They may not yet have a team capable of winning the World Cup, but that didn't stop soccer-mad Asians getting into the swing of this year's tournament.
Although the yawning time difference with Berlin, where the final between France and Italy was held, forced Asians to watch live broadcasts at unearthly hours yesterday morning, millions of fans throughout the region still avidly tuned in on television.
They packed shopping malls, bars and anywhere else that a public screen could be erected not only for the final but for every match in the month-long championships.
In Australia, where almost 1 million people trace their ancestry back to Italy, tens of thousands of fans braved the winter chill to watch the game at huge outdoor screens in major cities.
Flares, fireworks and screams of joy erupted from an estimated 10,000 fans in Sydney's Italian heartland of Norton Street when Italy slotted home the winning penalty.
"It doesn't get any better than this," yelled Victor Arcuri atop a car painted in the red, white and green of the Italian flag.
He invited everyone back to his pizza shop, telling them: "Let's all call in sick today."
Of all the Asian teams in the month-long tournament, Australia went furthest, reaching the second round. It was only the second time the nation had qualified.
Japan and South Korea, joint hosts of the 2002 tournament, were eliminated in the first round.
Italy put Australia out of the World Cup with a 1-0 victory and Australian Prime Minister John Howard noted that the fact the Azzurri had gone on to win the tournament showed how well the Socceroos had performed.
"I congratulate Italy," he said.
"I'm sure there'll be a lot of Australians of Italian descent -- now that Australia's out of it -- their second choice would have been Italy and I'm sure they're very happy," Howard said.
Hong Kongers' love of soccer is evident from the popularity of European team shirts in the former British colony. During the World Cup, however, they took their devotion to another level, as hundreds of thousands gathered at public screenings of matches.
Japanese badminton star Chiharu Shida on Tuesday told Chinese fans to “stop stalking” her, adding that she was “very scared” by the unwanted attention. Shida, who won women’s doubles bronze at the Paris Olympics last year, has a strong following in China partly because of her engagement with the local culture. The 27-year-old, currently competing at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, has been dubbed the “Badminton Goddess” by fans and media. She hit out at some supporters on Tuesday, accusing them in an Instagram post of taking their fandom too far. “Every time we compete in China we always experience the harm
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
A potential European league could be a gold mine for the NBA as the top-flight North American league looks to muscle its way into a deep pool of talent across the Atlantic Ocean. The NBA is exploring the launch of a European league with world basketball governing body FIBA as a partner, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last week, with an eye toward a 16-team format made up of 12 permanent clubs and four qualifiers. The continent’s longstanding Euroleague quickly signaled its readiness to enter into talks with the NBA, even as it has balked at the idea of another league in
Hans Niemann, the chess grand master at the heart of an alleged cheating scandal, has yet to provide an explanation on his late withdrawal from the Freestyle Grand Slam in Paris. Niemann, who was accused of cheating by world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in 2023 before the matter was settled outside court, received a wild card for the event, but informed organizers he was pulling out for “personal reasons” less than 48 hours before the start of the 12-player tournament. “I texted him on Friday at 7pm. I said: ‘Hans, we’re already here. Are you here as well?’ And he read the
RSS