Korea Follow England's Bad Example

It is a situation that is familiar to all English fans. The FA starts looking for a high-profile foreign coach for the national team, gets its fingers very publicly burnt, looks to home for a safe choice and then appoints a man with success in cup competitions but a mediocre league record.

Steve McClaren’s England didn’t qualify for the 2008 European Championships but will Huh Jung-moo’s Korea make it to South Africa in 2010? For the sake of the Korean Football Association (KFA), it better.

It hasn’t been the best of weeks for the KFA. It started with the expectation that, by Friday, a high-profile foreign coach would be appointed. The first choice was former Liverpool, France and Lyon boss Gerard Houllier and the back-up was the English ex-Ireland manager Mick McCarthy. Instead, a man who took Chunnam Dragons to tenth place in the 2007 K-League is in the hotseat.

The story is a sorry one. For weeks, the authorities had remained tight-lipped about who was in line to take the job, admitting only that it would be one from overseas. Naturally, there were off-the-record confessions but nothing that couldn’t be denied if necessary. Last Wednesday however, two separate KFA officials, one the chief and FIFA Vice-President Chung Mong-joon, told reporters that the deal was almost done. Official spokesperson You Yong-cheol said that it was ’50-50’ between Houllier and McCarthy.

According to sources, the 50-50 referred to whether Houllier would say no. It was assumed that McCarthy was prepared to leave English championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers and head east.

The KFA’s comments were swiftly relayed westwards, made headlines and came as a shock to the English club which issued a statement that said a statement would be issued later. Whether or not McCarthy wanted the job, he was hardly likely to publicly say so when he knew Houllier had first refusal. After a day of meetings at Molineux, the former Irish boss emerged from talks armed with an improved contract and the old “thanks but no thanks,” speech. Shortly after, it was confirmed that Houllier had also said ‘non’.

It was not a good 24 hours for Korean football and it also contained news that Pim Verbeek, who resigned as coach of the Taeguk Warriors in July, had been appointed by Australia. It didn’t make anyone feel better.

Instead of taking stock of the sorry situation, the KFA immediately turned to Huh Jung-moo and he was officially unveiled on Friday afternoon. It all happened frighteningly quickly but perhaps after the stinging overseas rejections, it is understandable that swift solace was sought in the embrace of a familiar figure and old flame.

Huh has coached the national team before – taking over after the 1998 World Cup and stepping down in 2000. It was not a time that was seen as especially successful. On the back of a Korean striker who could actually score goals, Lee Dong-gook, the team finished in third at the 2000 Asian Cup– the same as 2007. Without this recall, the 52 year-old would have gone down in international history as the man before Hiddink.

As coach of K-League club Chunnam Dragons, it is only in the cups that the team has shone. League performances have been average at best. Last season the Gwangyang outfit finished in tenth, scoring just 24 goals in 26 games.

With that in mind, it is not surprising that, among fans at least, Huh’s appointment has been met with even less enthusiasm that Steve McClaren’s in England in 2006. The Englishman was known by the media as ‘second choice Steve’ during his reign as coach, though that nickname turned out to be the nicest he was to receive as England went crashing out of Euro qualification.

‘Third-choice Huh’ doesn’t have quite the same ring to it but he has a second chance to show what he can do, starting against Turkmenistan on February 6. Fans will be hoping that the team performs better on the pitch than the football association does off it.

copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile

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K-League Getting Into Groove

The 2007 K-League season is slowly starting to get into its stride. The first
three rounds have contained a reasonable amount of goals and excitement as the
Korean media and coaches have been telling everybody who will listen. It is
early days. Encouragingly perhaps, most of the good stuff has been shown by
the bigger clubs in the league. What is definitely promising is that those clubs
have also been getting good results too. Seoul, Ulsan, Seongnam, Pohang and
Suwon make up the top five and it will be no surprise at all if that same quintet
is doesn’t change much from now until November.

Seoul are the pacesetters and are the only perfect pick from the bunch. Even more ominous for the others is the fact that new coach Senol Gunes has yet to see his team concede a goal in 270 minutes of league football. The Turk, like many other coaches pre-season, has promised entertaining football and the team are trying – though at the moment they can only do so in fits and starts.

Seoul have yet to meet any of the big boys however – in fact none of the top five have played each other yet. Hopefully the best is yet to come. The biggest news of the past week was not the K-League or Park Ji-sung scoring two goals for Manchester United but Ahn Jung-hwan’s hat-trick in the Hauzen Cup.

The first round of the competition saw Suwon’s traditional bogey team Daejeon Citizen visit the ‘Big Bird’ Stadium. Ahn took the purple hearts apart with a display of clinical offensive play not often seen in the K-League since, well, since he left in 2000.

Two calm finishes in one-on-one situations sandwiched a sweet half-volley from a narrow angle. Instead of kissing his wedding ring as in days of yore, Ahn celebrated his goals by kissing his index finger – the nation does not yet know the reason for this change!

It was inevitable then that calls for national team coach Pim Verbeek to include
the striker in his squad to face Uruguay on March 24 increased. "As soon as
he comes back to Korea, everybody wants him back in the national team," Verbeek
told me earlier in the month.

"So do I, but not immediately. I wanted to take
some pressure from him. We have time to find out if he is the same as in 2006
and before that." As it turned out, it was too soon for the “Lord of the Ring”
but if he continues to perform domestically, few would bet against him playing
some part in the Asian Cup this summer.

He will have to watch from the sidelines on Saturday as will experienced midfielder Kim Nam-il. Ahn’s Suwon team-mate was stretchered off the pitch in last Saturday’s 1-0 win over K-League with a neck injury.

His place will be taken by new boy Son Dae-ho of Seongnam – a
midfielder that was impressive form in the second half of last season and the
beginning of this. The Seongnam new boy will be finding his way around Paju
National Football Center along with Kim Chang-soo of Daejeon Citizen, Kang Min-soo
of Chunnam Dragons and Ki Sung-young of FC Seoul.

South Korea Squad:
GK: Kim Yong-dae (Seongnam), Kim Young-kwang (Ulsan), Jung Sung-ryeong
(Pohang)
DF: Kim Chi-kon (Seoul) Kim Chi-woo, Kim Jin-kyu and
Kang Min-su (all Chunnam), Lee Young-pyo (Tottenham, England) Oh Beom-seok (Pohang)
Kim Dong-jin (Zenit, Russia) Kim Chang-soo (Daejeon)
MF: Kim
Doo-hyun, Kim Sang-shik, Son Dae-ho (All Seongna) Baek Ji-hoon (Suwon) Kim Jung-woo
(Nagoya, Japan) Ki Sung-young (Seoul) Oh Jang-eun (Ulsan) Lee Ho (Zenit, Russia)
FW: Cho Jae-jin (Shimizu, Japan) Jung Jo-gook (Seoul) Lee Chun-soo
(Ulsan) Park Ji-sung (Manchester United, England) Seol Ki-hyeon (Reading, England)
Yeom Ki-hoon (Jeonbuk) Choi Sung-kuk (Seongnam)

It's 'snow' joke
The Asian Champions League started on March 7 with two of South Korea’s three
representatives in action – champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors have a bye to the
quarter-finals. Chunnam Dragons made their debut in the competition by failing
to defeat Bangkok University.

The hosts were the happier of the two with the
goalless draw as they made the Korean FA Cup holders look very average on a
sultry Thai night. Conditions were a little different back home where Seongnam
Ilwha Chunam started their campaign with a easy-looking game with Vietnamese
outfit Dong Tam Long An.

It was a cold day just to the south of Seoul and the seven-time champions were confident of handing their opponents a sound beating.

About 30 minutes before kick-off however, it started to snow and the white stuff
just kept on coming. By kick-off the pitch was just about playable but ten minutes
into the game it was impossible to see any markings as the white carpet got
thicker and thicker.

Nobody thought to use a coloured ball and instead we were
treated to players gingerly walking around in a blizzard trying to find a white
sphere on a white background.
“Obviously it was very difficult for Dong Tam coming from Vietnam,” said Seongnam coach Kim Hak-beom with just a little understatement.
“These were the worst conditions I have ever seen.” Most of the visiting players
had never even seen snow before and it was a heavy fall even by Korean and other
standards too.

Seongnam striker Kim Dong-hyun spent last season in Russia but
said: “I never saw anything like this.” The seven-time champions won 4-1 but
the Vietnamese coaching staff, the ones not tucked beneath blankets on the bench
that is., were obviously unhappy at the start of the second half and it looked
as if the game would be abandoned. AFC and perhaps other officials intervened
and the ‘game’ restarted. “It was a mistake to continue in these conditions,”
said Portuguese coach Henrique Calisto. “My players have never experienced anything
like this before. “When Seongnam come to Vietnam we will show them some nice
and warm weather and hopefully a good game”

Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com

2007 K-League Preview: Part Two

Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma

The champions are still warm from their seventh title triumph that was achieved at the start of a winter that has yet to leave the Land of the Morning Calm.

As they say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and Seongnam haven’t been too busy in the transfer market. 2006 top scorer Woo Sung-young has gone and his goals will be missed but at the age of 33, he has been traded in for a younger model – Kim Dong-hyun.

The former Suwon striker has spent the past two seasons in Portugal with Braga and Russian club Rubin Kazan. Kim may be younger but, as yet, is far less dangerous than the wily Woo in front of goal. Choi Sung-kuk is another expensive addition at over $2 million. “Little Maradona” may not be a prolific goalscorer either but his silky skills do cause problems around the penalty area.

Star striker Mota is fit and ready to show the other marksman in Korea how to score and with national team stars such as Kim Doo-hyun, Kim Sang-sik, Kim Young-chul and Kim Yong-dae, there is a solid spine to Seongnam.

Key Player: Kim Doo-hyun
Last Season: Champions
Next Season: Third

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

Runners-up last season, Suwon are hoping to go one better this time around. The biggest transfer story of the winter was the decision of Ahn Jung-hwan to abandon, for the moment at least, his dream of playing in England or Spain. Much depends on the form and attitude of the Lord of the Ring, a player who always seems to have his mind on his next destination.

Suwon’s midfield is a stellar one with Kim Nam-il, Baek Ji-hoon and Lee Kwan-woo spending the second half of last season becoming a formidable unit. With a strong defence, the forward line was the weak link and if Ahn can find his scoring from of the last time he was in the K-League prior to his move to Italy in 2000 then Suwon could be in line for a fourth title.

Key Player: Ahn Jung-hwan
Last Season: Runners-up
Next Season: Runners-up


Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i

The Tigers were toothless in 2006 and a repeat of such a boring season will be unacceptable. It is unlikely however as Kim Jung-nam has been very active in the transfer market.

$2 million seems a lot to secure the services of national team goalkeeper Kim Young-kwang from Chunnam Dragons but Ulsan suffered from goalkeeping problems in 2006.

The midfield has a much stronger look about it this time around. Oh Jang-eun was one of the stars of 2006 for Daegu and if he can repeat his aggressive midfield play this time around then Ulsan will be delighted – he will be helped by the return of the much-under-rated 2005 captain Hyun Yong-min who spent last season in Russia with Zenit St Petersburg.

Choi Sung-kuk’s skill may be missed but Woo Sung-young knows where the goal is – if can teach his new team-mates, a good season should be in store.

Want-away winger Lee Chun-soo is still seething after his proposed move to England and Wigan fell through in January. The 25 year-old is desperate to move in the summer but if he shines before then, Ulsan fans could be smiling especially as another talented winger Chung Kyung-ho has returned from military service.

Key Player: Oh Jang-eun
Last season: 5th
Next Season: Champions

Chunnam Dragons

Could this be the year for Chunnam – a first title for Jeolla Province? The team has been busy in the transfer market and if the new signings gel then the 2006 FA Cup winners could finally make an impact in the league.

Chunnam couldn’t stop drawing last season and if the team can start to convert such results into wins then they will not be far away from the top as they don’t lose many.

Goalkeeper Kim Young-kwang has gone but the club has spent the money well. Kim Chi-woo is one of the best left-sided players in Korea and Incheon United may regret letting him go. Fellow international Kim Jin-kyu returns to his old club after a two-year spell in Japan with Jubilo Iwata.

It is in attack that the club could struggle. Sandro Hiroshi was injured for much of last season but the Japanese-Brazilian is a competent poacher.

Key Player: Sandro Hiroshi
Last Season: Sixth
Next Season: Fourth

Pohang Steelers

Pohang are in serious danger of taking over the “nearly men” tag that Ulsan had to bear until their 2005 title triumph. Only four previous titles stops the Steelers from doing so but two play-off defeats in the past three years – both at the hands of Suwon -suggests that the team is lacking something.

It probably isn’t Lee Dong-guk. The Middlesbrough striker’s contribution to the Pohang cause over the past few years has been peripheral. Without the Lion King, players such as Tavares, Hwang Jin-sung, Oh Beom-seok and Koh Ki-goo have the chance to shine.

Coach Sergio Farias is starting his third season in South Korea and has a solid base but the team still lacks the little something extra to challenge the likes of Seongnam and Suwon.

Key Player: Oh Beom-seok
Last Season: play-offs
Next Season: Fifth

FC Seoul

It will be interesting to see how Seoul perform under new coach Senol Gunes. There are some good players in the capital, not least the under-rated Kim Eun-jung. The Turk has yet to make the expected signings but perhaps he intends to develop the young talent that the club is becoming renowned for.

He will have a honeymoon period of sorts. A top six place is expected and is within reach. First though, he needs to show the fans that the team is capable of playing some entertaining football.

Much depends on the form of Park Chu-young. If the striker, still only 21, can put a difficult second season behind him (though he still managed seven goals) then Seoul have a chance.

Key Player: Park Chu-young
Last season: Play-offs
Next Season: Sixth

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

It is debatable just how much the club’s march to the Asian Champions League title cost them in the domestic arena. 2006 was a dreadful one at home but there are no excuses this time around. As champions of Asia, the Motors have a bye into the quarter-finals of the 2007 competition.

After the money earned from the competition win and subsequent participation in FIFA’s Club World Championship, coach Choi Kang-hee talked of strengthening for the 2006 season.

After Botti left for Japan, the signings have been solid rather than spectacular - Kim Han-won from Incheon as well as Jeju pair Choi Chul-woo and Byun Jae-sub are decent players but perhaps fans in the south-west expected a little more. Still, there are some good players at the club and if the likes of Kim Hyeung-bom, Yeom Ki-hoon and Ze Carlo can show their continental form in the K-League then there could be some domestic happiness in Jeonju.

The capture of the top scorer of the Macedonian league Stevica Ristic is an interesting one and if he links up well with Ze Carlo then a good season could lie ahead.

Key Player: Kim Hyeung-beom
Last season: 11th
Next Season: Seventh

Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile