A memorable World Cup

Brazil may have won for a record fifth time, and Ronaldo's two goals in Sunday's final against Germany may have placed his name alongside other soccer legends before him, but the 2002 World Cup will be remembered more for what it has done to Asia, and potentially to the world of soccer in general.

The 2002 World Cup marked the coming of age for Asia in the sport, not only because it was held in the largest continent on Earth, which in itself is significant, but also because Asian teams broke new ground in the tournament.

Cohosts Japan and South Korea went beyond their group qualifying rounds, beating European and Latin American soccer giants along the way. Japan's march ended in the quarter finals, but South Korea went one further, beating three-time champion Italy to reach the semifinal stage.

For sure, there were other memorable moments to indicate that soccer too is undergoing a globalization process of its own. Although the final match still reflected the domination of Europe and Latin America, the earlier rounds proved that other regions are fast catching up.

Turkey, never before considered a soccer nation, made it to the semifinal and then clinched the third place. The United States went beyond the group's qualifying round beating the likes of Portugal and Mexico. While many welcomed the U.S.'s coming of age, there were fears that if Americans suddenly took a keen interests in soccer, their giant TV networks would come in and dictate changes in the rules of the game as they did with popular American sports. Africa too made its presence felt, with debutante Senegal beating champion France in the opening game.

But there is no doubt that the 2002 World Cup belonged to Asia as much as to champions Brazil.

This is the first time in the history of the World Cup that Asian teams reached the quarter-and semifinal stages. Japan and South Korea did it with style, taking many soccer giants at their own game. The partisan and noisy home crowd certainly gave them an edge, but it was their determination, discipline, hard work, diligence and skills that really brought them to fame.

The 2002 World Cup therefore will be remembered as the launching pad for Asia to elevate the region from being a mere spectator of the greatest show on earth to one in which it is taking an active role, and in the case of Japan and Korea, to show the rest of the world how the beautiful game is played.

Granted Japan and South Korea happen to be the two most successful economies in the region, but if the economy was the only factor, it does not explain why South Korea performed better than Japan, the mightier of Asia's two economic superpowers.

Memories alone however won't be enough to propel the rest of Asia onto the world soccer stage. South Korea and Japan have simply opened the doors and opened our eyes that Asia can be just as good as the rest of the world. If the 2002 World Cup is to leave any real and long lasting legacy, then the rest of Asia must work harder to catch up with Japan and Korea.

China and Saudi Arabia, the other two Asian teams taking part in the 2002 World Cup, failed miserably, if not embarrassingly, with both teams taking the early planes home without scoring a single goal during the tournament. Yet, these two teams represented the rest of Asia, outside Japan and South Korea who automatically qualified for the finals by being the cohosts.

On the basis of South Korea and Japan's achievements this year, Asia now has a stronger reason to claim a fifth slot in the 2006 World Cup, but the rest of Asia must in the meantime rise to the occasion by improving their own games.

Where does Indonesia fit in all of this?

While the nation seemed to have caught the World Cup fever, it is not clear whether we have caught the spirit that was shown by South Korea and Japan in winning their games. The advantage of not taking part in the tournament is that we can cheer the winning team, whoever they are. So, going by the huge turn out at the cafes and the open fields where these matches were screened, the World Cup was nothing more than a reason to party.

The World Cup, if anything, has provided the nation with a momentary aberration, to take us away from the problems that have beset us for the last four years. Now that the party is over, we can all get back to tending our problems. Strengthening the national soccer team, while important, is probably the last thing in our minds for now.

Still it was good while it lasted.

On that note, we bid Kamsa Hamnida to South Korea and Japan for providing a memorable event, and Sayonara, or should we say Auf Wiedersehen in Deutschland, the host of the next World Cup.