Malaysian Football, The Southeast Asian Football That Touches My Heart – Ueda Asahi

“Unlike the temporary break in Chinese football, Malaysian football development is more substantial, as it has proven for the past ten years. Credit has to be given to the HRH Crown Prince for sure. He not only reinforced the first team by injecting high-calibre players such as Jordi Amat, Shane Lowry, Pablo Aimar and more, but he also invested heavily in developing the training centre and the stadium and possessed a long-term vision for the club. Yes, all these might look easy on paper, but the HRH Crown Prince is the one who showed it by action. I have nothing but great respect for him”

India, The Future Asian Football Giant

“I have been following football worldwide and am used to seeing teams with massive supporters. But when I came to this 3-time Indian Super League runner-up (since 2014), especially after having experienced the match at the stadium in person and witnessing how everyone cheered and sang for the team, I was impressed with the football passion in the city, considering the team is not a renowned international team yet. After my last visit, they have gained a new supporter in me”

Footraveller Ueda Asahi Looking Forward to Southeast Asian Football Success

“Japan missed the 1994 World Cup in the United States with just seconds remaining. And for the 1998 World Cup in France, Japan won the playoffs with a golden goal. It was because of these two ‘hells’ (Doha-1993, where the Japanese cried) and ‘heaven’ (Johor Bahru-1997, where we got our revenge and cried tears of joy) that Japanese football improved drastically. 

Southeast Asian countries will also soon experience their own ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’ as Southeast Asia will play one of the most exciting, if not the most exciting, World Cup Qualifiers in the World Cup”

Visiting FC Barcelona and Experiencing the UEFA Champions League

“The UEFA Champions League theme song went off, and the match between Barca and FC Porto kicked off in nearly 40,000 packed Stadium. Instead of focusing on the exciting match, we were literally “marked out” of the game by the entertaining football ultras’ singing and the ten over thousands of mini Barca flags given to the fans for free upon entry, waving in the air. It was nothing impressive when only a few hundred flags moved in the air. But when it’s ten over thousands with singing, it is a sight”