From second choice to first class, Queensland Roar's Korean recruit Seo Hyuk-Su is rapidly rivalling Dwight Yorke for the title of most valuable A-League import. Marc Fox reports.
Earlier this year, when Queensland coach Miron Bleiberg was assembling his first-ever A-League squad ahead of the competition's August start, he invited Korean World Cup veteran Shin Tae-Yong to tropical Australia for a trial. When 35-year old Shin arrived, however, he wasn't alone.
Seongnam Ilhwa team-mate Seo Hyuk-Su had accompanied his senior colleague on the trip and was duly given the chance to impress Bleiberg on the pitch. With seemingly immeasurable stamina and astute positioning, Seo made an instant impact. The Roar snapped him up.
Six months later, clinching the 32-year-old's signature still stands as the best piece of business Queensland carried out during pre-season. Although the least garnered of the five Asian imports in the new league when he arrived, Seo has quickly established himself as the archetypal Most Valuable Player. Not only has the likeable midfielder stepped out of the shadows of Shin at his club, he has become the number one Asian import in the whole league - and is closing in on Dwight Yorke's untouchable status as most heralded overseas recruit.
Even though his playing resume from his days in Korea - seven seasons in the K-League following a lengthy spell in Korea's second tier - might not have suggested so, Seo has dwarfed the achievements of his continental counterparts during the new competition's opening exchanges.
The form of Adelaide United's Chinese marquee signing Qu Shengqing has been interrupted with niggling injuries and is only threatening to take off two months in. Meanwhile Qu's countryman at the New Zealand Knights, Xiaobin Zhang, has been in and out of the side currently languishing at the root of the table and Japan-born players Hiro Ishida (Perth Glory) and Naoki Imaya (NZ Knights) are only now flourishing after injury setbacks.
In contract, Seo has been an A-League ever-present for Bleiberg. In fact, nobody can remember the last time the star nicknamed Harold by his constantly ribbing colleagues didn’t start a match for the Roar.
And his influence is forever growing. Although arriving down under as a self-professed full-back, Seo has been converted into the league's most adept holding midfielder. The position is pivotal in Bleiberg's attack-minded 4-3-3 formation within which the Korean's midfield allies are encouraged to get forward and support the strikers as much as possible. Seo reads the game so well, the coach often relies on him to cover for marauding sweeper Chad Gibson when the captain strides forward.
He is a sweet passer, a tigerish tackler and packs a punch when shooting too. Seo has scored in each of his last two A-League outings, both strikes blockbusters from metres outside the box - one with the left, one with the right. Furthermore, a rare mistake to allow Sydney FC's opening goal in the defeat to the pre-season favourites hasn’t affected his cult hero status with home fans one bit.
After gradually adjusting to Western culture (his favourite foods are lasagne and Domino's pizza), Seo and his family are keen to remain in Australia. So with only six months of his contract remaining, Bleiberg had better act soon.
Road to 2006 Update: It's Uruguay!
After a tense final round of qualifying in the South American section, the game between Uruguay and Argentina - a match possibly as many people were watching in Australia as locally - decided the Socceroos' opponents for next month's World Cup playoff.
Uruguay headed into the ultimate round knowing a victory would assure them of snatching fifth-place and the right to meet Australia in the CONMEBOL / Oceania playoff for the 32nd World Cup berth. A draw would have even been enough had closest rivals Colombia only managed the same result in Paraguay.
However, with the Colombians taking an early lead in Asuncion through striker Luis Rey, tension in Montevideo mounted. Only in the second half did Uruguay look like taking the lead with slick combination play between Diego Forlan and Alvaro Recoba breaking the deadlock. In truth, the Uruguayan margin of victory might have been greater by the final whistle but nevertheless fifth position was theirs.
The fixture might be a repeat of the 2001 playoff which Uruguay won 3-1 on aggregate but the South Americans know there will be no walkover this time. With admired tactician Guus Hiddink at the helm, Australia's preparation will be well researched and schooled in know-how. Hiddink's preferred 3-4-3 system offers better defensive protection than recent regimes while still not isolating hot-and-cold striker Mark Viduka.
Their form is impressive too. The Socceroos overpowered Jamaica in London last weekend in the most cutthroat display commentators had seen for a number of years. Confidence is high here but expectation is too. Next month is shaping up as the biggest in recent memory for Australia's footballing community.
Australian A-League Soccer News
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Showing posts with label Dwight Yorke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dwight Yorke. Show all posts
Monday, October 17, 2005
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Interview with Ian Crook
Sydney FC’s assistant coach reveals how Australia’s sporting public will recognise Dwight Yorke – and it’s got nothing to do with the local nightlife.
Former Tottenham and Norwich City midfielder Ian Crook is playing a pivotal role in the development of football in Australia. Earlier this year, Crook was named assistant coach at self-confessed glamour club Sydney FC, pre-season favourites to claim the title in the inaugural A-League season starting late next month.
In addition to 18 years in English football’s top-flight during the 1980s and ‘90s, Crook finished his career in Australia where he spent the last six seasons involved in the defunct National League. Now the man who helped the Canaries beat European heavyweights Bayern Munich in 1993 will aid in steering the club representing Australia’s largest city into a new chapter of soccer down under.
Head coach Pierre Littbarski, a former World Cup winner with Germany, has joined Crook at the helm of newly formed Sydney FC, a club barely nine months old yet already under pressure as the standard-bearers of the brand new national competition.
Not only has Sydney recruited the most talented squad of players, its target market covers something in the region of a quarter of Australian residents. As a consequence, its success is sure to dictate the pattern of national acceptance of the new format in a sport hardly among Australia’s favourites.
Crook is one of the many who believes the development of the A-League offers football its last opportunity to make an impact down under.
“It’s getting to the stage where the league hasn’t got too many more chances,” Crook admits. “It has suffered badly over the last ten years where it’s gradually dipped and dipped. I think it is (a last chance) and this time there are no excuses.
“The administration side of it is good, the sponsors are onboard, the players are coming back, everything’s better. If it fails to find it’s little niche in the market now, then where else is there for it to go?”
In Crook’s mind, the support of specialist broadcaster Fox Sports has been crucial. Parallels can be drawn between English football pre-1992 and Australian today. The last decade of the Premier League confirms that improving the game’s exposure ultimately delivers a better product – something the old NSL never benefited from. As Crook puts it, “It’s now not just about what’s done out on the pitch. There needs to be a little bit of razzmatazz I suppose.”
Furthermore, Australia’s domestic game can finally compete with the Premier League on a level playing field. For fans down under, being able to regularly follow Sky’s comprehensive coverage has merely accentuated the gulf between local and overseas standards. The Premiership has in no small way contributed to the lack of passion 10,000 miles away.
By recruiting from the Premier League, A-League clubs plan to capitalise on a decade of free publicity. Crook’s employers fired a warning shot to their rivals with the prized capture of Dwight Yorke, a veteran of 15 seasons at the summit of English football. Yorke joins as Sydney’s dedicated ‘marquee’ signing, meaning he can be paid outside the AUD$1.5million annual salary cap.
The former Manchester United striker is renowned for being able to generate front- and back-page headlines in equal measure and his signing has raised concerns in some quarters. The profile of the inaugural league season could well plot a similar course to Yorke’s own. Crook, on the other hand, believes Australian football needs a player with the charisma of the Trinidad and Tobago international.
“The great thing about Dwight is he’s such a likeable character,” Crook says. “People will just recognise Dwight because of his smile. It’s really important that the game out here can have not just a good player, but a good character that’s going to be able to promote the game.”
Moreover Yorke’s face fits, not only because he’s one of the Premiership’s all-time leading goalscorers, but because of the ubiquitous nature of the English game. “If that had been (Andriy) Shevchenko, who is at the peak of his game and probably the best striker in the world,” Crook argues. “90% of people out here wouldn’t know him.”
Much has been made of the official name change from soccer to football, with equal doses of arrogance and fear on display in the written media. The round-ball game is moving forwards but is never likely to match sport fans’ desire for traditional ‘footy’ codes like Rugby League and Australian Rules. “If the game’s looking to do that, then I don’t think it will succeed,” Crook says. “The important thing is for the game to be comfortable with the niche it can find.”
Over time, its role should develop to the extent Australia’s most participated sport starts to rank alongside its most watched. But it will take time. “If people are expecting the A-League to blow everything away in the first year, that’s wrong,” says Crook. “You saw from the World Club Championship qualifying games that the standard was better. It will get even better over the next three years. That’s the time you’ll see the real difference.”
Former Tottenham and Norwich City midfielder Ian Crook is playing a pivotal role in the development of football in Australia. Earlier this year, Crook was named assistant coach at self-confessed glamour club Sydney FC, pre-season favourites to claim the title in the inaugural A-League season starting late next month.
In addition to 18 years in English football’s top-flight during the 1980s and ‘90s, Crook finished his career in Australia where he spent the last six seasons involved in the defunct National League. Now the man who helped the Canaries beat European heavyweights Bayern Munich in 1993 will aid in steering the club representing Australia’s largest city into a new chapter of soccer down under.
Head coach Pierre Littbarski, a former World Cup winner with Germany, has joined Crook at the helm of newly formed Sydney FC, a club barely nine months old yet already under pressure as the standard-bearers of the brand new national competition.
Not only has Sydney recruited the most talented squad of players, its target market covers something in the region of a quarter of Australian residents. As a consequence, its success is sure to dictate the pattern of national acceptance of the new format in a sport hardly among Australia’s favourites.
Crook is one of the many who believes the development of the A-League offers football its last opportunity to make an impact down under.
“It’s getting to the stage where the league hasn’t got too many more chances,” Crook admits. “It has suffered badly over the last ten years where it’s gradually dipped and dipped. I think it is (a last chance) and this time there are no excuses.
“The administration side of it is good, the sponsors are onboard, the players are coming back, everything’s better. If it fails to find it’s little niche in the market now, then where else is there for it to go?”
In Crook’s mind, the support of specialist broadcaster Fox Sports has been crucial. Parallels can be drawn between English football pre-1992 and Australian today. The last decade of the Premier League confirms that improving the game’s exposure ultimately delivers a better product – something the old NSL never benefited from. As Crook puts it, “It’s now not just about what’s done out on the pitch. There needs to be a little bit of razzmatazz I suppose.”
Furthermore, Australia’s domestic game can finally compete with the Premier League on a level playing field. For fans down under, being able to regularly follow Sky’s comprehensive coverage has merely accentuated the gulf between local and overseas standards. The Premiership has in no small way contributed to the lack of passion 10,000 miles away.
By recruiting from the Premier League, A-League clubs plan to capitalise on a decade of free publicity. Crook’s employers fired a warning shot to their rivals with the prized capture of Dwight Yorke, a veteran of 15 seasons at the summit of English football. Yorke joins as Sydney’s dedicated ‘marquee’ signing, meaning he can be paid outside the AUD$1.5million annual salary cap.
The former Manchester United striker is renowned for being able to generate front- and back-page headlines in equal measure and his signing has raised concerns in some quarters. The profile of the inaugural league season could well plot a similar course to Yorke’s own. Crook, on the other hand, believes Australian football needs a player with the charisma of the Trinidad and Tobago international.
“The great thing about Dwight is he’s such a likeable character,” Crook says. “People will just recognise Dwight because of his smile. It’s really important that the game out here can have not just a good player, but a good character that’s going to be able to promote the game.”
Moreover Yorke’s face fits, not only because he’s one of the Premiership’s all-time leading goalscorers, but because of the ubiquitous nature of the English game. “If that had been (Andriy) Shevchenko, who is at the peak of his game and probably the best striker in the world,” Crook argues. “90% of people out here wouldn’t know him.”
Much has been made of the official name change from soccer to football, with equal doses of arrogance and fear on display in the written media. The round-ball game is moving forwards but is never likely to match sport fans’ desire for traditional ‘footy’ codes like Rugby League and Australian Rules. “If the game’s looking to do that, then I don’t think it will succeed,” Crook says. “The important thing is for the game to be comfortable with the niche it can find.”
Over time, its role should develop to the extent Australia’s most participated sport starts to rank alongside its most watched. But it will take time. “If people are expecting the A-League to blow everything away in the first year, that’s wrong,” says Crook. “You saw from the World Club Championship qualifying games that the standard was better. It will get even better over the next three years. That’s the time you’ll see the real difference.”
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