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Time of India
a day ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Liverpool stars Fowler, Kewell apply for India coach job
Former Liverpool star Robbie Fowler was head coach of East Bengal as the club made its ISL debut in 2020 Panaji: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has received 170 applications for the national team coach job, significantly lower than the 291 who applied for the same position it advertised last year. The AIFF invited applications on July 4 after accepting Manolo Marquez's resignation at its executive committee meeting on July 2. According to sources, there was a flurry of applications during the first three days, but when AIFF started compiling the list a week later, there weren't too many big names who had applied for the position. 'Last year there was massive interest in the job, many of them (current) national team coaches and those who had managed teams at the FIFA World Cup,' a senior official told TOI on Monday. 'This time around, there's also interest from across the world, but not as many high-profile candidates.' The AIFF has not revealed the list of applicants, but those in the know confirmed several names who have shown interest. These include former Liverpool stars Robbie Fowler and Harry Kewell, former Brazil U-17 coach Caio Zanardie and former Barcelona reserves manager Jordi Vinyals, who spent the last three years at Chinese Super League side Zhejiang Professional. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Brothers showcase turmeric and its golden status in Macanese cuisine MGTO Undo Peter Segrt, former coach of Tajikistan, Maldives, and Afghanistan, Roel Coumans, part of the Australia coaching staff at the 2018 World Cup, and Mauritania coach Aritz Lopez Garai have also knocked on AIFF's doors. Among the more familiar names, there's Stephen Constantine, who has managed more matches (73) than any other coach during his two stints with the national team. The English coach, last seen in India with East Bengal in 2022-23, has won four trophies with the national team: LG Cup (2002), SAFF Cup (2015), Tri Nation Series (2017) and Inter-Continental Cup (2018). Should the AIFF choose to look at higher-profile coaches working in India, they have options in two Indian Super League (ISL) champions in Spaniards Antonio Lopez Habas and Sergio Lobera, both among the more successful coaches in the top tier of Indian football. Staikos Vergetis, I-League winner with Punjab FC, has thrown his hat in the ring, while former Mohammedan Sporting coach Andrey Chernyshov has told the AIFF that he is 'happy to welcome local specialists among his coaching staff, confident in their high professionalism and discipline.' Among the home-grown coaches, Khalid Jamil, Sanjoy Sen and Santosh Kashyap top the list. The AIFF will now go through the applications and prepare a long list. The new coach will have to take over the national team and boost its chances of making it to the AFC Asian Cup 2027. India's hopes of qualifying for the continental showpiece took a major blow after a solitary goal loss against Hong Kong in the final round of qualifiers last month, which left them at the bottom of the group. With four games left to be played and only the group toppers making it to Saudi Arabia, India must win all remaining matches (two against Singapore and one each against Bangladesh and Hong Kong) to have the best chance of qualification, ahead of Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangladesh.
Perth Now
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Behind the soccer manager helping Albo
Anthony Albanese made a calculated diplomatic move when he took a walk along Shanghai's waterfront with a former Socceroo. Kevin Muscat has become something of a celebrity in the coastal Chinese city since January 2024 when he became the manager of Shanghai Port FC. In his first year at the helm, Muscat brought the club its first back-to-back title in the Chinese Super League after Shanghai Port won in 2023 under Javier Pereira. The club is fourth on the table after 16 games in 2025. On Sunday, the Prime Minister made clear what Muscat's success meant for Australia's diplomatic efforts with the global superpower when he called the manager and his team 'ambassadors'. Anthony Albanese walked The Bund waterfront in Shanghai with Kevin Muscat. NewsWire / Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer Credit: News Corp Australia 'It's great to be here with Kevin Muscat, now the manager here of Shanghai Port FC and, indeed, the premiership-winning manager here,' Mr Albanese said. 'One of the things about Australia and China going forward is that we build the people-to-people relationships. 'You do that by the participation of Australians here, whether it be here in football, whether it be the tennis tournament that is going to take place in Chengdu for the Australian Open. 'Whether it be the business relationships that we have here as well. 'This is an important relationship and I've just been chatting with Kevin about the fact that they are ambassadors as well.' Muscat welcomed Mr Albanese to China, lending no-small part of his brand to the six-day diplomatic trip. 'It sounds like you've got a big a few days ahead of you, but also thank you for taking the time to saying hello and taking the time to come in and spending this morning with us in Shanghai,' Muscat said. He then presented Mr Albanese with his own Shanghai Port FC jersey, complete with Mr Albanese's name and a number 10 on the back. Mr Albanese said he would 'be able to wear that around Australia proudly,' but noted that he had played on Parliament House's football team who were 'not very good'. Muscat presented Mr Albanese with a Shanghai Port FC jersey. NewsWire / Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer Credit: News Corp Australia During his time as a professional soccer player, Muscat earnt a reputation as a hardman, with English striker Peter Crouch saying the Australian was the only footballer who genuinely scared him on the pitch. Muscat received 123 yellow cards and 12 red cards in his professional career and in 2013 was voted football's dirtiest ever player by Spanish website El Gol Digital. He represented Australia at a national level 46 times and played eight seasons across four teams in the UK. He returned from the UK and played 113 games for Melbourne Victory before his retirement in 2011. Muscat welcomed Mr Albanese to Shanghai. NewsWire / Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer Credit: News Corp Australia Muscat went on to become a successful coach, winning titles with Melbourne Victory and the Japanese team Yokohama F. Marinos, along with Shanghai Port FC. His success has won him fans in Shanghai; in an interview with The Australian he revealed a portrait sent by a fan that included the message, 'Kevin, with you here, we never fear any team.' Soccer diplomacy could help warm the relationship between the two countries. NewsWire / Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer Credit: News Corp Australia Mr Albanese has used soccer diplomacy to warm the relationship with China as he faces a grilling following a US defence adviser's push for Australia to detail its response if China were to invade Taiwan. Known China hawk and US President Donald Trump's key defence adviser Elbridge Colby has called for countries the US deem to be lagging on defence spending to rapidly increase funding. Coalition MPs questioned Mr Albanese's approach on Monday and said it was indicative of there not being a strong relationship between Mr Albanese and Mr Trump. Mr Albanese also continues to face pressure to try to lock in a face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump.
The Advertiser
13-07-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
PM juggles military tensions amid football diplomacy
Football and tourism have been the focus of the prime minister's first full day in China as questions about Australia's participation in a potential future conflict with the Asian superpower overshadow his six-day tour. Former Socceroo Kevin Muscat joined Anthony Albanese on a morning walk along Shanghai's historic Bund promenade on Sunday to promote the two nations' interpersonal links. Now coaching Shanghai Port FC, Muscat last year became the first Australian manager to lead a Chinese Super League team to the premiership. The former midfield enforcer has brought over a host of Australian coaching staff, including fellow ex-Socceroo Ross Aloisi, in a sign of the deepening collaboration between Australia and China on the sporting field. A keen tennis player, Mr Albanese will also make an announcement about extending an Australian Open wildcard tournament in the southwestern city of Chengdu later in the visit. "One of the things about Australia and China that's so important is we build people-to-people relations and we do that by the participation of Australians here," the prime minister said. "Whether it be here in football, or whether it be the lead-in tournament that's going to take place in Chengdu for the Australian Open (or) the business relationships that we have here as well." Looking across the Huangpu River to the towering skyscrapers on the opposite bank, Mr Albanese reflected on the phenomenal economic transformation China had undergone in recent decades. That boom has seen no small benefit flow to Australia, whose iron ore exports helped build the Shanghai skyline and filled the federal government's coffers. "When I first came here in the 1990s, the area Pudong was very different indeed," Mr Albanese said in a meeting with local Chinese Communist Party official Chen Jining. "There were farms where there is now a great metropolis. "The development we can see across the river is symbolic of the extraordinary development that China has seen in recent decades, lifting literally hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and creating economic benefit for the people of China but also increased economic engagement with countries like Australia." A burgeoning Chinese middle class, with a new found appetite for travel, has flocked to Australia in recent decades though recent tourist numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. To promote Australia as a travel destination, the prime minister will oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between online travel giant - which owns popular bookings sites such as Skyscanner - and Tourism Australia. He will also unveil a new tourism campaign to air in China starring local film star Yu Shi and Ruby the Roo, an animated kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne. Amid the positive rhetoric around Sino-Australian relations, Mr Albanese is doing his best to dodge the US-sized elephant in the room. Military tensions were highlighted by revelations that US defence strategist Elbridge Colby has been pushing Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play in a potential conflict with China But acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy on Sunday reiterated Australia's long-established stance on whether it would join the US in a war. "The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance," he told ABC's Insiders program. Football and tourism have been the focus of the prime minister's first full day in China as questions about Australia's participation in a potential future conflict with the Asian superpower overshadow his six-day tour. Former Socceroo Kevin Muscat joined Anthony Albanese on a morning walk along Shanghai's historic Bund promenade on Sunday to promote the two nations' interpersonal links. Now coaching Shanghai Port FC, Muscat last year became the first Australian manager to lead a Chinese Super League team to the premiership. The former midfield enforcer has brought over a host of Australian coaching staff, including fellow ex-Socceroo Ross Aloisi, in a sign of the deepening collaboration between Australia and China on the sporting field. A keen tennis player, Mr Albanese will also make an announcement about extending an Australian Open wildcard tournament in the southwestern city of Chengdu later in the visit. "One of the things about Australia and China that's so important is we build people-to-people relations and we do that by the participation of Australians here," the prime minister said. "Whether it be here in football, or whether it be the lead-in tournament that's going to take place in Chengdu for the Australian Open (or) the business relationships that we have here as well." Looking across the Huangpu River to the towering skyscrapers on the opposite bank, Mr Albanese reflected on the phenomenal economic transformation China had undergone in recent decades. That boom has seen no small benefit flow to Australia, whose iron ore exports helped build the Shanghai skyline and filled the federal government's coffers. "When I first came here in the 1990s, the area Pudong was very different indeed," Mr Albanese said in a meeting with local Chinese Communist Party official Chen Jining. "There were farms where there is now a great metropolis. "The development we can see across the river is symbolic of the extraordinary development that China has seen in recent decades, lifting literally hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and creating economic benefit for the people of China but also increased economic engagement with countries like Australia." A burgeoning Chinese middle class, with a new found appetite for travel, has flocked to Australia in recent decades though recent tourist numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. To promote Australia as a travel destination, the prime minister will oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between online travel giant - which owns popular bookings sites such as Skyscanner - and Tourism Australia. He will also unveil a new tourism campaign to air in China starring local film star Yu Shi and Ruby the Roo, an animated kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne. Amid the positive rhetoric around Sino-Australian relations, Mr Albanese is doing his best to dodge the US-sized elephant in the room. Military tensions were highlighted by revelations that US defence strategist Elbridge Colby has been pushing Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play in a potential conflict with China But acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy on Sunday reiterated Australia's long-established stance on whether it would join the US in a war. "The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance," he told ABC's Insiders program. Football and tourism have been the focus of the prime minister's first full day in China as questions about Australia's participation in a potential future conflict with the Asian superpower overshadow his six-day tour. Former Socceroo Kevin Muscat joined Anthony Albanese on a morning walk along Shanghai's historic Bund promenade on Sunday to promote the two nations' interpersonal links. Now coaching Shanghai Port FC, Muscat last year became the first Australian manager to lead a Chinese Super League team to the premiership. The former midfield enforcer has brought over a host of Australian coaching staff, including fellow ex-Socceroo Ross Aloisi, in a sign of the deepening collaboration between Australia and China on the sporting field. A keen tennis player, Mr Albanese will also make an announcement about extending an Australian Open wildcard tournament in the southwestern city of Chengdu later in the visit. "One of the things about Australia and China that's so important is we build people-to-people relations and we do that by the participation of Australians here," the prime minister said. "Whether it be here in football, or whether it be the lead-in tournament that's going to take place in Chengdu for the Australian Open (or) the business relationships that we have here as well." Looking across the Huangpu River to the towering skyscrapers on the opposite bank, Mr Albanese reflected on the phenomenal economic transformation China had undergone in recent decades. That boom has seen no small benefit flow to Australia, whose iron ore exports helped build the Shanghai skyline and filled the federal government's coffers. "When I first came here in the 1990s, the area Pudong was very different indeed," Mr Albanese said in a meeting with local Chinese Communist Party official Chen Jining. "There were farms where there is now a great metropolis. "The development we can see across the river is symbolic of the extraordinary development that China has seen in recent decades, lifting literally hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and creating economic benefit for the people of China but also increased economic engagement with countries like Australia." A burgeoning Chinese middle class, with a new found appetite for travel, has flocked to Australia in recent decades though recent tourist numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. To promote Australia as a travel destination, the prime minister will oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between online travel giant - which owns popular bookings sites such as Skyscanner - and Tourism Australia. He will also unveil a new tourism campaign to air in China starring local film star Yu Shi and Ruby the Roo, an animated kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne. Amid the positive rhetoric around Sino-Australian relations, Mr Albanese is doing his best to dodge the US-sized elephant in the room. Military tensions were highlighted by revelations that US defence strategist Elbridge Colby has been pushing Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play in a potential conflict with China But acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy on Sunday reiterated Australia's long-established stance on whether it would join the US in a war. "The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance," he told ABC's Insiders program. Football and tourism have been the focus of the prime minister's first full day in China as questions about Australia's participation in a potential future conflict with the Asian superpower overshadow his six-day tour. Former Socceroo Kevin Muscat joined Anthony Albanese on a morning walk along Shanghai's historic Bund promenade on Sunday to promote the two nations' interpersonal links. Now coaching Shanghai Port FC, Muscat last year became the first Australian manager to lead a Chinese Super League team to the premiership. The former midfield enforcer has brought over a host of Australian coaching staff, including fellow ex-Socceroo Ross Aloisi, in a sign of the deepening collaboration between Australia and China on the sporting field. A keen tennis player, Mr Albanese will also make an announcement about extending an Australian Open wildcard tournament in the southwestern city of Chengdu later in the visit. "One of the things about Australia and China that's so important is we build people-to-people relations and we do that by the participation of Australians here," the prime minister said. "Whether it be here in football, or whether it be the lead-in tournament that's going to take place in Chengdu for the Australian Open (or) the business relationships that we have here as well." Looking across the Huangpu River to the towering skyscrapers on the opposite bank, Mr Albanese reflected on the phenomenal economic transformation China had undergone in recent decades. That boom has seen no small benefit flow to Australia, whose iron ore exports helped build the Shanghai skyline and filled the federal government's coffers. "When I first came here in the 1990s, the area Pudong was very different indeed," Mr Albanese said in a meeting with local Chinese Communist Party official Chen Jining. "There were farms where there is now a great metropolis. "The development we can see across the river is symbolic of the extraordinary development that China has seen in recent decades, lifting literally hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and creating economic benefit for the people of China but also increased economic engagement with countries like Australia." A burgeoning Chinese middle class, with a new found appetite for travel, has flocked to Australia in recent decades though recent tourist numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels. To promote Australia as a travel destination, the prime minister will oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between online travel giant - which owns popular bookings sites such as Skyscanner - and Tourism Australia. He will also unveil a new tourism campaign to air in China starring local film star Yu Shi and Ruby the Roo, an animated kangaroo voiced by Rose Byrne. Amid the positive rhetoric around Sino-Australian relations, Mr Albanese is doing his best to dodge the US-sized elephant in the room. Military tensions were highlighted by revelations that US defence strategist Elbridge Colby has been pushing Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play in a potential conflict with China But acting Defence Minister Pat Conroy on Sunday reiterated Australia's long-established stance on whether it would join the US in a war. "The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance," he told ABC's Insiders program.
RTHK
13-07-2025
- Sport
- RTHK
HKFA says Shinichi Chan's recall was prearranged
HKFA says Shinichi Chan's recall was prearranged The Football Association dismissed reports that more SAR players would be recalled by their Chinese Super League clubs, saying the recall of Shinichi Chan (right) was pre-arranged. File photo courtesy of the HKFA The Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA) said on Sunday that for now, only star defender Shinichi Chan won't be playing in the final match against the national team at an East Asian tournament, because his club has recalled him. Multiple media reports suggested that SAR players competing in the Chinese Super League would be recalled ahead of Tuesday's clash at the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championship in South Korea. In a statement, the HKFA clarified that the decision for Chan, 22, to play only two of the three games at the tournament had been reached before the competition began. "[The agreement was] made in consideration of the player's overall physical fitness and best interest, making sure that the player is not overloaded with an intense playing schedule," the statement read. The HKFA said the coaching team had coordinated this arrangement at the time of player selection and made the necessary preparations to ensure the squad was ready for the games. It added that so far it has received no other requests for the release of SAR players. The association stressed that clubs were not obliged to release players for international duty, because the tournament was being held outside the FIFA international match window. Both the SAR and the national team are looking for their first points at the tournament, having suffered defeats to the hosts and Japan.
South China Morning Post
09-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's rocket man brought crashing back to earth by Japan, but boosted by late goal
After the 'rocket ride' of his first year at Chinese Super League giants Shanghai Shenhua, Shinichi Chan was brought crashing back to earth by Japan on Tuesday. Advertisement Chan, who was born in Japan but has grown into Hong Kong's most accomplished player at the age of 22, was as culpable as any of his teammates in going 5-0 behind after 26 minutes. The left-back, however, said a more competitive second-half display had laid the platform for another formidable test on Friday, against East Asian Football Championship hosts South Korea. Matt Orr netted a consolation before Japan completed the 6-1 rout deep into stoppage time. 'It takes some courage to come out and fight knowing the game has gone,' Chan said. 'At half-time, we set some small targets: to score against a better side and to not concede again. Advertisement 'We almost achieved both objectives. It's a good match for us to know where we need to improve and how to prepare for these games in future. The result was disappointing, but it reflected the difference between us and the top Asian teams.'
