Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words, continuing in the footsteps of daprice82. For anyone interested, I highly recommend signing up for the actual site at f4wonline and checking out the full archives.
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1987
FUTURE YEARS ARCHIVE:
The Complete Observer Rewind Archive by daprice82


1-4-1988	1-11-1988	1-18-1988	1-25-1988
2-1-1988	2-8-1988	2-15-1988	2-22-1988
2-29-1988	3-7-1988	3-14-1988	3-21-1988
3-28-1988	*	*	*

”This is horrible, Gorilla.” These words open the issue this week, because Wrestlemania IV is in the books and, well, it was not pretty. Dave is flabbergasted by how bad a show it was, wondering if this was a dream or a nightmare that he hasn’t woken up from. Wrestlemania III was the best wrestling production of all time. It may not have had the best card, but it was entertaining all around and the fans loved it. It set Vince up as the king of wrestling, all-powerful over the business. He’s still the king, but he’s definitely not all-powerful, and Crockett absolutely kicked Vince’s ass on March 27. Financials will take time to come in, and of course McMahon will win that measure, but we can flash back to January 24 for an analogue: The Royal Rumble won even though the Bunkhouse Finals made more money.
Preliminary info Dave has gotten from phoning cable companies and hearing from fans at closed-circuit site is that Wrestlemania interest was down by nearly half of last year’s. The buyrate for ppv could be as low as 6 percent, half of WWF’s expected 12% and still way down from last year’s 10.3%. Even so, the PPV gross would be $10.8 million, of which WWF can expect no more than $3.5 million, plus an estimated $2.3 million from a minimum 175,000 (last year had 375,000) at closed-circuit and a live gate of about $ million and an undisclosed site fee from Donald Trump for putting on the show. The early (and I mean early, don’t get attached to these numbers) overall estimate is a total gross of $14 million, with WWF netting maybe $6.5 million, a far cry from the $18 million they were predicting their take would be. How much was because Crockett ran the Clash? How much was because WWF just has been less interesting? It’s hard to say, but Crockett hurt McMahon way more than anyone could have anticipated.
As for the shows themselves, just absolute night and day between them. Crockett’s Clash was a really solid show. It wasn’t as polished a production and only had 30 minutes of wrestling in the first 90 minutes of the show, though this was to allow Sting/Flair to work without commercial breaks so it was an overall benefit. The matches, minus the barbed wire one, were all good. The crowd was into it. Two excellent matches. Probably best to never let Steve Williams talk again, though. The Jim Cornette and Eddie Haskel bit was great and made Bob Uecker and Gene Okerlund look worse than they were. Meanwhile, Wrestlemania made Starrcade 1987 look like Starrcade 1985, and that’s too nice to say even. WWF’s guys, rather than working harder because it was Wrestlemania, opted to phone it in instead because Wrestlemania itself would carry the day. Even Jesse Ventura had no good lines and coasted while Gorilla was like soundbites of his Wrestling Challenge commentary.
Anyway, Dave breaks down the major problems for WWF, as he sees them. 1) Hogan - he’s too over, to the point he overshadows everything else and by booking him as just one of the guys in the field, they completely devalued their star attraction. And instead of putting Randy over at the end, which they need to do if they’re going to try and have him be even close to as over as Hulk has been, they put Liz and Hulk over. “It’s like Randy can’t even order a taxi cab unless Liz tells Hulk to flag down the cab.” 2) Hindsight is always 20/20, but Trump Plaza was a terrible venue for a Wrestlemania, and the crowd just wasn’t a wrestling crowd, so they were not invested at all. 3) Steroids. Dave supposes he’s probably the most hated person in the world among the heavy steroid users in the business because of all the nicknames he gives them, but in all seriousness it was embarrassing to watch so many guys get blown up in a minute or two to where they couldn’t even pace out a five minute match. Like, take out the health issues, take out any sense of blame on the guys, Dave says. The tournament was embarrassing. It wasn’t funny to see the guys fail like this. It was just sad. 4) The tournament as a concept flopped. It gave fans no specific issue to focus on because belts in modern wrestling just don’t mean anything to fans - the real draw is the big personalities, and WWF proved it with this show: the only matches anyone cared about were the ones with Hogan and, to a lesser extent, DiBiase and Savage. 5) Spoilers. Too many people knew the outcome, and giving Savage the title is almost a mistake after you’ve given so many spoilers of your own show. ABC News did a report the morning after, saying “Randy Savage was the winner at Wrestlemania, but of course everyone knew it since the WWF magazine had printed the result three weeks ago. The WWF claims the magazine report was simply a typographical error.” Anyway, Dave is sick of people blaming him for their wrestling promotions not being able to draw fans at live shows when they aren’t interesting enough. Newsletter subscribers are maybe 0.002% of the viewing audience - if all Dave’s subscribers quit watching nobody would notice in the viewing numbers. Meanwhile, the fans who read newsletters are probably the most dedicated and put more money into the business than the “marks” do and will be the ones stubbornly holding on to the end if the business somehow were to die. So don’t blame Dave if your show sucks and your creative is bad and you give away your finish weeks ahead of time and don’t even bother changing it.
Anyway, Wrestlemania preliminary numbers time. About 540,000 homes on PPV, plus 195,000 through closed-circuit, as far as the U.S. goes. They did just 95 closed-circuit sites in the U.S., 39 of which had less than 2,000 capacity. No word on Crockett’s ratings, but if they hit a 5 on TBS that’s about 2 million homes.
So all that said, time to look at the Wrestlemania card. Good production, particularly the opening graphics, but not as far ahead of Crockett as last year now that they’ve upped their game. Battle royal started hot and quickly became your standard boring battle royal. The Hart/Badnews angle at the end saves the match from a dud and gets it half a star. DiBiase vs. Duggan was real slow for a five minute match, and Duggan no longer resembles the worker he was in UWF/Mid-South just a couple years ago. Very little heat. 1.5 stars. Muraco vs. Bravo gets half a star, and both were blown up by the double clothesline like they’d wrestled a hard 20 minutes, but the whole match was under 5. Valentine vs. Steamboat saw Valentine look tired and old, and just not have his famed longevity anymore. Good finish, solid work even with the timing issues. Steamboat coming out with his son and being able to be lost in the moment of just being a proud father was “a tremendous sight” for Dave. 2.25 stars. Savage vs. Reed got a pop for the finish but nothing else, really. 1 star. One Man Gang vs. Bam Bam Bigelow wasn’t good. It was obvious how bad Bigelow’s knee was, and that takes away his agility, which is the thing that sets him apart. Dave says this is a -1.5 star match in a vacuum, but considering Bam Bam’s condition he’s not going to rate it that low and calls it a dud instead. Rick Rude vs. Jake Roberts was a 15 minute draw and Dave hated it. He hated Rude’s tights, the many long rest holds, the fact that there just weren’t any moves in there to pop the crowd, and the fact that the crowd chanted boring. Worst match of the year candidate. -2 stars. Ultimate Warrior blew up before he entered the ring for his match with Hercules and the match was bad. -1.5 stars, and Dave says it was worse than Rude vs. Roberts, but gets a better rating for knowing when to be done quick and not overstaying its welcome like the other match did.

Watch: Cleanse your palate with Hogan’s weird promo from Wrestlemania about faultlines and Donald Trump caring about his family

Wrestlemania continued, because holy shit that was a really long paragraph and we needed an intermission. Round two saw Hogan and Andre go to a double disqualification to start off. Andre could barely stand by two and a half minutes in. Lots of shenanigans, Virgil took a nasty suplex on the floor where Hulk didn’t protect him at all, but there’s a glimmer of a future face push for him at least. Maybe his father’s a plumber, Dave quips. Half a star if you ignore the posing at the end (dud if you count the posing). But really, the crowd came to see Hogan pose. DiBiase vs. Muraco had no heat but decent action for its short stay. 1.5 stars. Savage vs. Valentine was good, well-paced with good action. 2.5 stars. Beefer vs. Honkytonk Man amazed Dave since neither was over at all when both usually are decently over. Sherri Martel made more noise than the entire audience. Loads of shenanigans, Beefer’s new haircut makes him look like a Davey Boy Smith with less wrestling ability, dud. Islanders and Heenan vs. Koko and the Bulldogs had some decent comedy and started okay, but got boring quick. 1.25 stars. Savage vs. One Man Gang was watchable but the finish sucked. Half a star. Demolition vs. Santana and Martel was solid throughout, although the crowd seemed on Demolition’s side. If the crowd had been responsive this would have been a really good match rather than just pretty good at 2.5 stars. DiBiase vs. Savage saw the crowd missing “two top-flight guys trying to work a good match” because they were watching the entrance waiting for Hogan. Savage sends Liz to get Hogan, Hogan evens the odds, Savage wins, Hogan must pose. 2.25 stars. Once round two started, the show was pretty decent, Dave thinks, just the first half of the show wasn’t RestholdMania, but Rigor Mortis Mania.
Over in Crockett Country, it’s a whole different story. They drew 6,000 fans to the Greensboro Coliseum, and all six thousand were champing at the bit for the show, which created a great energy that the wrestlers fed on for their matches. Rotunda retained the TV Title against Jimmy Garvin in the amateur rules match with a one-count pin, pinning Garvin a minute into the second round. 2.5 stars. The Midnight Express beat the Fantastics by DQ to retain the U.S. Tag Titles in a classic Memphis style brawl that was so action packed the cameras missed a lot of it. Dave gives them 4.25 stars, saying the action earned it 4.5, but the overused finish with the over the top rope throw and the referee reversing the decision lost it half a star, but then the post-match action with Corette lashing Bobby Fulton’s back with a belt got it back a quarter star. Dusty and the Road Warriors (the Rhode Warriors, I almost typed) beat Warlord and Barbarian and Ivan Koloff in a real short barbed wire match, and Dave notes the resemblance between Dudty wearing facepaint and a black t-shirt and Dump Matsumoto (with the notable difference that Dump is prettier). Ivan was bleeding after 20 seconds and Dusty after 90. Dave hates these matches - everyone gets all cautious and careful and stays in the center of the ring, so nothing really happens. 1 star. Luger and Barry Windham beat Arn and Tully for the NWA Tag Titles. Good match all around, 3.5 stars. Flair and Sting had a 45 minute draw for the NWA Title in a match of the year candidate. Slow pace to start, but the heat kept up and they weren’t dull and Flair sold the hell out of every rest hold. Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone did fantastic work on this, particularly Ross who sold the intensity and importance of the match, which was critical for the first half (if only he were still able to do that today). There were supposed to be three judges, but there were five people at the table, only two of them didn’t vote, so no idea what the point there was. Anyway, Patty Mullen (Penthouse Pet of the year and who had been on Ric’s arm the night before on tv) picked Flair. Gary Juster, former NWA promoter, voted for Sting. Sandy Scott then ruled it a draw, and nothing came of the judging gimmick which made it utterly pointless. 4.75 stars

Watch: Clash of the Champions. I’ve set it to start with the Steve Williams promo because it needs to be heard to be believed

During Clash of the Champions, after the first match, there was an ad on TBS for the WWF 900 number advertising play-by-play for Wrestlemania. WWF managed to get an ad on TBS during Crockett’s big special, and that’s hilarious. They also ran the first ad for the new Four Horsemen vitamins, which was hilarious but unintentionally so, and Dave thinks they aren’t going to sell a lot of those vitamins.
Last week Dave teased a big story, and it’s that Crockett has been negotiating with Ken Mantell of World Class Dave didn’t give any details beyond the tease last week because he was hoping to get more before press time. He promises to never note a major story the way he did again without giving more details up front, because he expected more details to break before he had to print copy but it didn’t. Anyway, negotiations have been ongoing for ten days and there are conflicting reports. Crockett’s goal is taking over World Class the way they did Florida, getting the valuable channel 11 time slot on Saturday nights in Dallas. They’re going to need Fritz on board to complete the deal, though. If it does go through, Kerry and Kevin will have guaranteed work and a push in the NWA, but neither really seems to want the travel, so they’d likely get a deal for local stuff and maybe occasional work in St. Louis. The bottom line everyone needs to consider, though, is that Mantell and Michael Hayes may be the most creative bookers anywhere right now, but they aren’t turning WCCW’s business around and it just may not work out that they can. Dave doesn’t expect a deal done now, but he thinks Mantell and Hayes may give themselves until May to see if their hard work will pay off before considering any offers.
An example of that creative booking is the WCCW title change on March 25 in Dallas. Hayes was at ringside with Kerry while Black Bart and Buddy Roberts were for Parsons. Iceman King Parsons is one of the least likely champions in wrestling history, and the match wasn’t particularly good, but the finish saw the lights go out after Terry Gordy came down, at which point Bart and Roberts used flashlights to blind the fans in the front row so nobody could see what happened. When the lights came back on, Kerry was knocked out in the ring, Hayes was bleeding on the floor, nobody knew who hit whom, and Parsons pinned Kerry to win the belt. They even had Kerry carted out on a stretcher. Dave doesn’t think (and actively prays against) Parsons will hold it for long. Hayes looks like the best prospect (nope. It’s going back to Kerry in May at the Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions). Also, I just learned that King Parsons is his real legal name. I always thought combining Iceman and King was a weird combo of gimmicks, so that solves a mystery for me.

Watch: Iceman King Parsons wins the WCWA World Title

Eddie Gilbert is leaving Memphis to book for Continental beginning April 10. Continental’s business is bottoming out and it’ll be interesting to see if Gilbert and Missy can get things going there again like they did in Memphis. This also puts Memphis in some dire straits, since the Gilberts were basically all their storylines and they were drawing triple what they had been by giving the Gilberts such big spotlight, so they’re in trouble.
Lanny Poffo, brother of WWF Champion Randy Savage, has a book coming out called Wrestling with Rhyme. It’s a book of poetry coming out in late April and will be available at Walden Books. Man, I remember when Walden went out of business. It was a sad day for me.
The only news Dave has from Japan right now is that Bruiser Brody beat Jumbo Tsuruta for the International Title at Budokan Hall on March 27. Tenryu also retained his PWF Title against Hansen.
Roddy Piper’s latest project is a new film going into production called They Live.

Watch: They Live trailer

A correction on the Bruno Sammartino stuff. WWF isn’t trying to ban Bruno from using his name. They’re trying to ban him from using the trademarked nickname “The Living Legend” in contexts outside WWF. There’s a lot of talk about his radio interview , and some excerpts in the mail section of this issue.
There’s a film in the works about former Olympic and pro wrestler Chris Taylor. Taylor was a 450 lb wrestler from Iowa who won bronze in the 1972 Olympics and died in 1979. A book about him called “The Gentle Giant” is being adapted into a film, currently called “Lean On Me.” That does not wind up being the title, and I can’t find a movie based on him so this might have gotten scrapped. In other biopic news, no word from Hollywood on any upcoming Hulk Hogan movie.
WWF went up to the number 4 slot in the syndicated ratings for the week ending Feb. 28. They had a 10.6 rating, an increase on the previous week. Crockett’s network fell to number 9 with a 7.6.
Paul E. Dangerously firing Joe Pedicino, Gordon Solie, and Boni Blackstone on Pro Wrestling this Week aired this past weekend. It was fantastic stuff, and Paul has cemented himself as one of the top managers in the business. This is all part of a reformatting of the show to a 30 minute format with Pedicino and Patrick Schaeffer (who was the mastermind behind Global doing an IPO to build up a million dollars of operating capital) at the helm, with Schaeffer as the heel commentator.
Crockett had a big angle taped on March 21 that they aired this past Saturday, involving Magnum T.A. Magnum was doing an interview when Tully and J.J. came out, then Barry Windham came out and Tully popped Windham with a hit, then hit Magnum. J.J. was behind Magnum and helped Magnum gently go to ground, then Dusty barged in with a baseball bat and swung for the fences on Tully, then knocks out Jim Crockett without realizing who he’s swinging at when Jim and David Crockett and Rob Garner try to restore order. Jim Cornette did a tearful interview about his “good friend Jim Crockett” and Magnum even bladed, though that last didn’t make it to tv. Later on, Magnum came out and hit Tully with a bat in a match to cause a disqualification. Dave loved the concept here at first because you have to imagine Magnum hates being on the sidelines and wants to be involved to some extent and this gives him something to sink his teeth into. At the same time, “the idea of beating up a cripple, which unfortunately is the reality of the situation” is just kind of pathetic. That said, it’ll draw, and it’ll let Dusty (with Magnum in his corner) push himself as top star once again, and it may even be enough to put heat back on Dusty vs. Tully. Dusty will be suspended for 120 days come Saturday’s tv (taking us into July - will we see the Midnight Rider face Flair at the Bash, Dave wonders), Dusty will return as the Midnight Rider with Magnum at his side, and he’ll likely get the U.S. title in the tournament they’re going to hold in May.

Watch: Tully suckerpunches Magnum

The Oregon State Athletic Commission held a public hearing on March 18. Topics mostly stuck to safety concerns such as cleaning the mats, barriers at ringside, security, mats on the floor by ringside, etc. A lot of wrestlers were there, along with Billy Jack Haynes and Don and Barry Owen. Most of the wrestlers were negative about the Owens’ promotion, with only Tony Borne and Art Crews saying anything positive. Borne testified against the idea of using mats outside the ring, saying it’s not going to help as much as it hurts the visual effect of a spill to the floor. He also said the commission’s drug testing proposal went too far by including painkillers and marijuana on top of cocaine. The commission indicated they’ll be looking at action like the use of chairs in the future and potentially issuing fines. They also clarified their stance on blood: hardway is good, blading is bad. It’s pretty absurd to say that the more dangerous way of getting color is good but blading is bad, but this whole blood thing has become a thing for commissions around the country because blading sounds absolutely insane to people outside the industry, and even Dave has mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, blading is a minor safety issue at best, especially compared to rampant steroid and drug use and nasty bumps. On the other, Dave’s not sure fans are really drawn by excessive bleeding either, and probably actually turns off a large number of potential casual viewers. It doesn’t hurt if kept rare, but it doesn’t help if half the matches have it. And more dangerous to the wrestlers in a blood match than AIDS (they’re more likely to get that from outside activities) is scabies, which Owen’s wrestlers had an outbreak of not too far back. Rip Oliver said he’s gotten scabies four times since July and wound up giving it to his wife and kids on top of it. The outbreak led the Commission to pass a ruling against wrestlers working while they have communicable diseases and that they must notify promoters.
Eddie Gilbert vs. Jerry Lawler on March 21 drew 6,000 fans for Memphis. Gilbert won in what’s being hailed as a great match (and Dave’s heard their match the week before was even better). On tv on March 26 Gilbert acted like he was going to throw fire at Lance Russell, which got Lawler out from backstage in his first tv appearance in a month. They wound up brawling into the parking lot and Gilbert slammed Lawler on the hood of a car, shattering the windshield.
Scott Rechsteiner, using the ring name Scott Steiner, debuted as a babyface in Memphis recently. No mention of peaks or freaks yet.
Some random trivia about AWA Tag champ Paul Diamond. His real name is Tom Boric, and he was born in Winnipeg, you idiots, on May 11, 1961. He played soccer for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the old North American Soccer League and was drafted sixth in the 1980 collegiate draft by the Calgary Boomers, before getting traded to Tampa in 1982. He stayed until the NASL folded, which is when he got into wrestling.
Anyway, Diamond and Tanaka won the belts because the Midnight Rockers wanted $500 a week guaranteed to stay and Verne doesn’t believe in guaranteed money. They don’t appear to have left yet.
[Continental] Looks like Eddie Gilbert is replacing Robert Fuller and going to be sole booker.
[USA] The other spinoff from the old Continental promotion ran its first big show in Knoxville, drawing a $10,000 gate. Previous sellouts there hit $27,000, to give an indication of relative value there. Not a lot to report about this. Moondog Spot is there as “The Dog.” He’s not a big dog. He’s not a little dog. He’s The Dog.
WCCW drew 1,700 on March 25 for their Dallas show, where Kerry dropped the title to Parsons. The other main event had Michael Hayes vs. Buddy Roberts, and Roberts kept trying to apologize for hitting Hayes, but Hayes wasn’t going to let it slide. Terry Gordy did a run in and broke things up, and told Hayes they sold Angel of Death’s contract so they can all be friends again. Hayes walked out on Gordy, though.
[WCCW] Fabulous Lance keeps getting booked for shows but hasn’t returned. His agent still doesn’t want him to be a heel because it’ll cut down his opportunities for tv and modeling work.
To illustrate how bad business is for World Class, here’s the biggest gate they drew out of three shows last week in Mississippi: $783.
A man named David Peschel of Washington, New Jersey is suing Randy Savage for a million dollars. He alleges that Savage punched and bodyslammed him when he got out of his car at a light to ask Savage for his autograph. He describes Savage as 6’4” and 280 lbs, prompting Dave to ask if this was maybe a different Randy Savage.
Rumor has it that Angelo Poffo put a $1 bet on the Wrestlemania tournament. Apparently, his bet was on Ted DiBiase.
According to a sumo journal in Japan, Futuhaguro is 99% certain he won’t go into pro wrestling. Koji Kitao will debut near the end of 1989 in the AWA, so I’ll put my dollar bet on the 1% chance.
Reader Mike Rodgers attended the Oregon commission hearing on March 18 and writes about his take. The commission is making big improvements to safety that he thinks are great, but thinks they’re overstepping by wanting to legitimately fine wrestlers who use foreign objects or chairs, and says they don’t understand “that promoters do what they can to fill up arenas.” Banning the blade but not blood is just going to increase the chance of legitimate injury, and it’s part of the proof that the commission really isn’t smart to what wrestling really is about.
We get a really long letter on Bruno’s radio interview. The writer taped the second hour and is hoping to get tape of the first hour. But before getting to the good stuff, he first wants to note that lying and silly gimmicks didn’t start in 1984 (was Gorilla Monsoon really from Manchuria? Didn’t Bruno employ gimmick wrestlers when he booked Pittsburgh? How about when he’d blade and claim to have spent the night hospitalized receiving transfusions) and that Bruno’s not really got a leg to stand on for “wrestling must be credible and it is an insult to the fans’ intelligence to lie to them.” Fans knew then just as they know now that it’s a work, but that doesn’t matter - you watch the show because it’s entertaining and you want to see the magician do their tricks. Also, the writer weighs in that the real story with the Main Event will be told by the demographic breakdown rather than the overall rating. In other words, is Hulk Hogan the Demo God? Anyway, after all this preamble, we finally get some quotes from the interview:
Bruno denies blading happened in his day but says “today, nothing would surprise me.”
Says he’ll never work for the NWA. “I wouldn’t touch it with a 50-foot pole.”
He breaks kayfabe on George Steele and says he’s been a teacher for years.
He thinks Bobby Heenan is a “dud and a disgrace” to wrestling.
He compliments Ric Flair as a guy who can give you an exciting 30 or 40 minute match, but the NWA “have an awful lot of bizarre nonsense in there that, to me, is no good.”
He says David wanted to be like him and he tried to warn David that these days they aren’t interested in “guys who just want to wrestle” but he’ll be going to Japan where they appreciate that better.
He didn’t like doing commentary. He just clocked in, did his job, and left as soon as he was done. He was very uncomfortable and unhappy doing it.
Bruno says WWF didn’t really have anything great to generate interest in the tournament for Wrestlemania.
A caller asks if his wrestling was all real, and Bruno says “Well, it was in my day, at least I thought it was.
We get a letter that feels so much like it could have been a post here on /SquaredCircle when Dave rated Omega/Okada 6 stars that I’m posting it in its entirety. Be warned, it is long, kind of racist, and absolutely bonkers, but that’s not unfamiliar around these parts. It gets the headline “Sick of praise for Japan.”

I get so sick of the way that people talk about Japanese wrestling. There’s no question it should be covered extensively in the Observer because it is a significant part of the wrestling world. However, when you start printing letters that criticize the American society and the jazz scene, then you are going way too far.
Anyone who thinks the Japanese never forsake quality for showmanship is full of it. The rock group KISS has enjoyed phenomenal success there because of their wild appearence [sic] and stage show. In fact, when they stopped wearing their makeup in the United States, they waited almost two years to do the same in Japan because they knew they wouldn’t be accepted there without it. And what about the movie industry? Do you think Godzilla movies are popular because of great acting?
As a student, I find teachers constantly comparing the American intelligence with that of the Japanese. I’m sure that the wrestlers love being compared to Japanese wrestlers as much as I love being compared to Japanese students. The Japanese do well at everything because they become obsessed with it. For them, it’s a matter of pride. If they screw up, it’s not only a mark on themselves but also on their entire family. You may think that’s great, but it puts a lot of pressure on everyone. They spend hours studying and I’m certain spend hours learning wrestling skills and have no time for themselves. Cut the North American wrestlers some slack. They’re just trying to make a living and preserve their bodies in the process. Look at what trying to wrestle like the Japanese did to Tommy Billington. Everyone would love matches filled with nothing but high spots, but working them is a great way to destroy yourself in a hurry. Now there is no excuse for total duds like Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant either, but there are many non-Japanese who can hold their own without going crazy about it. I wonder how many Observer readers can honestly say that they work as hard at their own jobs as the Japanese in the same profession do. If they do, then I think they would quality [sic] as workaholics.
If there is anything wrong with our society, it’s the lack of national pride, which is so evident in the pages of the Observer. You seem to hate everything that wasn’t imported from the other side of the world. I have absolutely nothing against the country of Japan or Japanese wrestling, but I don’t think it’s up to a bunch of wrestling fans to dictate what’s wrong with our country just because they prefer the Oriental style of wrestling. I think the Observer is great, but I’d like to see you stick to writing about wrestling instead of how rotten our way of life is. I’m sure that’s what a Japanese journalist would do.

Anyway, Dave responds to that letter, giving the writer only 4 stars because it’s not in the literally-only-opened-a-couple-weeks-ago Tokyo Dome:

DM: Have I ever written about how rotten our quality of life is or done any cultural comparisons between the U.S. and Japan except to where it pertains to the wrestling business? If I lived in Japan and made a comparison of the quality of the football product and wrote the U.S. product was superior, I hope people wouldn’t take it as an indictment against an entire society.

Lastly, it’s about that time of year, I guess, because we have letters arguing about whether Dave should include GLOW coverage or not. Two letters this week on that theme, the first noting what the writer calls a progression in the letters calling for more coverage of women’s wrestling. First were the calls for more coverage of “conventional” women’s wrestling. Then the calls for GLOW coverage. Then POWW. Guess the next will be coverage of the apartment house wrestling scene, the writer supposes. The other writer claims to speak for 90% of subscribers and says Dave would offend that much of his readership if he covers GLOW and POWW and says that if you even consider GLOW to be pro wrestling, you’re incapable of understanding what makes a match good or not. This one asks if Dave’s going to be asked to cover mud wrestling next. There’s no misogyny problem in wrestling fandom. Move along. Nothing to see here.
Back to news, the Kentucky Athletic Commission has put up some new rules. There are to be guard rails around the ring now. Throwing an opponent over the top rope will result in a fine or suspension. Ditto for any referee who doesn’t immediately stop the match for it. The top rope rule is now state law, as insane as that sounds.
Dave should have national numbers next week, but in Atlanta Clash of the Champions drew an 11.7 rating, with the FlaiSting match hitting 14.5 National numbers will not be nearly that high, but hitting that 5 Dave mentioned earlier that would mean 2 million viewers doesn’t seem so far fetched anymore. Clash beat the NCAA tournament on the networks in Atlanta. TBS is reportedly looking to do another in prime time on a Wednesday early in the summer.
Stampede set up an angle where Johnny Smith (kayfabe Davey Boy’s cousin or brother or something) argued with Diana Hart Smith, which got Owen out to defend his sister. Davey Boy was supposed to come in after Wrestlemania to work with Johnny, but Vince put the kibosh on that. There were also considerations for some Stampede guys to participate in the Crockett Cup, but politics (Vince) made that a no-go. So it’s probably no coincidence that when Owen did the job for Hercules it was just outside Greensboro. Anyway, the real takeaway is that Owen is probably coming over to WWF by the end of the year.

NEXT WEEK: Clash vs. Wrestlemania poll results, Clash ratings and Wrestlemania buyrate, an assload of mini headlines because news is apparently thin next week, and more

Professional paid accurate soccer predictions

I am about to post the 3000 most common words in the English lexicon. Wish me luck...

a abandon ability able abortion about above abroad absence absolute absolutely absorb abuse academic accept access accident accompany accomplish according account accurate accuse achieve achievement acid acknowledge acquire across act action active activist activity actor actress actual actually ad adapt add addition additional address adequate adjust adjustment administration administrator admire admission admit adolescent adopt adult advance advanced advantage adventure advertising advice advise adviser advocate affair affect afford afraid African African-American after afternoon again against age agency agenda agent aggressive ago agree agreement agricultural ah ahead aid aide AIDS aim air aircraft airline airport album alcohol alive all alliance allow ally almost alone along already also alter alternative although always AM amazing American among amount analysis analyst analyze ancient and anger angle angry animal anniversary announce annual another answer anticipate anxiety any anybody anymore anyone anything anyway anywhere apart apartment apparent apparently appeal appear appearance apple application apply appoint appointment appreciate approach appropriate approval approve approximately Arab architect area argue argument arise arm armed army around arrange arrangement arrest arrival arrive art article artist artistic as Asian aside ask asleep aspect assault assert assess assessment asset assign assignment assist assistance assistant associate association assume assumption assure at athlete athletic atmosphere attach attack attempt attend attention attitude attorney attract attractive attribute audience author authority auto available average avoid award aware awareness away awful baby back background bad badly bag bake balance ball ban band bank bar barely barrel barrier base baseball basic basically basis basket basketball bathroom battery battle be beach bean bear beat beautiful beauty because become bed bedroom beer before begin beginning behavior behind being belief believe bell belong below belt bench bend beneath benefit beside besides best bet better between beyond Bible big bike bill billion bind biological bird birth birthday bit bite black blade blame blanket blind block blood blow blue board boat body bomb bombing bond bone book boom boot border born borrow boss both bother bottle bottom boundary bowl box boy boyfriend brain branch brand bread break breakfast breast breath breathe brick bridge brief briefly bright brilliant bring British broad broken brother brown brush buck budget build building bullet bunch burden burn bury bus business busy but butter button buy buyer by cabin cabinet cable cake calculate call camera camp campaign campus can Canadian cancer candidate cap capability capable capacity capital captain capture car carbon card care career careful carefully carrier carry case cash cast cat catch category Catholic cause ceiling celebrate celebration celebrity cell center central century CEO ceremony certain certainly chain chair chairman challenge chamber champion championship chance change changing channel chapter character characteristic characterize charge charity chart chase cheap check cheek cheese chef chemical chest chicken chief child childhood Chinese chip chocolate choice cholesterol choose Christian Christmas church cigarette circle circumstance cite citizen city civil civilian claim class classic classroom clean clear clearly client climate climb clinic clinical clock close closely closer clothes clothing cloud club clue cluster coach coal coalition coast coat code coffee cognitive cold collapse colleague collect collection collective college colonial color column combination combine come comedy comfort comfortable command commander comment commercial commission commit commitment committee common communicate communication community company compare comparison compete competition competitive competitor complain complaint complete completely complex complicated component compose composition comprehensive computer concentrate concentration concept concern concerned concert conclude conclusion concrete condition conduct conference confidence confident confirm conflict confront confusion Congress congressional connect connection consciousness consensus consequence conservative consider considerable consideration consist consistent constant constantly constitute constitutional construct construction consultant consume consumer consumption contact contain container contemporary content contest context continue continued contract contrast contribute contribution control controversial controversy convention conventional conversation convert conviction convince cook cookie cooking cool cooperation cop cope copy core corn corner corporate corporation correct correspondent cost cotton couch could council counselor count counter country county couple courage course court cousin cover coverage cow crack craft crash crazy cream create creation creative creature credit crew crime criminal crisis criteria critic critical criticism criticize crop cross crowd crucial cry cultural culture cup curious current currently curriculum custom customer cut cycle dad daily damage dance danger dangerous dare dark darkness data date daughter day dead deal dealer dear death debate debt decade decide decision deck declare decline decrease deep deeply deer defeat defend defendant defense defensive deficit define definitely definition degree delay deliver delivery demand democracy Democrat democratic demonstrate demonstration deny department depend dependent depending depict depression depth deputy derive describe description desert deserve design designer desire desk desperate despite destroy destruction detail detailed detect determine develop developing development device devote dialogue die diet differ difference different differently difficult difficulty dig digital dimension dining dinner direct direction directly director dirt dirty disability disagree disappear disaster discipline discourse discover discovery discrimination discuss discussion disease dish dismiss disorder display dispute distance distant distinct distinction distinguish distribute distribution district diverse diversity divide division divorce DNA do doctor document dog domestic dominant dominate door double doubt down downtown dozen draft drag drama dramatic dramatically draw drawing dream dress drink drive driver drop drug dry due during dust duty each eager ear early earn earnings earth ease easily east eastern easy eat economic economics economist economy edge edition editor educate education educational educator effect effective effectively efficiency efficient effort egg eight either elderly elect election electric electricity electronic element elementary eliminate elite else elsewhere e-mail embrace emerge emergency emission emotion emotional emphasis emphasize employ employee employer employment empty enable encounter encourage end enemy energy enforcement engage engine engineer engineering English enhance enjoy enormous enough ensure enter enterprise entertainment entire entirely entrance entry environment environmental episode equal equally equipment era error escape especially essay essential essentially establish establishment estate estimate etc ethics ethnic European evaluate evaluation even evening event eventually ever every everybody everyday everyone everything everywhere evidence evolution evolve exact exactly examination examine example exceed excellent except exception exchange exciting executive exercise exhibit exhibition exist existence existing expand expansion expect expectation expense expensive experience experiment expert explain explanation explode explore explosion expose exposure express expression extend extension extensive extent external extra extraordinary extreme extremely eye fabric face facility fact factor factory faculty fade fail failure fair fairly faith fall false familiar family famous fan fantasy far farm farmer fashion fast fat fate father fault favor favorite fear feature federal fee feed feel feeling fellow female fence few fewer fiber fiction field fifteen fifth fifty fight fighter fighting figure file fill film final finally finance financial find finding fine finger finish fire firm first fish fishing fit fitness five fix flag flame flat flavor flee flesh flight float floor flow flower fly focus folk follow following food foot football for force foreign forest forever forget form formal formation former formula forth fortune forward found foundation founder four fourth frame framework free freedom freeze French frequency frequent frequently fresh friend friendly friendship from front fruit frustration fuel full fully fun function fund fundamental funding funeral funny furniture furthermore future gain galaxy gallery game gang gap garage garden garlic gas gate gather gay gaze gear gender gene general generally generate generation genetic gentleman gently German gesture get ghost giant gift gifted girl girlfriend give given glad glance glass global glove go goal God gold golden golf good government governor grab grade gradually graduate grain grand grandfather grandmother grant grass grave gray great greatest green grocery ground group grow growing growth guarantee guard guess guest guide guideline guilty gun guy habit habitat hair half hall hand handful handle hang happen happy hard hardly hat hate have he head headline headquarters health healthy hear hearing heart heat heaven heavily heavy heel height helicopter hell hello help helpful her here heritage hero herself hey hi hide high highlight highly highway hill him himself hip hire his historian historic historical history hit hold hole holiday holy home homeless honest honey honor hope horizon horror horse hospital host hot hotel hour house household housing how however huge human humor hundred hungry hunter hunting hurt husband hypothesis I ice idea ideal identification identify identity ie if ignore ill illegal illness illustrate image imagination imagine immediate immediately immigrant immigration impact implement implication imply importance important impose impossible impress impression impressive improve improvement in incentive incident include including income incorporate increase increased increasing increasingly incredible indeed independence independent index Indian indicate indication individual industrial industry infant infection inflation influence inform information ingredient initial initially initiative injury inner innocent inquiry inside insight insist inspire install instance instead institution institutional instruction instructor instrument insurance intellectual intelligence intend intense intensity intention interaction interest interested interesting internal international Internet interpret interpretation intervention interview into introduce introduction invasion invest investigate investigation investigator investment investor invite involve involved involvement Iraqi Irish iron Islamic island Israeli issue it Italian item its itself jacket jail Japanese jet Jew Jewish job join joint joke journal journalist journey joy judge judgment juice jump junior jury just justice justify keep key kick kid kill killer killing kind king kiss kitchen knee knife knock know knowledge lab label labor laboratory lack lady lake land landscape language lap large largely last late later Latin latter laugh launch law lawn lawsuit lawyer lay layer lead leader leadership leading leaf league lean learn learning least leather leave left leg legacy legal legend legislation legitimate lemon length less lesson let letter level liberal library license lie life lifestyle lifetime lift light like likely limit limitation limited line link lip list listen literally literary literature little live living load loan local locate location lock long long-term look loose lose loss lost lot lots loud love lovely lover low lower luck lucky lunch lung machine mad magazine mail main mainly maintain maintenance major majority make maker makeup male mall man manage management manager manner manufacturer manufacturing many map margin mark market marketing marriage married marry mask mass massive master match material math matter may maybe mayor me meal mean meaning meanwhile measure measurement meat mechanism media medical medication medicine medium meet meeting member membership memory mental mention menu mere merely mess message metal meter method Mexican middle might military milk million mind mine minister minor minority minute miracle mirror miss missile mission mistake mix mixture mm-hmm mode model moderate modern modest mom moment money monitor month mood moon moral more moreover morning mortgage most mostly mother motion motivation motor mount mountain mouse mouth move movement movie Mr Mrs Ms much multiple murder muscle museum music musical musician Muslim must mutual my myself mystery myth naked name narrative narrow nation national native natural naturally nature near nearby nearly necessarily necessary neck need negative negotiate negotiation neighbor neighborhood neither nerve nervous net network never nevertheless new newly news newspaper next nice night nine no nobody nod noise nomination none nonetheless nor normal normally north northern nose not note nothing notice notion novel now nowhere n't nuclear number numerous nurse nut object objective obligation observation observe observer obtain obvious obviously occasion occasionally occupation occupy occur ocean odd odds of off offense offensive offer office officer official often oh oil ok okay old Olympic on once one ongoing onion online only onto open opening operate operating operation operator opinion opponent opportunity oppose opposite opposition option or orange order ordinary organic organization organize orientation origin original originally other others otherwise ought our ourselves out outcome outside oven over overall overcome overlook owe own owner pace pack package page pain painful paint painter painting pair pale Palestinian palm pan panel pant paper parent park parking part participant participate participation particular particularly partly partner partnership party pass passage passenger passion past patch path patient pattern pause pay payment PC peace peak peer penalty people pepper per perceive percentage perception perfect perfectly perform performance perhaps period permanent permission permit person personal personality personally personnel perspective persuade pet phase phenomenon philosophy phone photo photograph photographer phrase physical physically physician piano pick picture pie piece pile pilot pine pink pipe pitch place plan plane planet planning plant plastic plate platform play player please pleasure plenty plot plus PM pocket poem poet poetry point pole police policy political politically politician politics poll pollution pool poor pop popular population porch port portion portrait portray pose position positive possess possibility possible possibly post pot potato potential potentially pound pour poverty powder power powerful practical practice pray prayer precisely predict prefer preference pregnancy pregnant preparation prepare prescription presence present presentation preserve president presidential press pressure pretend pretty prevent previous previously price pride priest primarily primary prime principal principle print prior priority prison prisoner privacy private probably problem procedure proceed process produce producer product production profession professional professor profile profit program progress project prominent promise promote prompt proof proper properly property proportion proposal propose proposed prosecutor prospect protect protection protein protest proud prove provide provider province provision psychological psychologist psychology public publication publicly publish publisher pull punishment purchase pure purpose pursue push put qualify quality quarter quarterback question quick quickly quiet quietly quit quite quote race racial radical radio rail rain raise range rank rapid rapidly rare rarely rate rather rating ratio raw reach react reaction read reader reading ready real reality realize really reason reasonable recall receive recent recently recipe recognition recognize recommend recommendation record recording recover recovery recruit red reduce reduction refer reference reflect reflection reform refugee refuse regard regarding regardless regime region regional register regular regularly regulate regulation reinforce reject relate relation relationship relative relatively relax release relevant relief religion religious rely remain remaining remarkable remember remind remote remove repeat repeatedly replace reply report reporter represent representation representative Republican reputation request require requirement research researcher resemble reservation resident resist resistance resolution resolve resort resource respect respond respondent response responsibility responsible rest restaurant restore restriction result retain retire retirement return reveal revenue review revolution rhythm rice rich rid ride rifle right ring rise risk river road rock role roll romantic roof room root rope rose rough roughly round route routine row rub rule run running rural rush Russian sacred sad safe safety sake salad salary sale sales salt same sample sanction sand satellite satisfaction satisfy sauce save saving say scale scandal scared scenario scene schedule scheme scholar scholarship school science scientific scientist scope score scream screen script sea search season seat second secret secretary section sector secure security see seed seek seem segment seize select selection self sell Senate senator send senior sense sensitive sentence separate sequence series serious seriously serve service session set setting settle settlement seven several severe sex sexual shade shadow shake shall shape share sharp she sheet shelf shell shelter shift shine ship shirt shit shock shoe shoot shooting shop shopping shore short shortly shot should shoulder shout show shower shrug shut sick side sigh sight sign signal significance significant significantly silence silent silver similar similarly simple simply sin since sing singer single sink sir sister sit site situation six size ski skill skin sky slave sleep slice slide slight slightly slip slow slowly small smart smell smile smoke smooth snap snow so so-called soccer social society soft software soil solar soldier solid solution solve some somebody somehow someone something sometimes somewhat somewhere son song soon sophisticated sorry sort soul sound soup source south southern Soviet space Spanish speak speaker special specialist species specific specifically speech speed spend spending spin spirit spiritual split spokesman sport spot spread spring square squeeze stability stable staff stage stair stake stand standard standing star stare start state statement station statistics status stay steady steal steel step stick still stir stock stomach stone stop storage store storm story straight strange stranger strategic strategy stream street strength strengthen stress stretch strike string strip stroke strong strongly structure struggle student studio study stuff stupid style subject submit subsequent substance substantial succeed success successful successfully such sudden suddenly sue suffer sufficient sugar suggest suggestion suicide suit summer summit sun super supply support supporter suppose supposed Supreme sure surely surface surgery surprise surprised surprising surprisingly surround survey survival survive survivor suspect sustain swear sweep sweet swim swing switch symbol symptom system table tablespoon tactic tail take tale talent talk tall tank tap tape target task taste tax taxpayer tea teach teacher teaching team tear teaspoon technical technique technology teen teenager telephone telescope television tell temperature temporary ten tend tendency tennis tension tent term terms terrible territory terror terrorism terrorist test testify testimony testing text than thank thanks that the theater their them theme themselves then theory therapy there therefore these they thick thin thing think thinking third thirty this those though thought thousand threat threaten three throat through throughout throw thus ticket tie tight time tiny tip tire tired tissue title to tobacco today toe together tomato tomorrow tone tongue tonight too tool tooth top topic toss total totally touch tough tour tourist tournament toward towards tower town toy trace track trade tradition traditional traffic tragedy trail train training transfer transform transformation transition translate transportation travel treat treatment treaty tree tremendous trend trial tribe trick trip troop trouble truck true truly trust truth try tube tunnel turn TV twelve twenty twice twin two type typical typically ugly ultimate ultimately unable uncle under undergo understand understanding unfortunately uniform union unique unit United universal universe university unknown unless unlike unlikely until unusual up upon upper urban urge us use used useful user usual usually utility vacation valley valuable value variable variation variety various vary vast vegetable vehicle venture version versus very vessel veteran via victim victory video view viewer village violate violation violence violent virtually virtue virus visible vision visit visitor visual vital voice volume volunteer vote voter vs vulnerable wage wait wake walk wall wander want war warm warn warning wash waste watch water wave way we weak wealth wealthy weapon wear weather wedding week weekend weekly weigh weight welcome welfare well west western wet what whatever wheel when whenever where whereas whether which while whisper white who whole whom whose why wide widely widespread wife wild will willing win wind window wine wing winner winter wipe wire wisdom wise wish with withdraw within without witness woman wonder wonderful wood wooden word work worker working works workshop world worried worry worth would wound wrap write writer writing wrong yard yeah year yell yellow yes yesterday yet yield you young your yours yourself youth zone

Mexican Soccer Show presents the Liga MX Preview (7/17/20): Recapping the Copa Por Mexico semis and previewing Sunday's final between Chivas and Cruz Azul.

Pick 'em 3-1: Chicago Fire @ Seattle Sounders

I’ll make the next 3000 word sacrifice

3000 most common words in the English lexicon
a abandon ability able abortion about above abroad absence absolute absolutely absorb abuse academic accept access accident accompany accomplish according account accurate accuse achieve achievement acid acknowledge acquire across act action active activist activity actor actress actual actually ad adapt add addition additional address adequate adjust adjustment administration administrator admire admission admit adolescent adopt adult advance advanced advantage adventure advertising advice advise adviser advocate affair affect afford afraid African African-American after afternoon again against age agency agenda agent aggressive ago agree agreement agricultural ah ahead aid aide AIDS aim air aircraft airline airport album alcohol alive all alliance allow ally almost alone along already also alter alternative although always AM amazing American among amount analysis analyst analyze ancient and anger angle angry animal anniversary announce annual another answer anticipate anxiety any anybody anymore anyone anything anyway anywhere apart apartment apparent apparently appeal appear appearance apple application apply appoint appointment appreciate approach appropriate approval approve approximately Arab architect area argue argument arise arm armed army around arrange arrangement arrest arrival arrive art article artist artistic as Asian aside ask asleep aspect assault assert assess assessment asset assign assignment assist assistance assistant associate association assume assumption assure at athlete athletic atmosphere attach attack attempt attend attention attitude attorney attract attractive attribute audience author authority auto available average avoid award aware awareness away awful baby back background bad badly bag bake balance ball ban band bank bar barely barrel barrier base baseball basic basically basis basket basketball bathroom battery battle be beach bean bear beat beautiful beauty because become bed bedroom beer before begin beginning behavior behind being belief believe bell belong below belt bench bend beneath benefit beside besides best bet better between beyond Bible big bike bill billion bind biological bird birth birthday bit bite black blade blame blanket blind block blood blow blue board boat body bomb bombing bond bone book boom boot border born borrow boss both bother bottle bottom boundary bowl box boy boyfriend brain branch brand bread break breakfast breast breath breathe brick bridge brief briefly bright brilliant bring British broad broken brother brown brush buck budget build building bullet bunch burden burn bury bus business busy but butter button buy buyer by cabin cabinet cable cake calculate call camera camp campaign campus can Canadian cancer candidate cap capability capable capacity capital captain capture car carbon card care career careful carefully carrier carry case cash cast cat catch category Catholic cause ceiling celebrate celebration celebrity cell center central century CEO ceremony certain certainly chain chair chairman challenge chamber champion championship chance change changing channel chapter character characteristic characterize charge charity chart chase cheap check cheek cheese chef chemical chest chicken chief child childhood Chinese chip chocolate choice cholesterol choose Christian Christmas church cigarette circle circumstance cite citizen city civil civilian claim class classic classroom clean clear clearly client climate climb clinic clinical clock close closely closer clothes clothing cloud club clue cluster coach coal coalition coast coat code coffee cognitive cold collapse colleague collect collection collective college colonial color column combination combine come comedy comfort comfortable command commander comment commercial commission commit commitment committee common communicate communication community company compare comparison compete competition competitive competitor complain complaint complete completely complex complicated component compose composition comprehensive computer concentrate concentration concept concern concerned concert conclude conclusion concrete condition conduct conference confidence confident confirm conflict confront confusion Congress congressional connect connection consciousness consensus consequence conservative consider considerable consideration consist consistent constant constantly constitute constitutional construct construction consultant consume consumer consumption contact contain container contemporary content contest context continue continued contract contrast contribute contribution control controversial controversy convention conventional conversation convert conviction convince cook cookie cooking cool cooperation cop cope copy core corn corner corporate corporation correct correspondent cost cotton couch could council counselor count counter country county couple courage course court cousin cover coverage cow crack craft crash crazy cream create creation creative creature credit crew crime criminal crisis criteria critic critical criticism criticize crop cross crowd crucial cry cultural culture cup curious current currently curriculum custom customer cut cycle dad daily damage dance danger dangerous dare dark darkness data date daughter day dead deal dealer dear death debate debt decade decide decision deck declare decline decrease deep deeply deer defeat defend defendant defense defensive deficit define definitely definition degree delay deliver delivery demand democracy Democrat democratic demonstrate demonstration deny department depend dependent depending depict depression depth deputy derive describe description desert deserve design designer desire desk desperate despite destroy destruction detail detailed detect determine develop developing development device devote dialogue die diet differ difference different differently difficult difficulty dig digital dimension dining dinner direct direction directly director dirt dirty disability disagree disappear disaster discipline discourse discover discovery discrimination discuss discussion disease dish dismiss disorder display dispute distance distant distinct distinction distinguish distribute distribution district diverse diversity divide division divorce DNA do doctor document dog domestic dominant dominate door double doubt down downtown dozen draft drag drama dramatic dramatically draw drawing dream dress drink drive driver drop drug dry due during dust duty each eager ear early earn earnings earth ease easily east eastern easy eat economic economics economist economy edge edition editor educate education educational educator effect effective effectively efficiency efficient effort egg eight either elderly elect election electric electricity electronic element elementary eliminate elite else elsewhere e-mail embrace emerge emergency emission emotion emotional emphasis emphasize employ employee employer employment empty enable encounter encourage end enemy energy enforcement engage engine engineer engineering English enhance enjoy enormous enough ensure enter enterprise entertainment entire entirely entrance entry environment environmental episode equal equally equipment era error escape especially essay essential essentially establish establishment estate estimate etc ethics ethnic European evaluate evaluation even evening event eventually ever every everybody everyday everyone everything everywhere evidence evolution evolve exact exactly examination examine example exceed excellent except exception exchange exciting executive exercise exhibit exhibition exist existence existing expand expansion expect expectation expense expensive experience experiment expert explain explanation explode explore explosion expose exposure express expression extend extension extensive extent external extra extraordinary extreme extremely eye fabric face facility fact factor factory faculty fade fail failure fair fairly faith fall false familiar family famous fan fantasy far farm farmer fashion fast fat fate father fault favor favorite fear feature federal fee feed feel feeling fellow female fence few fewer fiber fiction field fifteen fifth fifty fight fighter fighting figure file fill film final finally finance financial find finding fine finger finish fire firm first fish fishing fit fitness five fix flag flame flat flavor flee flesh flight float floor flow flower fly focus folk follow following food foot football for force foreign forest forever forget form formal formation former formula forth fortune forward found foundation founder four fourth frame framework free freedom freeze French frequency frequent frequently fresh friend friendly friendship from front fruit frustration fuel full fully fun function fund fundamental funding funeral funny furniture furthermore future gain galaxy gallery game gang gap garage garden garlic gas gate gather gay gaze gear gender gene general generally generate generation genetic gentleman gently German gesture get ghost giant gift gifted girl girlfriend give given glad glance glass global glove go goal God gold golden golf good government governor grab grade gradually graduate grain grand grandfather grandmother grant grass grave gray great greatest green grocery ground group grow growing growth guarantee guard guess guest guide guideline guilty gun guy habit habitat hair half hall hand handful handle hang happen happy hard hardly hat hate have he head headline headquarters health healthy hear hearing heart heat heaven heavily heavy heel height helicopter hell hello help helpful her here heritage hero herself hey hi hide high highlight highly highway hill him himself hip hire his historian historic historical history hit hold hole holiday holy home homeless honest honey honor hope horizon horror horse hospital host hot hotel hour house household housing how however huge human humor hundred hungry hunter hunting hurt husband hypothesis I ice idea ideal identification identify identity ie if ignore ill illegal illness illustrate image imagination imagine immediate immediately immigrant immigration impact implement implication imply importance important impose impossible impress impression impressive improve improvement in incentive incident include including income incorporate increase increased increasing increasingly incredible indeed independence independent index Indian indicate indication individual industrial industry infant infection inflation influence inform information ingredient initial initially initiative injury inner innocent inquiry inside insight insist inspire install instance instead institution institutional instruction instructor instrument insurance intellectual intelligence intend intense intensity intention interaction interest interested interesting internal international Internet interpret interpretation intervention interview into introduce introduction invasion invest investigate investigation investigator investment investor invite involve involved involvement Iraqi Irish iron Islamic island Israeli issue it Italian item its itself jacket jail Japanese jet Jew Jewish job join joint joke journal journalist journey joy judge judgment juice jump junior jury just justice justify keep key kick kid kill killer killing kind king kiss kitchen knee knife knock know knowledge lab label labor laboratory lack lady lake land landscape language lap large largely last late later Latin latter laugh launch law lawn lawsuit lawyer lay layer lead leader leadership leading leaf league lean learn learning least leather leave left leg legacy legal legend legislation legitimate lemon length less lesson let letter level liberal library license lie life lifestyle lifetime lift light like likely limit limitation limited line link lip list listen literally literary literature little live living load loan local locate location lock long long-term look loose lose loss lost lot lots loud love lovely lover low lower luck lucky lunch lung machine mad magazine mail main mainly maintain maintenance major majority make maker makeup male mall man manage management manager manner manufacturer manufacturing many map margin mark market marketing marriage married marry mask mass massive master match material math matter may maybe mayor me meal mean meaning meanwhile measure measurement meat mechanism media medical medication medicine medium meet meeting member membership memory mental mention menu mere merely mess message metal meter method Mexican middle might military milk million mind mine minister minor minority minute miracle mirror miss missile mission mistake mix mixture mm-hmm mode model moderate modern modest mom moment money monitor month mood moon moral more moreover morning mortgage most mostly mother motion motivation motor mount mountain mouse mouth move movement movie Mr Mrs Ms much multiple murder muscle museum music musical musician Muslim must mutual my myself mystery myth naked name narrative narrow nation national native natural naturally nature near nearby nearly necessarily necessary neck need negative negotiate negotiation neighbor neighborhood neither nerve nervous net network never nevertheless new newly news newspaper next nice night nine no nobody nod noise nomination none nonetheless nor normal normally north northern nose not note nothing notice notion novel now nowhere n't nuclear number numerous nurse nut object objective obligation observation observe observer obtain obvious obviously occasion occasionally occupation occupy occur ocean odd odds of off offense offensive offer office officer official often oh oil ok okay old Olympic on once one ongoing onion online only onto open opening operate operating operation operator opinion opponent opportunity oppose opposite opposition option or orange order ordinary organic organization organize orientation origin original originally other others otherwise ought our ourselves out outcome outside oven over overall overcome overlook owe own owner pace pack package page pain painful paint painter painting pair pale Palestinian palm pan panel pant paper parent park parking part participant participate participation particular particularly partly partner partnership party pass passage passenger passion past patch path patient pattern pause pay payment PC peace peak peer penalty people pepper per perceive percentage perception perfect perfectly perform performance perhaps period permanent permission permit person personal personality personally personnel perspective persuade pet phase phenomenon philosophy phone photo photograph photographer phrase physical physically physician piano pick picture pie piece pile pilot pine pink pipe pitch place plan plane planet planning plant plastic plate platform play player please pleasure plenty plot plus PM pocket poem poet poetry point pole police policy political politically politician politics poll pollution pool poor pop popular population porch port portion portrait portray pose position positive possess possibility possible possibly post pot potato potential potentially pound pour poverty powder power powerful practical practice pray prayer precisely predict prefer preference pregnancy pregnant preparation prepare prescription presence present presentation preserve president presidential press pressure pretend pretty prevent previous previously price pride priest primarily primary prime principal principle print prior priority prison prisoner privacy private probably problem procedure proceed process produce producer product production profession professional professor profile profit program progress project prominent promise promote prompt proof proper properly property proportion proposal propose proposed prosecutor prospect protect protection protein protest proud prove provide provider province provision psychological psychologist psychology public publication publicly publish publisher pull punishment purchase pure purpose pursue push put qualify quality quarter quarterback question quick quickly quiet quietly quit quite quote race racial radical radio rail rain raise range rank rapid rapidly rare rarely rate rather rating ratio raw reach react reaction read reader reading ready real reality realize really reason reasonable recall receive recent recently recipe recognition recognize recommend recommendation record recording recover recovery recruit red reduce reduction refer reference reflect reflection reform refugee refuse regard regarding regardless regime region regional register regular regularly regulate regulation reinforce reject relate relation relationship relative relatively relax release relevant relief religion religious rely remain remaining remarkable remember remind remote remove repeat repeatedly replace reply report reporter represent representation representative Republican reputation request require requirement research researcher resemble reservation resident resist resistance resolution resolve resort resource respect respond respondent response responsibility responsible rest restaurant restore restriction result retain retire retirement return reveal revenue review revolution rhythm rice rich rid ride rifle right ring rise risk river road rock role roll romantic roof room root rope rose rough roughly round route routine row rub rule run running rural rush Russian sacred sad safe safety sake salad salary sale sales salt same sample sanction sand satellite satisfaction satisfy sauce save saving say scale scandal scared scenario scene schedule scheme scholar scholarship school science scientific scientist scope score scream screen script sea search season seat second secret secretary section sector secure security see seed seek seem segment seize select selection self sell Senate senator send senior sense sensitive sentence separate sequence series serious seriously serve service session set setting settle settlement seven several severe sex sexual shade shadow shake shall shape share sharp she sheet shelf shell shelter shift shine ship shirt shit shock shoe shoot shooting shop shopping shore short shortly shot should shoulder shout show shower shrug shut sick side sigh sight sign signal significance significant significantly silence silent silver similar similarly simple simply sin since sing singer single sink sir sister sit site situation six size ski skill skin sky slave sleep slice slide slight slightly slip slow slowly small smart smell smile smoke smooth snap snow so so-called soccer social society soft software soil solar soldier solid solution solve some somebody somehow someone something sometimes somewhat somewhere son song soon sophisticated sorry sort soul sound soup source south southern Soviet space Spanish speak speaker special specialist species specific specifically speech speed spend spending spin spirit spiritual split spokesman sport spot spread spring square squeeze stability stable staff stage stair stake stand standard standing star stare start state statement station statistics status stay steady steal steel step stick still stir stock stomach stone stop storage store storm story straight strange stranger strategic strategy stream street strength strengthen stress stretch strike string strip stroke strong strongly structure struggle student studio study stuff stupid style subject submit subsequent substance substantial succeed success successful successfully such sudden suddenly sue suffer sufficient sugar suggest suggestion suicide suit summer summit sun super supply support supporter suppose supposed Supreme sure surely surface surgery surprise surprised surprising surprisingly surround survey survival survive survivor suspect sustain swear sweep sweet swim swing switch symbol symptom system table tablespoon tactic tail take tale talent talk tall tank tap tape target task taste tax taxpayer tea teach teacher teaching team tear teaspoon technical technique technology teen teenager telephone telescope television tell temperature temporary ten tend tendency tennis tension tent term terms terrible territory terror terrorism terrorist test testify testimony testing text than thank thanks that the theater their them theme themselves then theory therapy there therefore these they thick thin thing think thinking third thirty this those though thought thousand threat threaten three throat through throughout throw thus ticket tie tight time tiny tip tire tired tissue title to tobacco today toe together tomato tomorrow tone tongue tonight too tool tooth top topic toss total totally touch tough tour tourist tournament toward towards tower town toy trace track trade tradition traditional traffic tragedy trail train training transfer transform transformation transition translate transportation travel treat treatment treaty tree tremendous trend trial tribe trick trip troop trouble truck true truly trust truth try tube tunnel turn TV twelve twenty twice twin two type typical typically ugly ultimate ultimately unable uncle under undergo understand understanding unfortunately uniform union unique unit United universal universe university unknown unless unlike unlikely until unusual up upon upper urban urge us use used useful user usual usually utility vacation valley valuable value variable variation variety various vary vast vegetable vehicle venture version versus very vessel veteran via victim victory video view viewer village violate violation violence violent virtually virtue virus visible vision visit visitor visual vital voice volume volunteer vote voter vs vulnerable wage wait wake walk wall wander want war warm warn warning wash waste watch water wave way we weak wealth wealthy weapon wear weather wedding week weekend weekly weigh weight welcome welfare well west western wet what whatever wheel when whenever where whereas whether which while whisper white who whole whom whose why wide widely widespread wife wild will willing win wind window wine wing winner winter wipe wire wisdom wise wish with withdraw within without witness woman wonder wonderful wood wooden word work worker working works workshop world worried worry worth would wound wrap write writer writing wrong yard yeah year yell yellow yes yesterday yet yield you young your yours yourself youth zone

I’ll make the 3000 word sacrifice.

I am about to post the 3000 most common words in the English lexicon. Wish me luck...
a abandon ability able abortion about above abroad absence absolute absolutely absorb abuse academic accept access accident accompany accomplish according account accurate accuse achieve achievement acid acknowledge acquire across act action active activist activity actor actress actual actually ad adapt add addition additional address adequate adjust adjustment administration administrator admire admission admit adolescent adopt adult advance advanced advantage adventure advertising advice advise adviser advocate affair affect afford afraid African African-American after afternoon again against age agency agenda agent aggressive ago agree agreement agricultural ah ahead aid aide AIDS aim air aircraft airline airport album alcohol alive all alliance allow ally almost alone along already also alter alternative although always AM amazing American among amount analysis analyst analyze ancient and anger angle angry animal anniversary announce annual another answer anticipate anxiety any anybody anymore anyone anything anyway anywhere apart apartment apparent apparently appeal appear appearance apple application apply appoint appointment appreciate approach appropriate approval approve approximately Arab architect area argue argument arise arm armed army around arrange arrangement arrest arrival arrive art article artist artistic as Asian aside ask asleep aspect assault assert assess assessment asset assign assignment assist assistance assistant associate association assume assumption assure at athlete athletic atmosphere attach attack attempt attend attention attitude attorney attract attractive attribute audience author authority auto available average avoid award aware awareness away awful baby back background bad badly bag bake balance ball ban band bank bar barely barrel barrier base baseball basic basically basis basket basketball bathroom battery battle be beach bean bear beat beautiful beauty because become bed bedroom beer before begin beginning behavior behind being belief believe bell belong below belt bench bend beneath benefit beside besides best bet better between beyond Bible big bike bill billion bind biological bird birth birthday bit bite black blade blame blanket blind block blood blow blue board boat body bomb bombing bond bone book boom boot border born borrow boss both bother bottle bottom boundary bowl box boy boyfriend brain branch brand bread break breakfast breast breath breathe brick bridge brief briefly bright brilliant bring British broad broken brother brown brush buck budget build building bullet bunch burden burn bury bus business busy but butter button buy buyer by cabin cabinet cable cake calculate call camera camp campaign campus can Canadian cancer candidate cap capability capable capacity capital captain capture car carbon card care career careful carefully carrier carry case cash cast cat catch category Catholic cause ceiling celebrate celebration celebrity cell center central century CEO ceremony certain certainly chain chair chairman challenge chamber champion championship chance change changing channel chapter character characteristic characterize charge charity chart chase cheap check cheek cheese chef chemical chest chicken chief child childhood Chinese chip chocolate choice cholesterol choose Christian Christmas church cigarette circle circumstance cite citizen city civil civilian claim class classic classroom clean clear clearly client climate climb clinic clinical clock close closely closer clothes clothing cloud club clue cluster coach coal coalition coast coat code coffee cognitive cold collapse colleague collect collection collective college colonial color column combination combine come comedy comfort comfortable command commander comment commercial commission commit commitment committee common communicate communication community company compare comparison compete competition competitive competitor complain complaint complete completely complex complicated component compose composition comprehensive computer concentrate concentration concept concern concerned concert conclude conclusion concrete condition conduct conference confidence confident confirm conflict confront confusion Congress congressional connect connection consciousness consensus consequence conservative consider considerable consideration consist consistent constant constantly constitute constitutional construct construction consultant consume consumer consumption contact contain container contemporary content contest context continue continued contract contrast contribute contribution control controversial controversy convention conventional conversation convert conviction convince cook cookie cooking cool cooperation cop cope copy core corn corner corporate corporation correct correspondent cost cotton couch could council counselor count counter country county couple courage course court cousin cover coverage cow crack craft crash crazy cream create creation creative creature credit crew crime criminal crisis criteria critic critical criticism criticize crop cross crowd crucial cry cultural culture cup curious current currently curriculum custom customer cut cycle dad daily damage dance danger dangerous dare dark darkness data date daughter day dead deal dealer dear death debate debt decade decide decision deck declare decline decrease deep deeply deer defeat defend defendant defense defensive deficit define definitely definition degree delay deliver delivery demand democracy Democrat democratic demonstrate demonstration deny department depend dependent depending depict depression depth deputy derive describe description desert deserve design designer desire desk desperate despite destroy destruction detail detailed detect determine develop developing development device devote dialogue die diet differ difference different differently difficult difficulty dig digital dimension dining dinner direct direction directly director dirt dirty disability disagree disappear disaster discipline discourse discover discovery discrimination discuss discussion disease dish dismiss disorder display dispute distance distant distinct distinction distinguish distribute distribution district diverse diversity divide division divorce DNA do doctor document dog domestic dominant dominate door double doubt down downtown dozen draft drag drama dramatic dramatically draw drawing dream dress drink drive driver drop drug dry due during dust duty each eager ear early earn earnings earth ease easily east eastern easy eat economic economics economist economy edge edition editor educate education educational educator effect effective effectively efficiency efficient effort egg eight either elderly elect election electric electricity electronic element elementary eliminate elite else elsewhere e-mail embrace emerge emergency emission emotion emotional emphasis emphasize employ employee employer employment empty enable encounter encourage end enemy energy enforcement engage engine engineer engineering English enhance enjoy enormous enough ensure enter enterprise entertainment entire entirely entrance entry environment environmental episode equal equally equipment era error escape especially essay essential essentially establish establishment estate estimate etc ethics ethnic European evaluate evaluation even evening event eventually ever every everybody everyday everyone everything everywhere evidence evolution evolve exact exactly examination examine example exceed excellent except exception exchange exciting executive exercise exhibit exhibition exist existence existing expand expansion expect expectation expense expensive experience experiment expert explain explanation explode explore explosion expose exposure express expression extend extension extensive extent external extra extraordinary extreme extremely eye fabric face facility fact factor factory faculty fade fail failure fair fairly faith fall false familiar family famous fan fantasy far farm farmer fashion fast fat fate father fault favor favorite fear feature federal fee feed feel feeling fellow female fence few fewer fiber fiction field fifteen fifth fifty fight fighter fighting figure file fill film final finally finance financial find finding fine finger finish fire firm first fish fishing fit fitness five fix flag flame flat flavor flee flesh flight float floor flow flower fly focus folk follow following food foot football for force foreign forest forever forget form formal formation former formula forth fortune forward found foundation founder four fourth frame framework free freedom freeze French frequency frequent frequently fresh friend friendly friendship from front fruit frustration fuel full fully fun function fund fundamental funding funeral funny furniture furthermore future gain galaxy gallery game gang gap garage garden garlic gas gate gather gay gaze gear gender gene general generally generate generation genetic gentleman gently German gesture get ghost giant gift gifted girl girlfriend give given glad glance glass global glove go goal God gold golden golf good government governor grab grade gradually graduate grain grand grandfather grandmother grant grass grave gray great greatest green grocery ground group grow growing growth guarantee guard guess guest guide guideline guilty gun guy habit habitat hair half hall hand handful handle hang happen happy hard hardly hat hate have he head headline headquarters health healthy hear hearing heart heat heaven heavily heavy heel height helicopter hell hello help helpful her here heritage hero herself hey hi hide high highlight highly highway hill him himself hip hire his historian historic historical history hit hold hole holiday holy home homeless honest honey honor hope horizon horror horse hospital host hot hotel hour house household housing how however huge human humor hundred hungry hunter hunting hurt husband hypothesis I ice idea ideal identification identify identity ie if ignore ill illegal illness illustrate image imagination imagine immediate immediately immigrant immigration impact implement implication imply importance important impose impossible impress impression impressive improve improvement in incentive incident include including income incorporate increase increased increasing increasingly incredible indeed independence independent index Indian indicate indication individual industrial industry infant infection inflation influence inform information ingredient initial initially initiative injury inner innocent inquiry inside insight insist inspire install instance instead institution institutional instruction instructor instrument insurance intellectual intelligence intend intense intensity intention interaction interest interested interesting internal international Internet interpret interpretation intervention interview into introduce introduction invasion invest investigate investigation investigator investment investor invite involve involved involvement Iraqi Irish iron Islamic island Israeli issue it Italian item its itself jacket jail Japanese jet Jew Jewish job join joint joke journal journalist journey joy judge judgment juice jump junior jury just justice justify keep key kick kid kill killer killing kind king kiss kitchen knee knife knock know knowledge lab label labor laboratory lack lady lake land landscape language lap large largely last late later Latin latter laugh launch law lawn lawsuit lawyer lay layer lead leader leadership leading leaf league lean learn learning least leather leave left leg legacy legal legend legislation legitimate lemon length less lesson let letter level liberal library license lie life lifestyle lifetime lift light like likely limit limitation limited line link lip list listen literally literary literature little live living load loan local locate location lock long long-term look loose lose loss lost lot lots loud love lovely lover low lower luck lucky lunch lung machine mad magazine mail main mainly maintain maintenance major majority make maker makeup male mall man manage management manager manner manufacturer manufacturing many map margin mark market marketing marriage married marry mask mass massive master match material math matter may maybe mayor me meal mean meaning meanwhile measure measurement meat mechanism media medical medication medicine medium meet meeting member membership memory mental mention menu mere merely mess message metal meter method Mexican middle might military milk million mind mine minister minor minority minute miracle mirror miss missile mission mistake mix mixture mm-hmm mode model moderate modern modest mom moment money monitor month mood moon moral more moreover morning mortgage most mostly mother motion motivation motor mount mountain mouse mouth move movement movie Mr Mrs Ms much multiple murder muscle museum music musical musician Muslim must mutual my myself mystery myth naked name narrative narrow nation national native natural 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r/Soccer 2019 AFC Asian Cup Group C Profile: South Korea, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Philippines [3/6]

SOUTH KOREA via u/youngjabberwocker

About

Nickname(s): Taegeuk Warriors
AFC Asian Cup Appearances: 14
Best Finish: Winners (1956, 1960)
FIFA Ranking: 53
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Introduction

Hey there, ladies and gents. Merry Late ~~Padoru Padoru~~ Christmas to y’all!
Here’s another issue of my rantings and ravings on the ~~dysfunctional funhouse of Korean football horror~~ prospects for the Korean National Team in the 2019 edition of the Asia Cup. As per usual, I will go over a brief history of the country, coupled alongside a synopsis of Korea at the Asia Cup, and end with an analysis of our players and coaching staff. So without futherado, here is my mental vomit about Korean football.

A Very Quick and Unsatisfying Sparknotes of Our National History:

As with before, the history of Korea allegedly begins with Gojoseon (although this is very much based in partial mythological roots) and a She-Bear called Ungnyeo. Where we start to see our first real bit of history is in the period of the Korean Three Kingdoms (not to be confused with the Koei games since that’s the Chinese Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty, although I’d give up my arm off to get a game of that). These three kingdoms were Shilla, Baekje, and Goguryeo who went through periods of war and peace lasting from 57 BC to 668 AD. With the help of the Tang Dynasty, Silla ended up unifying the kingdoms and creating the Korean nation, albeit they would later declare war of Tang over issues of military-governorship by the Tang over portions of Korea. Silla would rule for nearly 1000 years until it was overthrown by Goryeo/Koryo from whom we get our modern name of Korea. Goryo would lose much of its power shortly after its conquest by the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, eventually being replaced by the final dynasty called Joseon. The most notable event during this time period was the Imjin War of 1592 where Japan led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi attempted to invade Korea. He was repelled by Yi Soon-Shin, who was tragically killed in the final battle after telling his men not to report his death and to keep beating the battle drums. Admiral Yi remains one of Korea’s most well-known, if not most popular and universally beloved, hero. Joseon would go on to last for a couple centuries more afterwards, going through relatively long periods of stability with a few hiccups here and there via the invasions by the Manchu/Qing. This dynasty lasted a little over 500 years before eventually being overthrown by the Japanese shortly after our annexation in 1910.
Much of our modern history revolves around three things: our time as a colony of Japan, the Korean War, and the dictatorship of Park Chung-Hee. To briefly go over each event, these time periods have some pretty serious modern implications in that they very much play into modern perceptions of certain countries. For instance, our colonization by Japan contributes to the anti-Japanese sentiment that arises whenever issues regarding the comfort women, Yasakuni Shrine, or the Dokdo/Takeshima Islands comes up. On that note, the Korean War and China’s support and intervention regarding North Korea similarly plays a role in anti-Chinese sentiment in Korea, in addition to certain issues such as our alliance with the United States and the THAAD missile systems. These nationalistic sentiments have been thankfully waning in recent years due to cultural exchange and mass tourism. Personally, I do not associate with nationalism to an extent outside of rooting for my country at sporting events, but it is important to understand where certain animosities and hostilities behind certain games comes from. The last event, the dictatorship of Park Chung-Hee, is a rather controversial topic as while many attribute Korea’s modern industrial miracle to him, he did so via the suppression of human rights and expression during his reign up until his assassination by his own Korean Central Intelligence Agency Director. Regardless, there are people on both sides who either revere him as the father of modern Korea or as a tyrannical despot who suppressed human rights.
Thus, you have your very rough and quick summary of Korean history. Congratulations! You are now eligible to make a clickbait Youtube video called, “Ten Facts YOU WON’T BELIEVE about Korea!”

An Even More Depressing Overview of Our Asia Cup Performance

So before we begin, it’s worth giving a brief overview of how the Asia Cup works since this has confused the living hell out of my on how many times it’s been overhauled. Since it’s found in 1956, the Asia Cup has more or less included a small number of teams (most recently featuring 16 teams), though this upcoming edition of the 2019 Asia Cup will feature 24 teams. There are six groups with four teams each. In addition, qualification for the Asia Cup also plays into qualification of the World Cup. The reward for winning the Asia Cup is a spot in the FIFA Confederations Cup. In general, the elite teams in the Asia Cup have been South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. Australia are the current champions and one of the most recent additions to the AFC.
Depending on who you ask, our performance at the Asia Cup has been either very successful or absolutely shambolic. Many Koreans tend to lean towards the latter as our status as one of the most elite teams in Asia would otherwise imply that we have won this tournament countless times. The stark reality is that we last won in 1956 and 1960. Yup, over 50 years ago, immediately after the Korean War practically wrecked everything in our country and split it in half.
Let that sink in.
Now, I’m not a particularly pessimistic person as watching Incheon United continually shit the bed for over 15 years does things to a person’s expectations. But Korea’s performance at the Asia Cup and last winning literally only after the Korean War is ~~a disaster on par with the Korean Overwatch team ever losing the World Cup~~ disappointing, to say the least. This will be Paulo Bento’s first real test as a coach, and there is a mixture of optimism and pessimism regarding as our coach for the 2015 Asia Cup, Uli “Shitlieke” Stielke made it to the finals and lost to Australia before hiring a masseuse as a coach on our team, which is to say that the Asia Cup isn’t necessarily a reflection on how a coach will perform in the long term. Regardless, Bento’s first few matches have shown promise and he has been willing to shed some of our liabilities over the past few months. For the first time in a while, I feel like I’m actually watching some coherent and watchable football. Not supermodel hot, but it’s more like a “girl next door” cute type of football.

Manager and Squad

Manager: Paulo Bento (Portugal)
Goalkeepers: Kim Seung-gyu (Vissel Kobe) , Kim Jin-hyeon (Cerezo Osaka) , Jo Hyeon-woo (Daegu FC)
Defenders: Kim Young-gwon (Guanzhou Evergrande) , Jung Seung-hyun (Kashima Antlers) , Kwon Kyung-won (Tianjin Quanjian) , Kim Min-jae (Jeonbuk) , Lee Yong (Jeonbuk) , Kim Moon-hwan (Busan IPark) , Hong Chul (Suwon Samsung Bluewings) , Kim Jin-su (Jeonbuk)
Midfielders: Ki Sung-yueng (Newcastle) , Jung Woo-young (Al-Sadd) , Koo Ja-cheol (FC Augsburg) , Hwang In-beom (Daejeon Citizen) , Ju Se-jong (Asan Mugunghwa) , Lee Jae-sung (Holstein Kiel) , Hwang Hee-chan (Hamburg SV) , Na Sang-ho (Gwangju FC) , Lee Chung-yong (VFL Bochum) , Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)
Forwards: Hwang Ui-jo (Gamba Osaka) , Ji Dong-won (FC Augsburg)

POTENTIAL STARTING XI

Players to Watch

Son Heung-Min: Not much else needs to be said about this man, practically already considered one of the greatest Korean and Asian footballers to play. His finishing and precision at Tottenham have proven him to rank amongst the upper echelons of football players in Europe. Of minor concern is whether or not this transitions over to the national team level as many notable Korean footballers have had issues with this. The major issues lies in how much we rely on our European players to pick up the slack of other players. This issue is further amplified by how our finishing and positioning on the offense end has been traditionally ineffective in comparison to how the rest of our team tends to function.
Of course, Son has a large supporting cast at Tottenham to take off a lot of heat, but the hope is that Korean can also provide a bit of relief from the inevitable amount of manmarking and pressure he will be receiving not only on the pitch but from bearing the expectations of an entire country on his back. The good thing at this point is that Son has little to worry about in terms of military service as he has already won the gold medal at the Asian Games. However, winning this tournament would do wonders for the legacy of the man who revitalized Korean football after Park Ji-Sung left. While I would not yet put him in the tier of Cha Beum-Kun, Son is certainly capable of reaching that mark in the coming years if he continues on his current pace of progression.
Kim Min-Jae: A young and promising player who has come up and revived a faltering Korean defense (no thanks to Jang Hyun-Soo). He currently plays for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, which has been one of the better teams in the K-League for the past few years. He would have been at the World Cup had it not been for an injury that sidelined him before he could participate. His last game against Australia cemented his place in the starting line-up as he proved that he has the speed and finesse that is required for a centreback. Add the fact that he is 190 cm, and you have one tall and strong player who can head away balls and create an imposing presence for corners.
Unfortunately, the current Wikipedia description of Kim Min-Jae’s international career is an unnecessarily long and in-depth storytelling of his own goal against Northern Ireland. The hope is that this Asia Cup turns some eyes towards his way so that he can secure a move to Europe and develop even further.
Hwang Ui-Jo: (Right) Hwang Ui-Jo isn’t necessarily young in footballing terms as he is currently 26. His career has been somewhat of a rollercoaster here and there as he occasionally has shown flashes of being a great striker and then reverts to a normal level. However, the past Asian Games saw Hwang literally turn into a gatling gun of goals where he was scoring left and right. Given, the Asian Games is a U-23 tournament, but the fact remains that Hwang has somehow rebooted his career and become a serviceable striker once more. In addition, he has shown the same level of consistency over at Gamba Osaka in Japan. The only question that remains is whether or not he can maintain this form not only during the Asia Cup but for the years to come to help Son with our often sputtering offensive woes.

Points of Discussion

Positive and Negative Points (Or How I Learned to Force Zombieland Saga Into Everything)

POSITIVE:
Coaching
I’m aware of the irony that Korea knocked out Paulo Bento’s Portugal in 2002 via Park Ji-Sung’s beautiful goal. Bento wasn’t Korea’s first choice, but anyone would’ve been better than the human embodiment of a horse’s gonorrhea-infested swollen anus in the form of Uli Stielke. Bento has made strides by not selecting old and fairly ineffective players who are no longer in form such as Kim Shin-Wook (no more random crosses into the box) or Jang Hyun-Soo (although that was a weird situation as shown below). In general, Bento has shown that he is knowing what he is doing, and he has selected a fair number of young players who show promise. This is definitely a transitional and developmental period of the Korean national team, so I’m looking forward to riding this ship with our Portuguese captain.
The Bento Train is coming for that ass
No More Jang Hyun-Soo
For people unfamiliar with the tale of this utter moron, let me tell you. Jang Hyun-Soo was a defender who, for some unfathomable reason, kept starting for our national team and was one of the central (if not the main reason) why we conceded easy goals in Russia. Whether or not he had some secret nudes of the coaches or something is beyond me. Now, if that was the extent of his incompetence, that would be fine and I would generally refrain from attaching any inference on his character. But then he decided to break the number one taboo in Korean society: skipping on military service.
Jang Hyun-Soo won exemption by winning gold at the 2014 Asian Games. From that point, he just had to do about 500 hours of community service over 3 years and do four weeks of basic training, a lot better than the forced two years of mandatory service while basically committing career suicide. This is the sort of stuff that Son Heung-Min almost lost his career over and fought hard to win. Jang proceeded to mindboggingly falsify his records by allegedly doctoring a photo or forging document. This subsequently got him banned for life from the Korean national team. The upside to this is that we opened up room for far better younger players, which I am looking forward to seeing during the Asia Cup.
Remember kids, don’t forge government documents or you’ll have a bad time
Easy Group
I just know this is going to bite me in the ass, but our group is fairly easy to go through (no offense to the other teams). The hardest team in our group is China, who has been a rising power in terms of effectively shutting down our offense. Add the fact that the Big Mac Daddy Guus Hiddink is coaching in China for the U-21 team, and you have a recipe for a potential upset if Hiddink has been advising China. For those familiar with Asian football, China has been more or less causing us issues when we face them, most notably (and still seared into my memory), our 3-0 defeat where we had Kalbi AKA and old and overweight legendary Korean goalkeeper Lee Woon-Jae in goal.
I can’t speak much for Kyrgyzstan or the Philippines aside from saying that I am a bit concerned about the Filipino goalkeeper, Neil Etheridge, who is very clearly one of the best in Asia. That being said, he’s only playing one match which is a bit disappointing but understandable. That being said, I’m looking forward to Korea testing their skills against Asia’s best teams.
Woohoo for high expectations!
NEGATIVE:
Coaching
This is also a negative because, in short, Bento is a new raw coach in terms of the national team setup for Asia. If he can bring the same sort of initial success that he did with Portugal before he was dismissed, I think he’ll be able to survive and succeed in Asia. Ultimately, the World Cup is the biggest metric for a coach’s performance in Asia, but the Asia Cup is a pretty good starting spot. However, as I stated before, it’s not an absolutely certain measure.
Inability to perform at the Asia Cup
Really just a repeat of my above points, but to recap, our performance at the Asia Cup has been historically shambolic in recent years. I would say winning this tournament would easily be one of the great achievements in terms of our status in Asian football, next to beating Germany in 2018. If we can shake this off of our backs, we can perhaps try to reclaim the crown as the Kings of Asia rather than just shaking our canes and talking about the good old days when Korea didn’t play 뻥축구.
Random Facts:
In spite of our major differences, the common cultural influences amongst Korea, China, and Japan is pretty evident. All three countries utilize Chinese characters to an extent with different interpretations. In addition, we tend to circulate the same myths, most notably the Legend of the Monkey King (called Sonohgong by Koreans) where the most famous figures the hero Sonohgong/Wukong/Goku (Korean/Chinese/Japanese names, respectively) and Samjang/Xuanzang/Sanzang (once again, Korean/Chinese/Japanese) who is better well known today in games as the Titty Monk in Fate Grand Order.
There are many large overseas Korean communities around the world, ranging from those in China called Chosonjok (조선족), Japan called Zainichi Kangokujin (在日韓国人), America simply called Korean-Americans (한국계 미국인), and Central Asia called Koryo Saram (Корё сарам). For Japan, many of the Koreans were sent to Japan during the period of colonization. The ones living in China are mostly a byproduct of our borders. The Korean-Americans are mostly from late 19th to mostly 20th century immigration. Koreans in Central Asia are a bit of a sadder but interesting story where many were forcibly sent to Central Asia by the Soviet Union. In all, the Korean community is fairly strong across the world.
We have some pretty baller ass flags. I would fully endorse having a unified Korea have one of these flags ranging from Goryeo , Joseon, or the Empire of Korea. So, with that preview, here’s to hoping Korea does well and finally shakes off the boogieman this Asia Cup! Let’s go, 화이팅!
Korea is coming for that Asia Cup booty

CHINA PR , via u/75r6q3 and u/CrebTheBerc

About

Nickname(s): Team China , Team Dragon
AFC Asian Cup Appearances: 12
Best Finish: Runners-Up (1984, 2004)
FIFA Ranking: 78
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Introduction

China is the world's largest nation population wise with an estimated 1.4 billion people in 2016. However they’ve had trouble turning that into success in soccer as their population seems to focus primarily on either academic success or a more individual sports like at the olympics. An average of 1 field for every 260,000 people does not help either, although their current president Xi Jinping is trying to change that by encouraging investment in the sport.
~ via u/CrebTheBerc
Having in 11 Asian Cups since first qualified in 1976, Team China have never lifted the trophy once — even when they played at home in 2004 where they lost 1-3 to Japan. At their 12th attempt, the Dragons aim to lift the trophy with Marcello Lippi as their manager. After the failure to qualify for WC 2018, China would need to bounce back from the recent form to advance in the Asian Cup. Being placed in the same group with South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, and Philippines, China are expected at a minimum to advance to the knockouts, but only if they play to their full potential and show some consistency.
~ via u/75r6q3

Manager and Squad

Manager: Marcello Lippi (Italy)
Goalkeepers:Yan Junling (Shanghai SIPG) , Wang Dalei (Shandong Luneng) , Zhang Lu (Tianjin Quanjian)
Defenders: Feng Xiaoting (Guangzhou Evergrande) , Zhang Linpeng (Guangzhou Evergrande), Liu Yang (Shandong Luneng) , Shi Ke (Shanghai SIPG) , Yu Yang (Beijing Guoan) , Liu Yiming (Tianjin Quanjian)
*Midfielders: Zheng Zhi (Guangzhou Evergrande) , Wu Xi (Jiangsu Suning) , Hao Junmin (Shandong Luneng) , Chi Zhongguo (Beijing Guoan) , Yu Hanchao (Guangzhou Evergrande) , Jin Jingdao (Shandong Luneng) , Zhao Xuri (Tianjin Quanjian) , Zhang Chengdong (Hebei China Fortune) , Piao Cheng (Beijing Guoan)
Forwards: Wu Lei (Shanghai SIPG), Gao Lin (Guangzhou Evergrande), Yu Dabao (Beijing Guoan), Xiao Zhi (Guangzhou R&F), Wei Shihao (Beijing Guoan)

POTENTIAL STARTING XI

Players to Watch

Wu Lei: The 27-year-old forward is in terrific form this season and is defiantly the most anticipated Chinese player for the tournament. Crowned champion with Shanghai SIPG in the league, Wu Lei displayed his excellent eye for goal with 27 goals and 8 assists in 29 matches. Pace, clever runs, and creativity, he is definitely THE player to watch. However, his performances in international matches have always been criticised for his finishing touch in one-on-ones. Would he recover his form and be able to win some silverware for his country?
~ via u/75r6q3
Zheng Zhi: The 38-year-old veteran is still the backbone of the squad, and will be the oldest player at the tournament. The captain has made 102 appearances for China since 2002. He is probably most remembered by European fans for his spell at Charlton and Celtic from 2007 to 2010. Zheng Zhi still has incredible stamina for games and certainly still is the engine for the Chinese midfield with his defensive and attacking abilities. Though not being a guaranteed starter in club games last season, he still played 17 games and started them all, playing 1348 minutes in total with a pass success rate at 84%. His farewell to WC wasn’t the most glorious with a last-minute red card in the last game for qualification to stop a goal scoring chance, but he still has the Asian Cup to mark his career. This sure would be his last major tournament, and 1.3 billion people would wish him good luck.
~ via u/75r6q3
Yu Hanchao: The 31-year-old winger doesn’t have the most amazing stats, but definitely is one of the most creative players on the pitch. A quick and skillful dribbler, Yu Hanchao is a workhorse on the left wing. He made 10 assists from his 47 key passes in his 26 league games last season. He sure would be the key player to break the deadlock in games with his quick feet and pinpoint crossing abilities.
~ via u/75r6q3

Points of Discussion

Lippi's Swansong
This is the last tournament that Chinese fans would enjoy Marcello Lippi as the manager as he stated that he would leave after his contract expires. But to be honest, some aren’t really satisfied with his performances. After regularly calling up young talents to friendly games, no solid system hasn’t been formed in the plays. Recent friendlies with India and Qatar are actually embarrassing to watch. Some fans are starting to question Lippi’s tactics. But we can only watch and hope they perform their best. With many young talents (Jin Jingdao, Wei Shihao, Shi Ke, etc.) being discovered recently, fans are most excited to see them perform well alongside the veterans. The more experienced players are mostly in their late 20s or early 30s, which would be an ideal age to face such a tournament. Fans certainly wish this tournament could also leave some great legacy for Chinese football.
~ via u/75r6q3
Formation/Setup: Lippi has mixed up formations a bit since earlier in the year. He’s implemented a 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 with decent success, but seems to have also found a bit of success with a 3-4-3 in recent friendlies.
~ via u/CrebTheBerc
** Questionable Defense**: Based off of recent matches China’s defense does not look all that confident. They should be ok against some of the smaller teams, but against teams like South Korea they are really going to be tested.
~ via u/CrebTheBerc

KYRGYZ REPUBLIC , via u/BuzzBuzz01

About

Nickname(s): The White Falcons
AFC Asian Cup Appearances: Debut
Best Finish: Debut
FIFA Ranking: 90
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Introduction

The Kyrgyz Republic, a.k.a Kyrgyzstan, qualified for their first ever AFC Asian Cup in emphatic style, finishing with 14 points and coming second in a group containing India, Myanmar, and Macau. Kyrgyz football has been on the uptick since the start of the decade. The evolution in the country's football began with the appointment of Russian Sergey Dvoryankov as manager in 2012. Under Dvoryankov, Kyrgyzstan began naturalizing foreign footballers such as Daniel Tagoe of Ghana, and[Edgar Bernhardt and Vitalij Lux of Germany. Along with getting more Kyrgyz-born Russians into the squad, Kyrgyzstan experienced relative success in the past years, including their best ever World Cup Qualifying campaign this past cycle, where they notched 14 points and only two points behind second place Jordan in the second round of qualifying. They even gave AFC giants Australia a run for their money in Bishkek where they only lost 2-1, and arguably should have came away with at least a point despite them being ranked 177th in the world at the time. With only losing 5 of their last 16 matches, including wins over Syria and India, can the Kyrgyzs produce a fairytale run in one of the more difficult groups in the tournament?

Manager and Squad

Manager: Aleksandr Krestinin (Russia)
GK: Pavel Matiash (unattached), Valery Kashuba (Dordoi), Kutman Kadyrbekov (Dordoi)
DF: Valeri Kichin (Yenisey Krasnoyarsk), Baktyiar Duishobekov (Bashundhara Kings) , Tamirlan Kozubaev (Dordoi) , Mustafa Yusupov (Dordoi) , Aizar Akmatov (Alga Bishkek) , Daniel Tagoe (Chittagong Abahani Ltd.)
MF: Viktor Maier (SC Wiedenbrück), Edgar Bernhardt (GKS Tychy), Anton Zemlyanukhin (unattached), Aziz Sydykov (Dordoi) , Farhad Musabekov (unattached), Bekzhan Sagynbaev (Dordoi), Kairat Zhyrgalbek Uulu (Dordoi) , Odiljon Abdurakhmanov (FC Alay) , Murolimzhon Akhmedov (Dordoi) , Akhlidin Israilov (unattached) , Tursunali Rustamov (Alga Bishkek)
FW: Vitalij Lux (SSV Ulm), Mirlan Murzaev (Serik Belediyespor) , Ernist Batyrkanov (Dordoi)

POTENTIAL STARTING XI

Players to Watch

Anton Zemlyanukhin: The country's top goal scorer with 12 goals, he can play on either wing or through the middle as a creative midfielder. Expect him to all over the place in the final third when Kyrgyz have the ball as he has freedom to roam wherever he wants. He's also on set pieces and penalties.
Daniel Tagoe : The naturalised Kyrgyz, the Ghanaian will anchor the back line attempting to limit the likes of Hwang Hee-Chan, Wu Lei, and Phil Younghusband. It's likely that the Kyrgyz's could line up with 4 CB's across the back four, looking at set pieces as an opportunity to score. So look for Tagoe to be the primary target and chip in with some dangerous headers towards goal as well as shifting in and out between midfield and centre-half.
Milan Murzaev: An experienced player in the lower divisions of Turkey, Murzaev is a striker but will most likely be deployed on the wing for Kyrgyzstan. His ability to drift inside and help Lux out in the attack will critical to whether they can get some goals on the board.

Points of Discussion

Switch to a Defensive Approach?
In one of the tougher groups in the competition , expect Kyrgyzstan to be defending in their own half quite a bit. As previously stated , it's possible that Krestinin could go for the Pulis approach and stick two centre halves at fullback. Essentially playing with a flat back 4.
Though recently in a 4-0 friendly loss against Japan , they went with a 5-4-1 formation , with Tagoe acting as one of the centre-backs and using two taller, but natural fullbacks in Yusupov and Shakirov. So if they go with 4 at the back, Tagoe and Duishobekov can easily slot in an out between the centre-halves or back into midfield, and making the odd run into midfield and picking out a pass.
When not defending in their final third , they maintained their block of 5 and 4 very well, with the lone striker trying his best to press the back line. It's when Japan started to near the final third that things got dicey, with the plan usually being that one centre back stepping to the ball really aggressively while two others try and cover behind him if the step doesn't work out. If they opt to go defensively , they will need to be able to accept the lack of attacking opportunities that they will have as well. In the Japan match they registered only 26% of the ball and only 2 shots in 90 minutes , and neither of them were on target. So if they're committed to defending for large chunks of match , they need to be prepared to look for an outlet on the wings. The thing is though, they do have a gameplan, as Krestinin is a man for details. Meanwhile, for example China, don't appear to have a real gameplan in their matches, they kind of just rely on their talented players to pull something out of the bag.
The Unexpected
Obviously this is Kyrgyzstan's first major international tournament, and all three matches will be a special occasion , they got to the finals for a reason, and now it's a matter of showing some bottle and putting on a good first showing. Will they rise up and go toe-to-toe and leave everything out on the pitch? Or will they just go out there to "make up the numbers" and be happy they just qualified , getting trounced by several goals every match? They have the potential to go for a little cinderella run , but the White Falcons need to show that they are up for it on Asia's biggest stage.
Nationalised Recruits
Reaching from former USSR nations , to African born players who play in the Kyrgyz League, or other European nations, the technical standard has been upgraded significantly with the nationalised players. As previously mentioned there’s Ghanaian centre back/midfielder Daniel Tagoe (now married to a Kyrgyzstani), Edgar Bernhardt who grew up in Germany, who captains the national team, while striker Vitalij Lux returned to bolster the attack of the country he left as a 6-year-old. It’s been a tough pursuit, that has cost the the Kyrgyz FA plenty of time, negotiation, scouting, research etc., put it seems all of that is paying its dividends now.

PHILIPPINES via u/BuzzBuzz01

About

Nickname(s): Azkals (Street Dogs)
AFC Asian Cup Appearances: Debut
Best Finish: Debut
FIFA Ranking: 116
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Introduction

The Azkals enter the 2019 AFC Asian Cup as one of the three tournament debutants, alongside Yemen and fellow Group C mate the Kyrgyz Republic. Drawn into a final qualifying group consisting of Yemen, Tajikistan, and Nepal, there was a great sense of belief that the country could qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. And so they did, with an undefeated record at that. For time, the Philippines were one of the laughingstocks of not just Asian football, but world football, at one point even being ranked as low as 195th in the world. With the introduction of foreign based players with Filipino ancestry such as the Younghusband brothers along with some success in regional competitions, football has grown tremendously in a country where basketball is the overwhelmingly more popular sport. After a semifinal exit in the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup, the Philippines while hope they can continue their momentum into the UAE

Manager and Squad

Manager: Sven-Göran Eriksson (Sweden)
Goalkeepers: Nathanael Villanueva (Kaya FC-Iloilo) , Michael Falkesgaard (Bangkok United) , Kevin Ray Hansen (Horsens)
Defenders: Álvaro Silva (Kedah) , Carli de Murga (Ceres-Negros) , Daisuke Sato (Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe) , Stephan Palla (Buriram United)
Midfielders: John-Patrick Strauß (Erzgebirge Aue) , Luke Woodland (Suphanburi) , Iain Ramsay (Sukhothai) , Manuel Ott (Ceres-Negros) , Adam Tull (Davao Aguilas) , Kevin Ingreso (Ceres–Negros) , Stephan Schröck (Ceres–Negros) , Miguel Tanton (Ceres–Negros) , Paul Mulders (Ceres–Negros) , James Younghusband (Davao Aguilas)
Forwards: Mike Ott (Ceres–Negros) , Jovin Bedic (Kaya FC-Iloilo) , Phil Younghusband (Davao Aguilas) , Patrick Reichelt (Ceres–Negros) , Curt Dizon (Ceres–Negros) , Javier Patiño (Buriram United)

POTENTIAL STARTING XI

Players to Watch

John-Patrick Strauß: A recent foreign recruit for the Azkals, Strauß elected to play for his mother's country. the German born central midfielder has already proven himself a key man in Eriksson’s line-up, in which he started every match (which he was available for) for at the recent Suzuki Cup. Alongside Schrock, Ingresso and the Ott brothers, Strauß might feature in all German-born midfield.
Phil AND James Younghusband: The two brothers who began the integration of foreign players with Filipino ancestry into the national team, alegedly after someone who was playing Football Manager discovered and notified that the Younghusband's were eligible for the Philippines. Born in Ashford, England, the Younghusband brothers are considered both greats of the national team, going through the highs and lows of Filipino football since they're commitment to the Azkals in 2005.
Phil (left) is the country's most capped player (105 caps) and top scorer of all time (52 goals). With Chelsea for 11 years until 2008, Younghusband plays as a striker and is the national teams captain has a fantastic goalscoring record in the Filipino league, with a >1 goal/game ratio.
James (right) is more of a wide midfielder, flirting in the lower divisions of the English game until 2010 when he then went to the Filipino League. Now with 100 caps to his name, he and his brother will shoulder the goalscoring responsibility for the Philippines.

Points of Discussion

(Initially) Unusual Neil Etheridge Exclusion
Neil Etheridge , who arguably has the broadest set of shoulders in football (alongside Moussa Marega), was born in Enfield, and is the only ASEAN international currently playing in one of Europe's top 5 leagues, doing it with recently promoted Cardiff City in the Premier League. With an already a staggering 62 appearances for the Azkals, Etheridge is an experienced goalkeeper who provides a much needed security blanket for a defense that can be leaky and unorganized at times.
A part of both Chelsea and Fulham's academy at one point, Etheridge bounced around the EFL looking for a team to give him a real opportunity. In 2015 he got his breakthrough with Walsall in League One, until two years later Warnock signed him for the Bluebirds on a free after he rejected an extension at Walsall.
So WHY is he excluded from the AFC Asian Cup you may ask? The reasons were unknown initially. It has nothing to do with Etheridge's desire, since he's already played plenty for the national team and expressed his interest. Though in a recent presser by Warnock, it was stated that Etheridge didn’t want to lose his starting place at Cardiff, and that electing not to go to the Asian Cup was a big decision for him. And so far it’s worked! Keeping two consecutive clean sheets against Crystal Palace and Leicester City.
HEAVY integration of Foreign based players with Filipino ancestry: As previously stated, the Philippines have a heavy emphasis on recruiting players from all over the world with Filipino eligibility/ancestry to play for the national team. Overall, these additions have heavily improved the quality and progress of the Azkals on the Asian scene. Only FOUR of the 23 players in the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup squad were born in the Philippines.
- Phil and James Younghusband: Born in England
- Curt Dizon (FW): Born in England
- Adam Reed (MF): Born in the England
- Stephan Palla (DF): Born in Austria
- Iain Ramsay (MF): Born in Australia
- Álvaro Silva (DF): Born in Spain
- Carli de Murga (DF): Born in Spain
- Manuel Ott (MF): Born in Germany
- Kevin Ingreso (MF): Born in Germany
- John-Patrick Strauß (MF): Born in Germany
- Stephan Schröck (MF): Born in Germany
- Mike Ott (FW): Born in Germany
- Patrick Reichelt (FW): Born in Germany
- Michael Falkesgaard (GK): Born in Denmark
- Martin Steuble (DF): Born in Switzerland
- Paul Mulders (MF): Born in the Netherlands
- Luke Woodland (MF): Born in UAE to English father + Filipino mother
Also also Many others from Canada, Belgium, Sweden, the USA, Italy, and Japan

Have a great New Year's eve and day, and tune in on Wednesday when u/FlyingArab will be posting Group D! Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, and Yemen

Don't forget to participate in the Predictions Game in the comments below!

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r/Soccer 2019 AFC Asian Cup Group C Profile: South Korea, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Philippines [3/6]

SOUTH KOREA via u/youngjabberwocker

About

Introduction

A Very Quick and Unsatisfying Sparknotes of Our National History:

An Even More Depressing Overview of Our Asia Cup Performance

Manager and Squad

Players to Watch

Points of Discussion

Positive and Negative Points (Or How I Learned to Force Zombieland Saga Into Everything)

POSITIVE:

NEGATIVE:

Random Facts:

CHINA PR , via u/75r6q3 and u/CrebTheBerc

About

Introduction

Manager and Squad

Players to Watch

Points of Discussion

KYRGYZ REPUBLIC , via u/BuzzBuzz01

About

Introduction

Manager and Squad

Players to Watch

Points of Discussion

PHILIPPINES via u/BuzzBuzz01

About

Introduction

Manager and Squad

Players to Watch

Points of Discussion

Don't forget to participate in the Predictions Game in the comments below!

Pick 'em 3-7: Chicago Fire @ New England Revolution

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