Taiwanese-Spanish soccer player Yaki Yen on Wednesday announced his decision to quit Taiwan’s national squad, saying that as long as Satoshi Imai remains the head coach, he will not play in a national uniform.
Yen made the announcement on his Facebook page and expressed disappointment that he was not picked to represent Taiwan in the upcoming East Asia Cup qualifiers, where Taiwan is scheduled to face East Timor in two games early next month.
“I love Taiwan, and really want to play for the national squad, but the coaching staff are opinionated against me,” he said. “I want to inform the public that I will not play for the national squad as long as this unprofessional Japanese head coach is on the job.”
Photo courtesy of YaKi Yen’s Facebook page
“I want to say sorry to the fans, that I could not contribute to Team Taiwan this time,” he added.
Yen was born to a Taiwanese father and a Spanish mother in Las Palmas, the Canary Islands, and played with UD Fuerteventura in Spain’s third division.
He obtained his Republic of China (ROC) citizenship in 2005 and made his national squad debut against Iraq on Sept. 9 last year.
Yen is currently playing for Changchun Yatai in the Chinese Super League.
When asked by reporters yesterday to further explain his decision to quit the national squad, Yen said that Imai showed him disrespect and had played him out of position starting with the international match against Cambodia in June.
“The head coach selected me to start for that home game in Kaohsiung, but he put me in the rightback position, but my best position, and the one I am most familiar with, is fullback,” he said. “I felt Imai was not respectful of the players. It was my patriotic duty to give my best efforts for the team at that match.”
Yen said he was dropped from the squad for an away game with Cambodia five days later, adding that he accepted a media interview prior to a home game and that might have started the friction with Imai.
“A good head coach must use his brain to manage, and not his emotions,” he said. “I see him as an unprofessional coach, and I have decided to quit the squad as long as Imai is in charge of the national team.”
The Chinese Taipei Football Association yesterday issued a statement in response to Yen’s decision to quit the squad, saying: “We stand by the head coach’s decision and his right to pick players for the team roster.”
“The head coach is the one who is responsible for wins or defeats by the national squad, and he is in charge of selecting players who are suitable for his style, and those who are not suited for the game... We respect the words expressed by Yaki [Yen],” it added.
BOOT TO FACE: Wilfried Singo said that his actions were not intentional, ‘but I was able to see afterwards that’ the ’keeper had a significant face injury Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday came from behind to extend their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a 4-2 win away against AS Monaco, but lost goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to a gruesome facial injury. The bloodied Italy international was left requiring 10 staples after sustaining lacerations to the right side of his face when he was caught by the studs of Monaco defender Wilfried Singo. “I don’t know if the referee was badly positioned, but VAR [video assistant referee] needed to intervene, you have to protect the players,” PSG captain Marquinhos said. “To not give a red in a situation like
Cheng Chen Chin-mei on Saturday beamed broadly as she hoisted a 35kg weightlifting bar to her waist, dropped it and waved confidently to the enthusiastic crowd in a competition in Taipei. Cheng Chen, 90, has been pumping iron since last year, encouraged by her granddaughter to take up the sport after she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. She credits the regimen with helping to fix her posture. Three generations of her family were among a couple of hundred people watching Cheng Chen and 44 others aged 70 or older in the weightlifting competition. In the three-round event, Cheng Chen lifted as much as
Zach LaVine on Thursday scored a season-high 36 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 117-108 upset victory against defending NBA champions the Boston Celtics, while LeBron James once again made history. LaVine went 11-of-19 from the floor and made six three-pointers while adding six rebounds and four assists for the Bulls, who improved to 13-15 for the season. “We’re a good team,” LaVine said. “We’re competitive and we’re a resilient group.” Ayo Dosunmu contributed 17 points for the Bulls, while Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago. The Bulls outscored Boston 35-22 in the fourth quarter to rally past
Teenage sensation Luke “The Nuke” Littler on Saturday set a tournament record with a 140.91 set average as he secured a second-round win in the PDC World Darts Championship with a 3-1 victory over fellow Englishman Ryan Meikle late. The 17-year-old came close to winning the World Championship in January, but lost in the final to Luke Humphries. Now, he has started the latest edition on a high note. Tournament favorite Littler fired in four maximum 180s, while winning three consecutive legs in 11, 10 and 11 darts, setting a record set average and finishing with an overall average of 100.85. “It was
RSS