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2009 SAFF Cup Special: Know Your Opponents - Team Afghanistan
Continuing with our SAFF Cup special series, in which we profile each of the other seven teams in the competition, Goal.com's Amoy Ghoshal looks at minnows Afghanistan
01-Dec-2009 10:45:50 PM
FIFA Ranking: 192
Best Result In SAFF Cup: Group Stages In 2003,05 and 08
Result In Last SAFF Cup: Group Stages
History:
Afghanistan has been plagued by political turmoil for a very long time. As a result, football in the country has suffered like all other aspects of public life. However their association with the beautiful game has been for a very long time as their national team was formed as early as 1922. They played their first international in 1941, became a part of FIFA in 48 and AFC in 54. Afghanistan were not successful in those years also but did participate in a few major competitions. They played in the preliminary round of the 1948 London Olympics but lost to Luxembourg 0-6. In the 1951 Asian Games they finished fourth out of the six participating nations after getting a bye in their quarter final. They could never really became a force in football and then the Soviet Union invasion in 1979, followed by the Taliban regime further disrupted the state of the game in the country. In fact after their participation in the qualifying campaign for the 1984 Asian Cup they did not play a single match till 2002. ‘Team e Melli’ returned to the international stage at the 2002 Busan Asian Games but have built up a reputation of being the whopping boys. However there have been a few encouraging results for the national team, like in the 2005 SAFF Cup they managed to beat higher ranked Sri Lanka which helped them finish third in their group, which was an improvement from the bottom place finish in their debut SAFF Cup campaign in 2003. 2008 was also a good year for Afghanistan as they managed two draws in the SAFF Cup to once again finish third in their group. They also played in the main rounds of the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup and gave hosts and eventual champions India a scare in the opening match.
Current Team:
The national team comprises of a number of players who play in the lower divisions of European countries, especially in Germany. The big concern for head coach Mohammed Farid will be that Afghanistan have hardly had any international action in 2009 and also pulled out of the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers earlier this year. So this lack of preparation could hurt them dearly in the tournament however there are a few talented players in the squad who would be hoping to cause an upset. In goal, Shamsuddin Amiri is a decent custodian who has considerable experience both at club and international level. Midfielders Harez Arian Habib and Ata Yamrali are two of the most creative players of the team so they would to be at their best in every game. Striker Hafizullah Qadami is one of their most reliable players and has five international goals to his name. On paper, Afghanistan are easily one of the weakest teams of the tournament so not a lot is expected from them.
Key Player:
Shamsuddin Amiri – Goalkeeper Amiri is likely to be Afghanistan’s busiest player in the tournament so he will have to be on the top of his game from the very first match.
The Group:
Afghanistan don’t have much of a chance to qualify from the group but they will be looking to come up with a performance similar to the one in the opening game of the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup when India needed a fortuitous injury time goal to beat them. If that happens, they have a very good chance of getting a shock result.
Verdict:
Afghanistan finished third in their group in the last two editions but it will be difficult for them to repeat that this time. However lets remember what their country has gone through over the years and applaud them for participating in their fourth consecutive SAFF Cup.
Amoy Ghoshal
Best Result In SAFF Cup: Group Stages In 2003,05 and 08
Result In Last SAFF Cup: Group Stages
History:
Afghanistan has been plagued by political turmoil for a very long time. As a result, football in the country has suffered like all other aspects of public life. However their association with the beautiful game has been for a very long time as their national team was formed as early as 1922. They played their first international in 1941, became a part of FIFA in 48 and AFC in 54. Afghanistan were not successful in those years also but did participate in a few major competitions. They played in the preliminary round of the 1948 London Olympics but lost to Luxembourg 0-6. In the 1951 Asian Games they finished fourth out of the six participating nations after getting a bye in their quarter final. They could never really became a force in football and then the Soviet Union invasion in 1979, followed by the Taliban regime further disrupted the state of the game in the country. In fact after their participation in the qualifying campaign for the 1984 Asian Cup they did not play a single match till 2002. ‘Team e Melli’ returned to the international stage at the 2002 Busan Asian Games but have built up a reputation of being the whopping boys. However there have been a few encouraging results for the national team, like in the 2005 SAFF Cup they managed to beat higher ranked Sri Lanka which helped them finish third in their group, which was an improvement from the bottom place finish in their debut SAFF Cup campaign in 2003. 2008 was also a good year for Afghanistan as they managed two draws in the SAFF Cup to once again finish third in their group. They also played in the main rounds of the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup and gave hosts and eventual champions India a scare in the opening match.
Current Team:
The national team comprises of a number of players who play in the lower divisions of European countries, especially in Germany. The big concern for head coach Mohammed Farid will be that Afghanistan have hardly had any international action in 2009 and also pulled out of the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers earlier this year. So this lack of preparation could hurt them dearly in the tournament however there are a few talented players in the squad who would be hoping to cause an upset. In goal, Shamsuddin Amiri is a decent custodian who has considerable experience both at club and international level. Midfielders Harez Arian Habib and Ata Yamrali are two of the most creative players of the team so they would to be at their best in every game. Striker Hafizullah Qadami is one of their most reliable players and has five international goals to his name. On paper, Afghanistan are easily one of the weakest teams of the tournament so not a lot is expected from them.
Key Player:
Shamsuddin Amiri – Goalkeeper Amiri is likely to be Afghanistan’s busiest player in the tournament so he will have to be on the top of his game from the very first match.
The Group:
Afghanistan don’t have much of a chance to qualify from the group but they will be looking to come up with a performance similar to the one in the opening game of the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup when India needed a fortuitous injury time goal to beat them. If that happens, they have a very good chance of getting a shock result.
Verdict:
Afghanistan finished third in their group in the last two editions but it will be difficult for them to repeat that this time. However lets remember what their country has gone through over the years and applaud them for participating in their fourth consecutive SAFF Cup.
Amoy Ghoshal
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