9 Aug 2004(Mon)

The Olympic Games?

Who cares? Not me for one.

Well, not at the moment anyway, even though I have been in Athens for a couple of days now.

The only thing on my mind is the Asian Cup final on Saturday night between Japan and China at the Workers' Stadium in Beijing.

More to the point, how I am going to watch it here in Greece.

The group games, and then the two knockout matches against Jordan and Bahrain, have been gripping viewing in Japan.

But how, or where, to watch the final, which kicks off here at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, as Greece is five hours behind China and six behind Japan.

A few minutes ago I received some encouraging news, that the final will be shown live on the EuroSport channel.

Better still, the commentary will be in Italian!

Isn't that wonderful: China against Japan from Beijing in Athens and in Italian, kicking off at 3 o'clock Saturday afternoon, when all games in England used to kick off before television took over the fixture list.

News of EuroSport's screening came from an unlikely source...from a Chinese journalist!

I am writing this article from the Asahi Shimbun's plush office on the seventh floor of the Main Press Centre. In between the boxes of noodles, packs of paper for the printers and tangle of computer cables, I can see the Olympic Stadium out of the window, gleaming in the brilliant Mediteranean sunshine.

Next to our office is the People's Daily from China, and next to them the large team from Xinhua, China's official news agency!

I called in at both offices to ask about Saturday's final, but neither group would comment on the behaviour of the Chinese fans.

However, Xu Liqun, from the People's Daily, said she didn't think Beijing would be the same as Chongqing or Jinan.

"Beijing is the capital of China, and it's only a game no matter win or lose," she said.

I hope she's right, but I remember the Chinese fans rioting in Beijing in 1985 after Hong Kong had beaten China 2-1 in a qualifying match for the 1986 World Cup.

Whatever happens in the match, it should be interesting here on the seventh floor on Saturday afternoon.

I still remember watching the Japan-United States Olympic quarter-final on TV in Sydney four years ago, because I couldn't get a flight back from Adelaide the next day in time to report on the women's marathon.

I was annoyed when Hidetoshi Nakata (anyone remember him?) hit the post in the penalty shootout, and I heard Japanese media from other organisations cheering.

Is, or was, Nakata disliked that much by some people?

Or was it simply old baseball fans just happy that the football team had been eliminated?

There'll be none of that Saturday, when the nation unites behind the boys in blue.

Enjoy the game!

I will...if my Chinese source is correct and it's on EuroSport.

ends