Tuesday 21 August 2012, 11:38
Much like the broken record heard in the United States for the past four decades, big-name imports mean the Chinese league is being hotly tipped to be the next force in world football. On a recent radio...
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Friday 18 November 2011, 11:40
The concluding three weeks of this year’s J-League season go a long way to help demonstrate just how peculiar a year it has been for Japan’s top flight. A few surprises have arisen in the form of a potential...
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Tuesday 09 August 2011, 16:48
One hundred years ago, Bengal played host to a football match between Mohun Bagan and the East Yorkshire Regiment. The game was for the IFA Shield – the world's fourth-oldest cup competition – and...
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Wednesday 13 July 2011, 11:14
Roving writer Stefan Bienkowski peeks behind the bamboo curtain to see if a potential sleeping giant is waking up... Has there been a more contrasting story than that of modern China and its struggling...
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Tuesday 15 March 2011, 11:21
Like Martin Luther King, Tsakhia Elbegdori has a dream. The Mongolian president's dream is both more prosaic than King's and as outlandish. He would like his country - the 19th largest in the world...
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Thursday 11 November 2010, 17:41
It might seem unrealistic but the fuel-rich emirate has reasons to be optimistic, says Matthias Krug A team combining the creative impulses of Zinedine Zidane, the tactical nous of Pep Guardiola, the attacking...
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Sunday 26 April 2009, 12:00
He is an interesting character. Not long ago he was described thusly: An Iranian leaving America, flying to Hong Kong on British Airways working for the Korean National team under a Dutch coach. The man...
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Sunday 19 April 2009, 10:00
You know it's serious when Sepp Blatter gets involved to protect the interests of fair play and the integrity of football. Who would have imagined that there would be so much fuss over a seat on FIFA's...
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Sunday 12 April 2009, 10:00
It was, so the Chinese media were saying, the Asian equivalent of the recent Italy vs England Champions League last 16 series. In the space of roughly 24 hours, four Chinese teams did battle with four...
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Thursday 02 April 2009, 12:00
In South Korea on the afternoon of April 1, there were a few April Fool’s jokes making the rounds. Among the "Hiddink to return" reports was the story that because of the recent tensions between...
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Thursday 26 March 2009, 15:00
They love to beat each other, do Iran and Saudi Arabia. It is a bitter rivalry and will reach new heights when they meet in a crucial 2010 World Cup qualifier in Tehran on Saturday. The two are genuine...
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Thursday 19 March 2009, 15:00
As journeys go, it’s faster and smoother than the Piccadilly line from Heathrow to central London but not quite as convenient. The celebrated Maglev train may take you from Shanghai’s Pudong airport at...
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Thursday 12 March 2009, 14:00
Every Premier League executive worth his salt knows that India is the new China. Opinions differ as to exactly when football will explode on the sub-continent, but most expect the clock to stop ticking...
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