Tensions boiled over at heated Asian Cup

Shunsuke Nakamura was received like a conquering hero in Yokohama Sunday. Before Nakamura performed for the Italian club Reggina in an exhibition against Yokohama Marinos, spectators cheered for 25 minutes as he jogged around the Yokohama International Stadium field, welcoming him back from the Asian Cup final, in which Japan defeated China, 3-1. But the scenario was quite different in Beijing the previous day. The match was portrayed as a chance for China to avenge Japan's old colonial policies and brutal occupation of the 1930s and '40s. A crowd of 60,000 at Workers Stadium in Beijing (except for the estimated 2,000 Japanese fans) reacted with hostility. The Chinese booed Japan's national anthem and jeered every time the Japanese touched the ball. China's Dutch coach, Arie Haan, disputed all three Japanese goals, and as Chinese fans left the stadium, they shouted obscenities and burned Japanese flags in the streets.

"Normally, I don't discuss these matters, but their three goals were all questionable," said Haan, who refused to accept the runner-up medal from Asian Football Confederation general secretary Dato Peter Velappan. "Their first goal came off a free kick that should have been awarded to us, the second goal was a handball, and their third goal should not have been allowed as there had been a foul on Sun Jihai. How can you win any game when these sorts of things happen?

"I'm very disappointed and sorry for the beautiful and good fans of China, especially to lose a game that we should not have lost. The difference between the two teams was experience. There were many fouls that the referee may not have seen, and as a former professional player, I know how it works. It was very difficult because we do not have this sort of experience."

Chinese fans were criticized for their lack of sophistication from the start of the tournament after they booed guest speakers at the opening ceremonies. Velappan threatened to bar China from playing host to AFC events and questioned Beijing's worthiness to play host to the 2008 Olympic Games. In the buildup to the title game, Japan's prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, appealed to the Chinese to calm their nationalistic expressions, but that only served to escalate the rhetoric.

In fact, though the tournament has improved in terms of organization and promotion, Asian soccer still appears to fall short of European and South American standards.

Referees ejected 17 players in 32 matches, and one referee, Abdul Rahman of Bahrain, was dismissed from the tournament because of erratic decisions. There were on-field brawls in several games. And in the final, Koji Nakata appeared to convert Japan's go-ahead goal with his hand, off a Nakamura corner kick.

Despite the problems, the Asian Cup was a relatively tame affair. There was little violence in the stands or outside the venues -- at least none was reported -- according to an Agence France Presse report.

"We like it when they whistle at us, we give even more," Nakamura said before the championship game. "And here, at the most, they yell against you. In Italy they also throw things at you."

Japan performed without several of its star players: Junichiro Inamoto, Hidetoshi Nakata, Shinji Ono, Atsushi Yanagisawa. But Zico, the team's Brazilian coach, displayed his resourcefulness.

"Due to the Olympics and injuries, we had about eight key players who missed this tournament, but the fact that we retained the Asian Cup proves that the spiritual power of our team is very good and that we have very good teamwork," Zico said. "Nobody believed that we could win this competition, but we kept faith in ourselves and won the title."

Going for it The fact that Argentina has enlisted Inter midfielder Kily Gonzalez for its Olympic soccer team, which begins play against Serbia & Montenegro tomorrow, indicates the country's commitment to the tournament. "Argentina is the clear favorite, but the other teams are strong, such as Italy, Portugal, and Greece," said Gonzalez, at 30 the team's most experienced player. "It will be a difficult game against Serbia. They have good, young talent." Argentina and Paraguay qualified ahead of Brazil for the Olympics, which presents a compromised soccer tournament. The event is restricted to Under 23 players, with three exceptions per team, and rosters are limited to 18. The Argentines used several young players in the Copa America last month, and produced some of the best performances of the tournament . . . Former Revolution player-coach Walter Zenga is confronting a difficult challenge as coach of Steaua Bucharest. Zenga, hired two weeks ago, lost to Rapid, 2-1, as Steaua dropped to fifth place in the Romanian first division. Steaua was the first Eastern European club to win the Champions Cup, in 1986.