Summary: Anto is joined by Asia football correspondent and editor of KickOfAsia.com editor John Duerden to take a look at all the big stories from the AFC as we head towards a critical juncture for World Cup Qualification and the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League. We begin with the political level within the Asian Football Confederation itself as issues with Mohamed bin Hammam and FIFA investigations and rumors of examining the Qatar 2022 bid persist and how the emergence of a new figure in Zhang Jilong of China has emerged as one of the most powerful men in world football. We gauge the political world within the AFC itself, separating the East and West factions to gauge how his caretaker status will be viewed and whether perceptions from inside Asia are indeed very different from the view inside Europe as it applies to Mohamed bin Hammam and FIFA itself, and how Asian progress in the game during the Blatter tenure has insulated FIFA leadership based entirely on the real evidence of improvement. Then we turn to the matter of the football as the final phase of AFC qualification for Brazil 2014 is down to the search of the last five candidates. Japan and South Korea near the halfway point of this final round as the clear, dominant players in their respective groups so the question falls to the challengers for second place and the third place playoff selections with nations such as Australia, Iraq, Iran, Qatar and Uzbekistan in view and whether two important coaches in Zico and Carlos Queiroz lead their teams into key battles through September and into October. In the case of Zico this round marks a rather anticipated return to Japan where he was once a player and a coach, and we handicap the chances for Iraq as Australia could find itself suddenly in trouble if further points are wasted in Jordan. Then we turn to the matter of the AFC Champions League quarterfinal stage where the glamour match up will be Al-Ittihad and Guangzhou Evergrande and we explore the implications for this clash as well the fortunes for the other quarterfinalists. Also discussed is an important milestone reached for Korean football as the federation seeks to deliver a promotion and relegation system and the rumours of a problem for Chinese superclub Shanghai Shenhua and its two stars, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka and whether reports of disharmony were a product of a transfer-starved media or if there is something more beneath the speculation. In the final segment John gives us a great update on Issue Two for KickOffAsia and what subscribers can expect to see in this very important issue which will be available next week for download across a number of devices.
