Korea DPR arrived for World Cup June 1st - FIFA photo

SPORTS NOTES Part 3 - WORLD CUP HIGH ACHIEVERS - CAMBODIAN FOOTBALL'S DECLINE

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

South Africa has had to rise above their apartheid past. North Korea is having to overcome adversity due to their political situation. If its underdogs you like to root for they are it - We likened Cambodian football to the story of the Jamaican bobsled team which came from nothing to be competitive in the Olympics. Our twist was the Cambodian team was evolving from hardship and genocide and we wrote, 'Cambodian Football Rising From The Ashes.' Our hope for Cambodia was never fulfilled - JOHN WOODEN PASSED AWAY

Monday June 14, 2010

OVERCOMING ADVERSITY

The beautiful thing about sports is that it is a major vehicle to bring people and nations together. As it has been said you can never underestimate the heart of a champion. This edition of the World Cup in South Africa exemplifies that.

Two teams stand out the most as an underdog to root for. The goal is to root for as much success as South Africa and North Korea can achieve since they are having to overcome adversity due to their political situation or being an underdeveloped nation trying to rise above their apartheid past.

In its 1-1 draw to Mexico the South African side ranked 83 by FIFA did themselves and their nation proud with their effort. North Korea has a political weight on their shoulders as they reached the beautiful games most coveted event while being ranked only 105 just one position above Thailand. They have a tough task to get out of their group G that includes FIFA world number one Brazil, Ivory Coast and Portugal.

It is doubtful that Korea DPR (Democratic People's Republic of Korea aka. DPRK) will progress and achieve their success in 1966 when they upset Italy 1-0 to gain a spot in the quarterfinals. There, they lost 5-3 to Portugal despite taking a 3-0 lead in the 24th minute. The North Korean team was the first Asian team to progress beyond the first round of the World Cup finals. A Cinderella story would be if the current DPRK squad could avenge their 1966 defeat to Portugal.

The documentary film The Game of Their Lives by Daniel Gordon is about the seven surviving members in 2002 of the 1966 national team. South Africa has had to rise above their apartheid past. In 1976, after the Soweto uprising, they were formally expelled from FIFA. In 1991, when the apartheid system was beginning to be demolished, a new multiracial South African Football Association was formed, and admitted to FIFA. On 7 July 1992, the South African national team played their first game in two decades, beating Cameroon 1-0. South Africa made the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, but failed to qualify past the group stage both times. They hosted (and won) the 1996 African Nations Cup and in hosting the 2010 World Cup, the first African nation to do so.

Their first appearance in France 1998 was just six years after they had been readmitted to the global football family. Despite a 3-0 drubbing to France in their opening game, they went on to draw against Denmark and Saudi Arabia.

Korea/Japan 2002 was expected to be an opportunity for Bafana Bafana to step up to the next level but unfortunately, they failed to succeed, crashing out after the group stage despite beating Slovenia 1-0 for their first-ever World Cup win.

The team is currently unbeaten in their last 14 matches. Benni McCarthy is their top goal scorer with 31. He has been with the squad since 1997.

CAMBODIAN FOOTBALL IN DECLINE

The Cambodian national football team was supposed to be on a program to improve its level of play. The reality is it's not happening. The current FIFA ratings revealed the Khmer side had the biggest drop in the rankings falling 14 spots from 171 to 185.

It's definitely not the level of the English Premiere League but Cambodian football has had its own rocky road to travel. Ten years ago when we started to cover the Cambodian national team the then president of the Cambodian Football Federation Ravy Khek and the then head coach Joachim Fickert asked why we wanted to write about Cambodian Football while pointing out that nobody else cared since they were not winning games.

Our position was that we cared. We likened it to the story of the Jamaican bobsled team which came from nothing to be competitive in the Olympics. Our twist was the Cambodian team was evolving from hardship and genocide and we wrote, 'Cambodian Football Rising From The Ashes.'

At the time the team was losing but competitive. They kept taking Indonesia and China to the limit for 70-75 minutes but according to Fickert due to a poor diet they lacked the strength stamina to compete for 90 minutes and usually fell apart during the last 15 minutes of a game. They lost 3-1 to China in China with two of Chinas goals being scored in the final minutes.

That China squad participated in the 2002 World Cup and produced several players who played in Europe including the English Premiere League. Their program has progressed and in a World Cup warm-up match against France June 4th they came away 1-0 victors.

That calls attention how a program that is managed properly can raise their level of play while others have had their problems and are deteriorating.

Cambodia's population of 14 million is not a factor when you consider that Denmark who are participants in this World Cup have a population of 5,540,241 million. That raises the question WHAT IS WRONG WITH CAMBODIA?

Khek is out as president but remains in a reduced role. He is a friend of FIFA president Sepp Blatter and he attends FIFA functions. Changes have been made but the results are not promising.

CONTINUED

JOHN WOODEN PASSED AWAY

When it comes to integrity and the respect of his fellow man John Wooden rises to the top of the list. He is the greatest human being we have ever interviewed. Wooden passed away June 4th at the age of 99 just four months and 10 days shy of reaching 100 on October 14th.

Wooden is the winningest NCAA title coach in history with 10. His nearest rival has four. As one of his former pupils and NBA Hall of Fame player Kareem Abdul Jabbar said at half time during game 2 of the NBA Lakers vs. Celtics Finals playoff, "I really feel blessed that I chose to come to LA and have him coach and mentor me." John Wooden one of the best is laid to rest.

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