... populations cannot attract Asian football fans
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-21893570
I was reading this and was wondering about this.
I knew when I was growing up, pretty much me and my mates (all asians) were playing footy every day and there were some with some skill. One guy was small but very good with the ball at his feet. he was weak though so we could always push him off the ball. But you'd have to get close to him, the little guy was fast. His older two brothers were good too. Then there was a kid my age, Tottenham fan. He had a good passing range and was good with both long and short passes. Another guy, tall and lanky but wasn't too smart, was good in goal but also quite good as a winger as he had pace and a decent cross. My older bro was pretty good at the back though i guess his height would have counted against him. Could play as a cb or a DM and had a good shot on him.
I did think that at the time some of the should try out but during that time most asian parents wanted their kids to be doctors or engineers. I think it could change for the younger lads but one has to wonder why with such a big asian populations so little of them have made it. There is Zesh Rehman and Anwar Uddin are the only players i can think of.
Have you guys met, played with or seen any local asians who you though could do well in football only for them to be working at the local PFC instead?
Why do you think it is still the case? (IMO the parents still would prefer doctors over footballers plays a part in it).
EDIT:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Asians_in_association_football
Has a list of British Asian players.
Why Football clubs with large Asian
posted on 25/3/13
so i dont know lack of size has to do with being good at footy
***
quite a lot if you are a goalkeeper or a centre half
posted on 25/3/13
There have been a few fairly decent keepers that weren't exactly massive. Wasn't Chelsea's keeper before Cech quite small?
posted on 25/3/13
thats 2 positions then on the pitch that rule out short players at a high level
there's nowhere else on the pitch that being short would exclude you from a top flight career if you're good enough ability wise
posted on 25/3/13
jorge campos..top mexican keeper and striker
was about 5ft 8 wasnt he ?
posted on 25/3/13
Considering what the articles about I love how the OP has put Bradford City in one of the tags!!!
posted on 26/3/13
I think they were mentioned in the article i linked to, along with oldham. So deserve to be there based on that alone and nothing else...
posted on 26/3/13
I was only joking
Anyway, there's a guy called Adil Nabi who plays in the WBA academy.
He's been given a professional contract by WBA and is in their 25 man squad this season.
He's 18 and someone who worked at a school he went to told me about him...and when I checked, he was on the WBA bench a week before they played Villa. Around that time WBA had a few injuries, but still good on him...I believe he's an attacking midfielder.
And, also I believe he's the first Pakistani to earn a professional contract in the PL. As much as I hate WBA, I hope he gets a run in for them and performs well...
posted on 26/3/13
Mascherano is a little bit on the short side, usually plays centre back for Barcelona...
Although apparently Given is just over 6 foot so not quite as short as I thought...
posted on 26/3/13
Seems we have a good mic of different cultures and backgrounds on here.
For the record, I'm 50% caucasion and 50% anaconda
posted on 29/3/13
Are you the off spring of Medusa?