By Andrew Warshaw
July 16 – Just when Asian football is striving to improve its image and develop the game, Australian coach Holger Osieck (pictured) has attacked Asian clubs for failing to release a number of his players for the East Asian Cup, which starts on Saturday in Seoul.
In remarks reminiscent of Europe’s club-versus-country debate, Osieck says priorities in the region are all wrong.
“The foreign clubs created a lot of problems,” the German said in a statement ahead of the four-nation tournament that also features China, South Korea and Japan.
“I understand the games are not FIFA-protected but there is a gentleman’s agreement between the competing countries that players from the respective leagues should be released to play.
“If you host a tournament like this, for me it’s a no-brainer that players are released.”
Osieck said Japanese club Nagoya Grampus had denied him the use of striker Josh Kennedy, who scored a late goal against Iraq last month to seal Australia’s qualification for the next year’s World Cup in Brazil.
“I had a chat with (Dragan) Stojkovic (Nagoya Grampus’s manager) and he agreed to let him play but right away we got a letter from the club denying the release,” Osieck added. “It’s not a good situation and I don’t accept it.”
Despite Osieck’s comments, none of Australia’s top Europe-based players have been named in the squad, an issue he appears not to have addressed with many of them on lucrative pre-season tours. Instead he has called up 19 players from the domestic A-League and five from Asian clubs.
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