Joining Asia was undeniably one of the most important and significant developments in the history of Australian football. The move was always going to raise awareness of the A-League in Asia. That sounds like a good thing and it is, but with that comes the increased probability that large, cashed up Asian clubs will look to cherry pick the league’s finest players. The likes of Mark Milligan, Sasa Ognenovski and Jade North have already inked their Asian deals. Simon Colosimo, Joel Griffiths and Shane Smeltz have been linked with similar moves. Some see it as a frustrating development, but it is part of the game and it could be worse – Asia could not want any of our players!

Elsewhere, Australia’s Asian Cup qualifying quest began with a goalless draw against Indonesia in Jakarta and Socceroo Tim Cahill scored his 100th career goal at Goodison Park against Arsenal.

Trevor Treharne
Deputy editor, Australian FourFourTwo

PS : The February issue of FourFourTwo is on sale - or subscribe now. This month FourFourTwo serves up our annual list of the top 100 players in the world right now. Read, digest and prepare to dispute over a schooner or 10 until you're red in the face with who made the grade and who is nowhere to be seen. We also speak to Ronaldinho, a player plummeting down the aforementioned list this year, and find out how the former World Player of the Year is going to regain his number one crown. We also grill Mark Milligan on why he returned to Australia, serve up the best photos of 2008 and find out what Harry Potter and Mark Schwarzer have in common.

Desktop Widget

FourFourTwo Qantas Desktop Widget
The best way to keep track of the latest A-League, world and Qantas Socceroos news is with FourFourTwo's desktop widget. Download it here to access all the fixtures, latest local and world news plus a daily Socceroos diary.

Four... things you must know about the week in football

Australia News
Australia Struggle To A Draw
AUSTRALIA'S Asian Cup qualifying quest began with a goalless draw against Indonesia in Jakarta.

<IMG id=NewsletterTemplate1_FourThingsKnow_niMustKnow1_imgImage style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; WIDTH: 73px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid" src="http://backoffice.ajb.com.au/images/blank.gif" align=left>

Australia News
Cahill's 100th Goal Not Enough
SOCCEROO Tim Cahill scored his 100th career goal but it wasn't enough to secure an Everton win over Arsenal - and he limped off with another worrying injury.

<IMG id=NewsletterTemplate1_FourThingsKnow_niMustKnow2_imgImage style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; WIDTH: 73px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid" src="http://backoffice.ajb.com.au/images/blank.gif" align=left>

Australia News
Milligan Exits Jets For China
OLYROOS skipper Mark Milligan should rubber-stamp his switch to Chinese outfit Shanghai Shenhua next week after Newcastle Jets today accepted a fee that was too good to turn down.

<IMG id=NewsletterTemplate1_FourThingsKnow_niMustKnow3_imgImage style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; WIDTH: 73px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid" src="http://backoffice.ajb.com.au/images/blank.gif" align=left>

Australia News
Colosimo To Be A Dragon?
EXCLUSIVE: Simon Colosimo could be a K-League player within days with rumours the Sydney FC star is due to the leave Australia tomorrow (Tuesday) bound for South Korea.

<IMG id=NewsletterTemplate1_FourThingsKnow_niMustKnow4_imgImage style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; WIDTH: 73px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid" src="http://backoffice.ajb.com.au/images/blank.gif" align=left>

Four... things we loved this week

Australia News
Schwarzer Earns Top Honour
SOCCEROOS goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has spoken of his delight after being awarded the Medal Of The Order of Australia.

<IMG id=NewsletterTemplate1_FourThingsLoved_niLoved1_imgImage style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; WIDTH: 73px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid" src="http://backoffice.ajb.com.au/images/blank.gif" align=left>

Australia News
Wenger: Cahill's A Striker Star
SOCCEROO Tim Cahill should drop the 'makeshift centre-forward' tag right now after a string of outstanding displays leading Everton's cause, says Arsene Wenger.

<IMG id=NewsletterTemplate1_FourThingsLoved_niLoved2_imgImage style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; WIDTH: 73px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid" src="http://backoffice.ajb.com.au/images/blank.gif" align=left>

Australia News
McDonald The Hero In Marathon Penalty Shootout
Celtic 0 Dundee United 0 (after extra-time, Celtic win 11-10 on penalties)

<IMG id=NewsletterTemplate1_FourThingsLoved_niLoved3_imgImage style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; WIDTH: 73px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid" src="http://backoffice.ajb.com.au/images/blank.gif" align=left>

Australia News
Fury Still Chipper For Scott
SCOTT Chipperfield is still on North Queensland Fury's radar with the club confident it could accomodate both the Socceroo star and Robbie Fowler within its ranks.

<IMG id=NewsletterTemplate1_FourThingsLoved_niLoved4_imgImage style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; WIDTH: 73px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid" src="http://backoffice.ajb.com.au/images/blank.gif" align=left>

Two... things that made us laugh

Australia News
Ljubo: 'Get A Life...'
FORMER Socceroo Ljubo Milicevic says people who've criticised him during the past week for speaking honestly about his career are cowardly for hiding behind the anonymity of Internet forums.

<IMG id=NewsletterTemplate1_TwoThingsLaugh_niLaugh1_imgImage style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; WIDTH: 73px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid" src="http://backoffice.ajb.com.au/images/blank.gif" align=left>

442Tube
Cristiano Ronaldo - Love/Hate
Posted By: Trevor Treharne

Rating: Not rated

Watch Now

<IMG id=NewsletterTemplate1_TwoThingsLaugh_niLaugh2_imgImage style="BORDER-RIGHT: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #ccc 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; WIDTH: 73px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid" src="http://backoffice.ajb.com.au/images/blank.gif" align=left>

This message was sent to #EmailAddr#
as part of your membership to FourFourTwo.
If you no longer wish to receive special announcements like this one, please unsubscribe.

To receive other FREE Haymarket Media newsletters, click here.

We respect your privacy, should you no longer wish to receive mailings from FourFourTwo Australia, simply click on the link above. Please do not reply to this email. To view our Privacy Policy, go to the Haymarket Media Privacy Policy. Your comments and suggestions about this email and other Haymarket Media products or services can be emailed to support@haymarketmedia.com.au

Haymarket Media