The magic of soccer

The magic of soccer

The World Cup is slated to kick off in South Korea on Friday.
It is the first time Asia will host the event.

Asia is the world's most populous continent but it has been
left behind in soccer. The sport has been dominated by Europe and
Latin America. So Friday's event should boost the spirit of Asian
soccer players, particularly those from Indonesia, as the country
is the world's fourth most populous country.

Indonesia has some 220 million people and is very enthusiastic
about the game. Unfortunately, it has not shown much achievement
in it.

Poor achievement in Indonesian soccer cannot be attributed to
bad management and the financial crisis, because Argentina --
which is facing a financial crisis as well -- is a top contender
in the game.

Argentina's Batistuta and Veron have shown that their country
is a soccer superpower. The two stars have become big foreign
exchange earners for their country whose currency has continued
to depreciate against the U.S. dollar.

Soccer has become big business and is sure to hypnotize people
the world over during the coming month.

-- Media Indonesia