They are the three wise men of the Asian Games soccer tournament, the coaches who've travelled the globe on more than one occasion, enjoying and enduring the world's most fickle sport.

They're the greying figures of Englishman Bobby Houghton, in charge of India; Serbia's Ratomir Djukovic, guiding China's gold medal hopes and Rene Simoes, the Brazilian whose samba beat has pitched up in the unlikely surroundings of conservative Iran.

The 57-year-old Houghton is used to life on the road with an international coaching CV which includes spells at Swedish side Malmo who he took to the 1979 European Cup final and a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest.

He has worked in the USA, Saudi Arabia, Canada and was the first foreign coach of the Chinese national team, replacing Qi Wusheng, who was axed after failing to lead China to the 1998 World Cup.

Houghton left China after missing out on the 2000 Olympics.

A brief stint at Uzbekistan led to his current post with India, a job which brings its own particular drawbacks.

"Our size is one of our major problems," said the Englishman after India opened their Asian Games bid with a 1-1 draw against Hong Kong.

"Against Hong Kong was an indication of what happens when you have a small team."

Dujkovic, 60, can match Houghton for air miles having spent a career in Africa, Asia and South America.

The former Red Star Belgrade player worked in Burma and Venezuela and was in charge of little Rwanda who put their myriad problems behind them to reach the finals of the 2004 African Nations Cup in Tunisia.

This summer he took Ghana to the second round of the World Cup before being lured to China who started their Asian Games with a 1-0 win over Iraq.

"I'm very proud of my players," he said after the game.

"Most of them are 19 and 20. They suffered tonight and they will suffer again."

Having guided Jamaica to an unlikely place at the 1998 World Cup, Simoes now has arguably the much tougher task of ensuring Iran defend their Asian Games title.

"I like the pressure that comes along with expectations," said Simoes, who has worked in his native Brazil, Trinidad as well as here in Qatar.

Iran beat the Maldives 3-1 in their opener. In 1997, Iran had crushed the Indian Ocean side by a record 17-0 margin in a World Cup qualifier.

"I am a coach who wants to motivate players," said 53-year-old Simoes.

"I always ask more than what they can actually do. If I didn't expect better performances all of my players would be relaxed and lazy."

(China Daily December 6, 2006)