the midst of such an unwanted era. Italian giant, Juventus, French side, Olympique Marseille, the Dutch powerhouse, Ajax Amsterdam and last but not least, the once great side, Manchester United. Among those...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Best Champions League Debutant Teams from European Top Five

By
  Only a small number of debutante sides from the European major league managed to progress to the latter stage in the UCL history. Competing in the Champions League has always been the target for all teams in the continent. Let alone the top sides, which is a definite aim for each and every season. No wonder that it is never easy for the elite clubs in the top major leagues to secure one berth in UCL.  However, such is not impossible. This season, three unlikely teams are making their Champions League debut. Bologna, Stade Brestois, and Girona are set to make one of the biggest steps in their history this week. They have eight games to prove whether they deserve to be in this most prestigious continental tournament.  In UCL history, only three teams have been able to reach further stages in the competition in their first appearance. One of them was even able to progress to the final four. Here are those three notable debutantes in UEFA’s number one club championshi...
Post a Comment
Read more