Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation has announced the first ten Asian players to be inducted into its Hall of Fame.
Aimed at recognising Asia’s finest stars, the initial Hall of Fame inductee list includes the likes of Iranian legends Homayoun Bhezadi and Ali Daei, while there also places for the Japanese duo of Yasuhiko Okudera and Homare Sawa as well as Saudi Arabia star Sami Al Jaber.
The AFC has also recognised Malaysia’s Dato’ Soh Chin Aun, Sun Wen from China, Korea Republic’s Hong Myung-bo, Baichung Bhutia from India and Australia’s Harry Kewell.
Full list of AFC Hall of Fame Inductees
Homayoun Behzadi (Iran)
Dato’ Soh Chin Aun (Malaysia)
Yasuhiko Okudera (Japan)
Sun Wen (China)
Hong Myung-bo (Korea Republic)
Ali Daei (Iran)
Sami Al Jaber (Saudi Arabia)
Baichung Bhutia (India)
Harry Kewell (Australia)
Homare Sawa (Japan)
AFC Hall of Fame Inductee Profiles
Homayoun Behzadi: The leading goalscorer at the 1968 AFC Asian Cup, Khorramabad-born Behzadi enjoyed a glittering career with Team Melli as well as with Tehran giants Persepolis.
His lethal finishing made him one of the greatest football stars Asia has ever produced, and he belonged to the famed generation of Iranian football which won back-to-back Asian Cups in 1968, 1972 and 1976. Indeed, it was the 1968 Asian Cup, held in Iran, where he got the opportunity to truly showcase his talent by scoring four goals – including the winner in the final – as Iran were crowned champions.
Prior to the 1968 continental gathering, he played a key role in Iran’s silver medal win at the 1966 Asian Games in Thailand. His influence as a player and, after retiring in 1975, as a coach, has also seen him inducted into Persepolis’ Hall of Fame.
Dato’ Soh Chin Aun: One of the members of the golden generation of Malaysian football during the 70s and early 80s, Dato’ Soh was nicknamed The Towkay (Boss) as he was renowned for his vocal presence at the heart of the Malaysia defence alongside fellow defender Santokh Singh.
Even at a tender age, Dato’ Soh was a promising footballer, so much so that he was the youngest member of the Malaysian national team which played an Olympic qualifying match against Korea Republic in 1971. He appeared at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games and later captained Malaysia during the qualifiers for the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
A native of Melaka, Dato’ Soh enjoyed a successful two-decade career as a footballer and he then continued to serve the game he loves in different capacities. He represented Selangor FA at club level from 1970 to 1980 before moving to Melaka FA for the rest of his career.
Yasuhiko Okudera: A Japanese player plying their trade in Europe is a common phenomenon these days, but when Okudera made his first-team debut for the then powerful Cologne in October 1977, he made history by becoming the first Japanese star to feature in Europe. Okudera’s contribution was highly significant as he helped Cologne to clinch a Cup double in the first twelve months of a three-year stint at the club.
The adventure continued when he enjoyed one season with struggling Hertha Berlin and five successful years with Werder Bremen under Euro 2004 winning coach Otto Rehhagel. Okudera made 32 appearances for the Samurai Blue and notched nine goals for his country, seven of which came in 1976. He also won the Asian Club Championship with Furukawa Electrics in 1986.
Sun Wen: An impressive 152 caps and 106 goals for the Chinese national team reveals everything you need to know about Sun who, during an eye-catching 17-year career, was an ever-present for her country.
She was at her peak when China were moments away from securing the 1999 World Cup in the USA, only to suffer a 5-4 penalty shootout defeat at the hands of the hosts. Despite the loss for Sun and her team, the tournament had clearly produced a new star in the world of women’s football. She shared the competition’s Golden Boot and won the Golden Ball. Because of her heroics at the 1999 World Cup as well as at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 where China clinched silver medal, FIFA named her as the FIFA Female Player of the Century.
Apart from captaining the Chinese national team, she also skippered Atlanta Beat of the Women’s United Soccer Association. In addition, she famously helped China win the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997.
Hong Myung-bo: The first Asian player to play in four consecutive World Cups, Hong has been described as one of Asia’s finest ever defenders.
Hong captained the Korea Republic national team at the 2002 World Cup where he converted a penalty in his country’s penalty shootout win against Spain in the quarter-final as Korea Republic became the first Asian team to reach in the last four of a World Cup. The FIFA Technical Group rated Hong as the tournament’s third best player.
However, Hong’s most notable performance in his glittering career came, arguably, during a group stage draw against Spain at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. He scored one and assisted the equaliser when the Koreans were trailing 2-0 with just five minutes remaining.
The captain fantastic decided to take retire as a footballer after the 2002 World Cup during which he won his 136th cap for the national team.
Ali Daei: The 1999 AFC Player of the Year won a record 149 caps for Iran and was feared for his goalscoring prowess throughout his career.
The much-travelled Ardebil-born striker proved his worth wherever he went in his almost two-decade long career as he played for Persepolis, Al Sadd, Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich, Hertha Berlin, Al Shabab, Saba Battery and Saipa.
The four million deutchsmark transfer fee German giants Bayern paid to Bielefeld in 1997 was a record for an Asian player at that time. Daei ended his club career in Saipa where he bowed out by scoring a goal in his last match before announcing his retirement. Daei was arguably at his best in 1996 where he scored four goals against Korea Republic in an AFC Asian Cup match in the UAE where Iran finished third. He etched his name in the IFFHS record book by scoring 22 times in a calendar year in 1996.
The legendary Iranian scored four goals against Laos in a World Cup qualifier match in 2004 to become the first male player in the world to surpass the 100 goal mark.
Sami Al Jaber: One of Saudi Arabia’s most decorated footballers, Sami Al Jabar has won almost everything there is to win at the continental level.
The legendary Al Hilal player had a successful 20-year career with the Riyadh-based club during which he won the Asian Club Championship in 1991 and 2000 as well as the 1997 and 2002 Asian Cup Winners’ Cup and the Asian Super Cup in 1997 and 2000.
Al Jaber is also a seven-time Saudi Pro League winner and has numerous Saudi King’s Cup, Crown Prince Cup and Saudi Federation Cup titles to his name.
With the national team, he appeared in four World Cups in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006, managing to score on three different occasions. He also has an AFC Asian Cup 1996 winners’ medal in his trophy cabinet, and was part of the Saudi Arabia side that finished as runners-up at the FIFA Confederation Cup in 1992. Al Jaber has also won the Gulf Cup of Nations on two occasions.
Baichung Bhutia: Indian sports online portal Rediff Sports once wrote, ‘Baichung Bhutia is God’s gift to Indian football.’ The remark sums up Bhutia’s influence as a footballer in the cricket-mad nation.
In his decade-long career, the former India captain played more than 100 international matches and captained India at the AFC Asian Cup in 2011 when the country was returning to the prestigious continental tournament after a gap of 27 years. He was inspirational during the AFC Challenge Cup 2008 which served as an Asian Cup qualifier as hosts India defeated Tajikistan 4-1 to book a place in the tournament proper in Doha 2011. Bhutia scored three goals including one in the final.
He played for several Indian clubs as well as sides in Malaysia and England. There is a stadium in Bhutia’s birthplace of Sikkim which has been named after him.
Harry Kewell: Voted Australia’s greatest ever player in his position, Kewell is regarded as one of Australia’s finest football exports to Europe thanks to a successful career with England’s Leeds United and Liverpool as well as Turkey’s Galatasaray.
He burst onto the international football scene during the 1999-2000 season which saw Leeds finish third in the Premier League. He duly won the PFA Young Player of the Year award. The next season Leeds reached the UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Kewell subsequently became one of the few Asians to win the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool in 2005. He also won an FA Cup title in 2006 with Liverpool. The flying Australian left Liverpool in 2008 and had another four seasons in Europe with Turkish giants Galatasaray. He subsequently moved back to Asia and played for Melbourne Victory, Al Gharafa and Melbourne Heart before announcing his retirement in March 2014.
For the national team Kewell appeared 56 times and scored 17 goals, three of which came during the AFC Asian Cup 2011 at which Australia finished as runners-up.
Homare Sawa: A captain, who led Japan to a famous FIFA Women’s World Cup triumph back in 2011, Sawa was also instrumental in Japan’s silver medal at the London Olympics 2012.
Her potential was spotted at an early age, as she started her career in the L.League when only 12. The globe-trotting female footballer also played from Denver Diamonds, Atlanta Beat, NTV Beleza, Washington Freedom and INAC Kobe Leonessa. The 36-year old has an impressive 196 caps for Nadeshiko Japan to her name.
Apart from domestic honours aplenty, she is a two-time winner of the AFC Women’s Player of the Year award (2004 and 2008). She also won the FIFA Ballon d’Or in 2011 in the same year she lifted the World Cup during which she also collected the Golden Shoe and Golden Ball. She was also a member of Japan’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2014 winning team in Vietnam.