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The Asian Football Confederation 's Asian Cup 2004 finals were held in the People's Republic Of China between July 17 and August 7 . Defending champions Japan defeated host nation China in the final in Beijing . The tournament was marked by Saudi Arabia 's unexpected failure to even make it out of the first round; a surprisingly good performance by Bahrain , which finished in fourth place; Jordan , which reached the quarterfinals in its first appearance; and Iraq , which reached the quarterfinals. The final match between China and Japan was marked by rioting Chinese fans near the north gate of Beijing Worker's Stadium afterwards, partly provoked by controversial officiating and Anti-Japanese Sentiment resulting from historical tensions. {Link without Title} HISTORY The Asian Cup is a quadrennial, premier Football event of the Asia n Continent, hosted by the Asian Football Confederation . The qualifying phase of the tournament was held between March and November 2003 and took place in 14 different venues. Through two rounds of qualification 14 of 41 total competing teams made it to the finals competition. China qualified automatically as hosts of the tournament and Japan as the defending champions. The first match was held in Beijing Worker's Stadium in Beijing, when China tied Bahrain 2-2, and at the final match, Japan defeated China 3-1, successfully defending the championship title. QUALIFICATION
The other 14 qualifying teams were: STADIUMS Asian Cup 2004 was held in four venues:
Capacity: 66,161 Pitch size: 105m x 68m
Capacity: 27,333 Pitch size: 120m x 80m
Capacity: 58,680 Pitch size: 105m x 68m
Capacity: 43,700 Pitch size: 110m x 72m FIRST ROUND ''All times local (GMT + 0800)'' Notes:
Group A Group A matches were held in Beijing . Group B Group B matches were held in Jinan . Group C Group C matches were held in Chengdu . Group D Group D matches were held in Chongqing . QUARTER-FINALS SEMI-FINALS THIRD PLACE PLAY-OFF FINAL Japan's 3-1 victory was surrounded by a controversial second goal, where Japanese player Nakata appeared to have scored the ball with his arm after the ball had skipped off Suzuki's head from a corner. China's Dutch coach Arie Haan was unhappy with Kuwait i referee Saad Al Fadhli for making allegedly wrong calls on all three goals by Japan and in an unusual move, refused to attend the final awards ceremony. Meanwhile, a number of Chinese fans rioted near the north gate of Beijing Worker's Stadium . VIEWS Like other sports events, the Asian Cup 2004 was publicised as evidence of China's progress, being referred to by some as a prelude to the 2008 Summer Olympics . Many Chinese see the tournament as a success and take great pride in having showcased such an important sporting event in advance of the Olympics. However, the Japanese media and many other foreign observers have pointed out what they have perceived as bad manners on the part of Chinese fans, and the sparse attendances so far at the tournament, raising questions on China's ability to hold such sporting events. Through out the tournament, most Chinese fans in the stadia expressed anti-Japanese sentiments by drowning out the Japanese National Anthem , displaying political banners and booing whenever Japan got the ball, regardless of the scorer. This was reported by the foreign media. The PRC government responded by calling for restraint and increasing police numbers to maintain order. The Japanese government also called on the PRC to ensure the safety of Japanese fans, while specifically asking Japanese nationals or people of Japanese origin to not display any form of excessive pride, especially wearing Japan National Football Team uniforms. Despite the Chinese government's campaign, a riot started by Chinese fans broke out near the north gate of the Beijing Worker's Stadium , though reports differ as to the extent of the riot. As a result, media groups have said that displays of excessive Chinese nationalism during the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics have become a cause for concern for Chinese officials. In addition, it was probably the first time that anti-Japanese demonstrations by the Chinese were extensively broadcast by the Japanese media. Consequently, Chinese anti-Japanese sentiment was spotlighted and discussed in Japan. ASIAN CUP 2004 ALL-STAR TEAM An Asian All Star 1st XI side was named by the AFC’s Technical Study Group. Finalists Japan and China have four and three players selected respectively, while the other four came from semi-finalists Iran and Bahrain. Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Japan, Gk); Zheng Zhi (China), Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (Japan), Yuji Nakazawa (Japan); Mehdi Mahdavikia (Iran), Zhao Junzhe (China), Talal Yusuf (Bahrain), Nakamura Shunsuke (Japan), Shao Jiayi (China); A'ala Hubail (Bahrain), Ali Karimi (Iran). Japanese midfielder Nakamura Shunsuke was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament by sponsor Emirates . TOP SCORING PLAYERS 5 goals 4 goals 3 goals EXTERNAL LINKS |
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