26 Games, Six Teams Standing

The system has its critics but the play-offs gave the K-League regular season a final day to remember. Six teams out of 14 doing battle in the championship deciders may be a high percentage but without the games, we would have just been treated to the sight of Seongnam strolling to another title.

It is partly Seongnam’s fault that the system was reinstalled. After a 2003 season in which the Gyeonggi Province club won the league by 18 points, 2004 saw the rebirth of the play-offs. The following three seasons saw four teams fight it out but the K-League extended that to six at the start of 2007.

Seongnam finished first again and while there was no trophy, they did receive a consolation prize – the club will only face one opponent in a two-legged clash in November. Suwon Samsung Bluewings finished four points behind in second and are guaranteed a one-leg semi-final at home on October 31. Suwon’s opponent for that game will be the team that emerges from the battle between those who finished third to sixth.

Going into the final day of the regular season, two of those spots had been claimed already. Gyeongnam FC and Ulsan Hyundai Horang-I were guaranteed to finished third and fourth. Only two spots were up for grabs –fifth and sixth.

Of the five teams still in with a chance, FC Seoul were the best placed –in fifth to be exact, three points clear of seventh and in need of just a point at lowly Daegu FC. Such a result looked to be well within Seoul’s reach as Senol Gunes’s men had drawn 13 of the preceding 25 games.

Pohang Steelers occupied sixth and knew that a win at home against fellow play-off chasers Incheon United would be enough. Incheon were in the same boat as Daejeon Citizen and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors; clubs that needed to win and other results to go their way.

A defeat for Seoul was necessary and that is what happened. Brazilian striker Luisinho fired home the only goal of the game after 34 minutes at Daegu World Cup Stadium.

Pohang got their three points with a 3-2 win to claim their play-off place in a game that wasn’t as close as the scoreline suggests. That result ended Incheon’s dreams and Jeonbuk’s season. The Asian Champions struggled to a 2-1 win at home to bottom club Gwangju Sangmu. It was Jeonbuk’s first victory in nine games but it was too little too late.

That left Daejeon Citizen. The 2001 FA Cup winners hadn’t looked like play-off candidates at the end of the first half of the season, collecting 13 points from the first 13 games. During the summer, coach Choi Yoon-kyum hit his assistant over the head with a beer glass during a drinking session. Such an act is not an automatic firing offence in Korea and for a while, Choi looked like staying on, backed by fans as well as his stitched-up sidekick. The number two soon changed his mind and Choi changed jobs,

Kim Ho stepped in. The 1994 World Cup and former Suwon coach is more of a soju man and also changed a few other traditions in Daejeon. In the first half of the season, the Citizen had drawn seven out of 13 games but Kim’s revolutionary concept that a win is three times better than a draw caught on. From August, Daejeon lost five games ( more than it lost in the first stage) but won the other eight to collect 24 points..

It was a close-run thing however. Despite Daejeon’s improved form, only a late run of four consecutive wins had put them in with a chance on the final day and with a good record at home against Suwon, the home fans were confident.

They were ecstatic when Brazilian striker Shuba scored the only goal of the game in the second half. Daejeon should have scored more but the finish wasn’t too tense. Suwon’s slim hopes of catching Seongnam meant that as the game drew to a close, the Bluewings weren’t too concerned about scoring a goal that would have shot rivals Seoul into the playoffs.

Daejeon’s response at the end was an emotional one but the team have little time to celebrate. They have a game at Ulsan on Sunday, the day after Gyeongnam host Pohang. The two winners will play-off against each other a week later for the right to face Suwon.

Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com

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Interview: FC Seoul's Senol Gunes

Senol Gunes arrived in South Korea to take over FC Seoul at the start of 2007. It wasn't his first time in the Land of the Morning Calm as five years earlier, he guided Turkey to the semi-finals of the World Cup. The talkative 55 year-old from Trabzon found time to chat about his first year in the K-League.

Why come to Korea?

At the end of 2004 I had offers from the Korean national team and FC Seoul, I had two offers. My plan was to come to Korea because I liked Korea from the 2002 World Cup but my team in Turkey, Trabzonspor wanted me to stay.

I liked Korea, the systems and the infrastructure. I had two choices. The first was to go to a European country like Germany or Spain and the second one was to come to Korea. If I had gone to the European countries, they have a professional mentality and they at a are high level.

In Asian countries, the level is not so high. If I come here I can learn many things and it is a good country. In Europe, there is lots of competition, Korea has that too and you can teach something to the Koreans. When I was in Turkey, FC Seoul told me that they had lots of young players. I was happy to hear this as I love working with young players. I came here and was happy to meet them. They are 18 or so, and that makes me a teacher.

In Asia, there are not many countries that have good conditions, China is one and Korea is another. In Korea, it is well-organised, they made a great World Cup, the fans are good and the stadiums are great. There is a small problem with mentality.

The players?

Yes, the players. The clubs are OK because there are big companies behind them. In training, sometimes I get angry with the players but sometimes I really like them because they are so cute, they have good minds. For these reasons, I chose Korea. I like it, the training facilities, the players, everything is good. I have been here only eight months and it is a good experience. Just now, results are not good but I am sure they will get better. I don’t have small plans, I have long-term plans.

Looking back, do you think winning the first three games was not the best way to start as it raised expectations?

I met the team in January and we had a training camp in Turkey. In March the season started and we had our best eleven. The first month was wonderful for us as we had our best team but unfortunately, April was not so good as we had injuries.

The first games we had good results and our fans expectations grew but we had a lot of young players. We had problems in midfield and forwards. We have five injured players. We won the first five games and the players were not ready for these kinds of expectations and the fans were expecting us to win every game and it is not that easy.

If we have enough experienced players then it is no problem but as we have many young players it was difficult for them.




As a coach when you have eight or nine games when you don’t score or don’t win like FC Seoul did, what practical things can you do in training and what do you tell the players?

The training sessions were not so hard as it was in the middle of the season. Pre-season we were training twice a day but in the season we were playing twice a week so we had no time to train. It is difficult to do too much.

Training is very important, it should prepare the players for the game. If you train hard then the game will be easy for you. I told the players to change their mentality and to look at English games. If you look at the Premier League, the tempo is so fast. I told our players: ‘no-one dies in training, don’t worry, you can work hard.’ At the beginning they didn’t know this mentality but now they are changing.

The young players are not ready to communicate on the pitch. I have to make extra training for them –an extra 15-20 minutes more. Unfortunately, they don’t know the reason why the coach gives them more and they are not happy.

Sometimes we have problems because of the different culture. We have hired psychologist from a university who comes once a month to teach the players about mentality. We need more time of course, eight months is not long. Training is not only running.

Can you give examples of cultural problems?

The big problem in Korea is the age problem. Everybody should be the same level- we are eleven players. Unfortunately, sometimes the senior players get angry and shout at the younger players. All the players are my players, the team.

The second problem is that Korean players don’t have an open mind towards their head coach. If I ask them, ‘do you have any injuries?’, they always say, ‘I am OK.’ In our football mentality, we are all friends but for Koreans, the coach is a teacher, almost like a god. I say to them, ‘I am your friend, you can tell me anything, any problems with your family, private life, training, if something is hard –talk to me. Tell me you want a rest.’ But we don’t have enough dialogue. The players are just waiting for orders from the coach.

I don’t always like to order. Sometimes they have to create something themselves.

Hiddink said similar things…

Yes. They have many things – facilities, and good players but the results aren’t good. We have some good players but after time, the players should improve but there is often no change. The answer is not always on the field. Social life is important –sleeping, eating, relationships, girlfriends –everything.

As a foreign coach, do you think it is possible to change this?

It is not easy but not impossible. We can wait and say ‘if you don’t change, then you go.’ Or we can wait and teach them everything we know and slowly it will change. The second way is the best way.

What did you learn about your players when the team wasn’t winning?

Compared to other countries, Korean players are eager and clean. When you say something, they listen and want to practice. I learned that I am an important person as head coach but I am not a god. I learned that the players have to open their minds. We say ‘give your bodies to us, and we will take care of you but they don’t open their minds.

Perhaps it would help if you brought players in from Turkey to show the kind of thing you want, why haven’t you done that?

This is a good idea, we can give the players a sample. I have a plan to bring a player called Shota Arveladze from Trabzonspor, he is not Turkish but played for Ajax.

He will come to Seoul?

We hope so but at the moment he can’t come, he went to Spain.

In the past you mentioned Tumir Matin…

We have plans to bring in some Turkish players. It is the best way to show the players what we want from them. Some of them have been playing for 25 years so eight months is not a long time. Next season we will bring in some players. This season is the last chance for the players here, if they use this chance, they can perhaps play next season.

The foreign players?

Yes. In Korea, the foreign players should change many things in Korean football, they should help the head coach.

What about (Portuguese midfielder) Ricardo? Quite suddenly, you dropped him and said negative things about him, what happened?

The problem was that he joined the training camp late. He wanted to go to Portugal but maybe he couldn’t join a team there and he came back late. He is a good player but just joined the camp late. He was not ready to play. He had some problems in March and April. A team is like a family, if there is a problem in your team, you need to choose the player or the team.

I then said to him, ‘can I give you one more chance. If you do your best, I can forgive you.’ He said “Ok, I will do my best’ and now he is doing well.

Seoul lacked creativity in the first half of the season but you didn't select your most creative player...

As last season finished, the club called me and asked me if I wanted Ricardo for this season. I saw some videos and thought he was I good player and I wanted to use him. He had a small problem with the other players. I talked to him many times but he didn’t change.

At that time he told me he had some problems with the Korean culture and players. Of course, we can’t change the Korean people, you have to change.

What kind of problems?

When he joined the camp, he was not happy, his family was not here. In training, he didn’t do well. When I asked him to do something, he said ‘I don’t want to do that.’ It was a bad example for the younger players.

You have had a problem scoring goals but during the summer you had a first chance to bring in some new players yet you brought in a defender. Why?

That’s a good question. We have three foreign players. Dudu had an operation and wasn’t ready. At first we had a plan to bring some foreign players, if Ricardo goes, one can come. Ricardo stayed so we had no chance to sign any foreign players. Dudu is contracted until the end of the season.

How about Korean players?

We have many forwards here, six or seven players. Unfortunately we couldn’t get them into the team – only two players can play. It is hard to bring new guys because I have many strikers. During the first stage, the strikers were injured but I knew they would come back for the second stage so I didn’t need any more players. It is the same in midfield.

Next season we can make more preparations. Also, the summer break is very short, only one month, at the end of the season we will have two or three months, it is much more time. This season is the time for the players to take their chances and next season we will decide about the foreign players and Korean players.

Is there money available for new players?

Yes, of course. We have plans. We will decide in a few months. I will use the players until the end of the season and then if I need more, I will decide.

At least with the injuries, it has given you a chance to look at many players…

Yes. From the first game of the season in March, to the last game of the first half in the Hauzen Cup, eight players were different. Not only injured but we have many players called to the different national teams. The Ulsan team, only one or two players have changed. It makes things difficult for us.

We have two targets for this season. The first is the FA Cup (Seoul have since been eliminated) and the second is the play-offs. We have problems but we will not give up. We reached the Hauzen Cup final but we lost. In the K-League we lost many points, we drew ten games – maybe a new record in Korea.

You have talked about needing more creativity in the national team and that is something necessary in the K-League too, what kind of things can you do to bring more creativity and more goalscorers?

Goals make games. I want to play exciting football but we have been missing players. Park Chu-young is our star player but is still injured. Jung Jo-gook and Dudu have been injured. If we had these good players together with Ricardo who can provide good passes then we can score more.

Even with all the players available, what kind of practical things can you do?

The first is that all players should think ‘attack’. When defenders get the ball, their minds must be thinking of attack. Unfortunately in Korea when defenders get the ball, they don’t about attack, they just move backwards and wait there and don’t move forward.

The second point is that attackers don’t have enough ability. In our training we have extra time regarding attacking and crossing, dribbling and shooting. We haven’t been able to have all the players together yet. Rooney is a good player but now he is injured and can’t play for Manchester United. All the players in that team are good players but since Rooney was absent, they are having problems to score goals.

When we played with Kim Eun-jung, Dudu and Jung Jo-gook, we were really comfortable but then they were all injured. Now I feel like I am not the coach, because there is often only one player I can select for a position!

Do you feel that Suwon are your main rivals?

We played well against Suwon but that level is not our level, we have to reach a higher level. Suwon have lots of experienced players who can control the game. It is not easy for our young players in such a game. Their players are Korean national team players, they know how to manage the game. I check the Ulsan team and it is similar, only one player is 21.

We have conceded too many goals and have dropped four points in the games against Jeju and Gwangju. From now we aim to win all the games, the play-offs are important for us. We have a bad situation but we still have to aim for the championship and the play-offs.

What do you think of the play-off system?

I think that it is not a good system. For example our team could finish sixth and then could win the championship. The championship should be for the full season. All season we have had injuries but if we finish sixth we will reach the play-offs. If our injured players come back we can reach the final and for that game if Seongnam’s players are not in good condition and they have injuries, they can lose even though they have been leading the table all season.

The Hauzen Cup system is not good, we don’t get anything from that. For example, Gyeongnam lost two games in the cup and then they gave up, we have to change the system in Korea, including the play-offs. The team that finishes first should be champions. It is not fair for the team that finishes first.

What lessons have you learned from this season that you can use next season?

I have learned about my players, the K-League, referees, our fans etc, many things. I learned many things about the Hauzen Cup for next season. I give the young players chances to play but they went to the national team. I want my players to play for the national team but many times they couldn’t play with us. For the Hauzen Cup final and the FA Cup second round, four players had to go to the youth national team and we have many players in the Olympic team and national team.

I learned in Korea that if there is a national team game and the next day a league game, we can’t use your players.

As coach of Turkey surely you did the same?

In Turkey, if one team has many national team players then the club’s game is cancelled. If you have a NT game on Wednesday for example, all players play on Sunday and then on Monday they can go. For example, on the 31st the Olympic team camp starts and they have called the players, the next day we have a game at Gyeongnam. They have called five players. The game is on September 8. Why don’t they take the players after the Gyeongnam game? We are being punished for having good young players. They should give us a bonus.

Next season will FC Seoul try to win the Hauzen Cup?

We played ten games in the cup and we won the most points. In the final game, we couldn’t play many players. If it is the same system next season, I will make the cup less important. As a coach, of course I want to win trophies but other competitions are more important.

Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile


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K-League Taking Shape

After four games of the new K-League season, four teams are level on ten points.

Only goal difference separates the leading quartet –Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, Pohang Steelers, Ulsan Hyundai Horang-I and FC Seoul.

Ten points from a possible twelve mean that none of the four have yet to experience defeat so far this season but one of the pre-season favorites Suwon Samsung Bluewings can no longer say the same.

Before last weekend’s action, Suwon was part of that exclusive club. Unfortunately for the loyal and passionate Bluewings fans, Sunday saw a 3-1 defeat at Seongnam. That bitter pill would not have been sweetened at all with the fact that the scorer of two of those goals for Seongnam, Kim Dong-hyun (see picture), was released by Suwon coach Cha Bum-keun two years ago.

Cha has his work cut out to keep those fans, the “Grand Bleu,” happy. After being thrashed 4-1 by rivals FC Seoul ten days earlier, the 2004 champions needed to bounce back against Seongnam and not just to keep morale high. It was Seongnam that defeated Suwon in the championship play-off last November to lift a seventh title. The cold dish of revenge stays in the Suwon refrigerator for a little longer.

Suwon is not short of big names as four heroes from the 2002 World Cup wear the blue shirt on a regular basis -not least the destroyer of Italy Ahn Jung-hwan and the bane of Spain, Lee Woon-jae. These two experienced players watched Sunday’s action from the bench however; victims of Cha’s quest to find the right blend in his star-studded squad though the coach was philosophical after the defeat.

“These kind of things happen during the course of a season and we need to be strong mentally,” he told reporters. If we keep losing like this then we will find ourselves in a dire situation but we will bounce back.” the coach said on Sunday.

The situation is brighter a few miles north in the capital. New coach and media darling Senol Gunes may not have brought any players since joining FC Seoul in January but he certainly is changing the way the team plays. Fans at Seoul World Cup Stadium have seen more attractive football in March alone under former Turkey national team coach than they did in the whole of last season under Lee Jang-soo.

Gunes is popular with the fans and press who love such statements as: “Seoul could win the Turkish league. At least they would finish in the top five."

The same could perhaps be said then of Pohang and Ulsan and they should be in a similar lofty positions in the K-League in November when the top six teams enter the championship play-off series.

The south-eastern clubs have slipped under the radar of much of the media for the time being. The main writers of the main soccer publications don’t venture down to Gyeongsang Province too often.

Pohang is also a club without stars after the departure of Lee Dong-guk to Middlesbrough and the Premier League. Under Brazilian boss Sergio Farias, the Steelers have the habit of picking up points with the minimum of fuss as demonstrated with a 2-1 win at the home of Asian Champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

Ulsan won the title two years ago and look handily placed to challenge again especially as the Tigers have yet to really get into their stride. Coach Kim Jung-nam, like his Pohang counterpart won’t be too concerned at the current focus on Seoul and Suwon.

There is still a long way to go.

Uruguay Lesson

On the international scene, March wasn’t the best of months as Uruguay came to Seoul and won 2-0 with a comfortable, even depressing, ease.

The story was a familiar one. Korea started well, enjoyed possession, looked energetic, lost concentration in defence and found itself a goal down.

The 19th minute strike from Carlos Bueno gave the South Americans license to sit back and allow their opponents to have the ball in their half, comfortable in the knowledge that the Koreans, even with their European-based stars, rarely looked capable of delivering a final ball that was capable of penetrating the blue wall.

With a lack of cutting edge in the final third, Korea often struggles to break the defensive walls erected by the likes of Syria or Iraq but the slick Uruguayans are on a different level and deserved their win. When Bueno added a second before the break, there was no doubt in the less-than-full Seoul World Cup Stadium as to the final result.

“We played with a lot of energy, they were more mature and played more with their brain. This is what we have to learn,” said coach Pim Verbeek after the game.
.
“To break down a team like that we have to be faster. We were dangerous outside the box but we never gave one good pass inside to cause problems.

"They defended well and made no mistakes. We have to learn from this game and we still have three or more months before the Asian Cup. If we are to do well at the Asian Cup, we cannot make defensive mistakes and we have to be sharper in attack."

The media was muted in its criticism as there was a general acceptance that the game was a friendly against professional and impressive opponents. The main gripe was concerning Pim Verbeek’s decision to continue selecting Kim Dong-jin and Kim Sang-sik in the centre of defence when the pair don’t play there for their clubs.

The bright start that Senol Gunes has made at FC Seoul has given the newspapers lots of ideas about comparing Pim Verbeek and the man who took Turkey to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup.

Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile

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

New Year Same Old Stories

Ahn Returns




It’s that time of the year again when it feels like half of the K-League is on the move. The close season in Korea is a frantic affair and at times hard to keep up with.

The fate of Ahn Jung-hwan has been the big story of the new year so far. Precisely a year ago, the “Lord of the Ring” was in the process of turning down a trial with Blackburn Rovers. Instead he headed to MSV Duisberg who were then in the Bundesliga.

After relegation, Ahn was released from his contract but since August has been without a club. On the wrong side of 30, his options are not likely to increase and he finally decided to return to the K-League on January 9 when he signed for Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

The three-time champions who already boast international stars such as Kim Nam-il, Cho Won-hee, Baek Ji-hoon and Song Chong-guk, took some time to close the deal with the ex-Perugia, Yokohama, Shimizu and Metz striker.

``We met with Ahn and his agent for the negotiation several times. There was huge difference at first over contract terms, but our talks has recently moved forward further,’’ Suwon club boss Ahn Ki-heon told Yonhap news agency.

``Ahn’s side has yielded a lot in the contract term including the annual salary. We are positive we could bring him unless there is significant disagreement during the rest of the talks.’’

A week later, Ahn signed and was given the number ten shirt. Now the challenge is to win back the red shirt of the national team.

Seoul Life

FC Seoul have released Portuguese midfielder Ricardo Nascimento -the 34 year-old playmaker spent two years in the capital, becoming a firm favourite with the fans. He returns to his homeland’s top flight to join struggling Desportivo das Aves.


Passing in the opposite direction was the club’s new manager. Senol Gunes arrived on January 6. The capital was sitting under a few inches of snow by the time the ex-Turkey coach returned to Korea for the first time since participating in the 3rd/4th play-off game at the 2002 World Cup.

“Thanks to those who came to meet me despite the bad weather,” he said. “My first impression of the fans is a good one.”

“Of course the most important thing is victory but I will try to give fans football that they can love.”

“I still have a good feeling from the 2002 World Cup. Turkey and Korea got good results. The two nations are brothers and that is one reason why I decided to come here.”

At a press conference in the bowels of Seoul World Cup Stadium 48 hours later, the 54 year-old made all the right noises and promised entertainment and results for fans.



The two Lees

A constant story since the summer has been that of Lee Young-pyo. The versatile Spurs star lost his place at the start of the new season and was a whisker away from joining AS Roma at the end of August. At the last minute however, the 29 year-old changed his mind and decided to stay in North London.

The reason for the change of heart has been kept close to the chest of “Chorongi” who had to deny in a press conference that his deep religious beliefs were behind the decision.



Stories in Italy also talked of financial reasons and pressure from Sky Sports on the player not to reduce Korean interest in the Premier League by leaving it. It sounds about as likely as reports of Chelsea interest in the defender.

Fortunately for the player, he has since won back his place in the team but the rumours still abound that he could soon swap England’s capital for its Italian counterpart. Supposedly in the first week of the New Year, Roma asked for a loan and then a full transfer.

Lee will stay put but the same can’t be said of 2002 and 2006 World Cup team-mate Lee Chun-soo. The 2005 K-League MVP said in December that he was ready to leave Ulsan Hyundai Horang-I and the K-League.

Yokohama Marinos and Urawa Reds in Japan fancy the winger who hit six goals in two and a half games in last August’s East Asian Champions Cup held on the archipelago.
As documented on here before, Lee is eyeing Europe – especially England. There has been little mention of possible moves for the winger since the transfer window opened.

It remains to be seen if that is good news or bad.

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Seoul Seething At Goal That Never Was

It hasn’t been a great season of football in the 2006 K-League and the same could be said of the championship play-off semi-finals that took place last weekend. However, there was enough to fill the sports pages for a few days in the South Korean media.

There was little hint of the approaching storm on a bright but chilly Saturday afternoon just to the south of the capital when Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma and FC Seoul were approaching the end of the first half.

Given the nature of the K-League and the importance of the game, it wasn’t much of a surprise that the score with five minutes to go before the break was goalless.

In a bid to break the deadlock, Seoul's long-haired Portuguese playmaker Ricardo took a corner for the visitors and the ball fell to team-mate and defender Han Tae-yoon. His low shot, stabbed through a crowded penalty area, looked destined for the back of the net until Seongnam defender Park Jin-seob intervened.

The only problem was that when he did so, television replays have shown that the ball looked to be behind the line. The referee waved away the red-shirted protests and seconds later, as the laws of football decree, Seongnam’s Brazilian hot-shot striker Mota found acres of space in the Seoul penalty area to stroke the ball home for the only goal of the game.

Obviously Seoul and the travelling fans were not happy. Coach Lee Jang-soo said after the game.

“I am a football man and not one to complain,” complained Lee after the game “but it was clearly a goal and the wrong decision.”

“We have worked so hard this season to get here and we now feel that it is so unfair. I can’t understand that this linesman went to the World Cup.”

Lee can’t be that much of a football man if he believes that appearances at World Cups are signs off competence in either playing or officiating fields. Still, it was a classic manager’s reaction to a bad decision.

The official site’s reaction was less understandable, screaming that, “thieves have stolen our championship tickets.” It didn’t stop there the fact that the linesman was due to retire was lamented as it meant that he couldn’t be punished while the referee was accused of pretending not to see the ball cross the line.



‘Twas a classless reaction especially as Seongnam had a second-half goal ruled out for an offside which clearly wasn’t. Still, there’s nothing wrong with a nice slice of controversy to accompany a big game.

And what of the game? It was a fairly even affair though the hosts shaded it. Seoul had more of the possession but Seongnam, going for a seventh title, looked more dangerous around the box and had better chances.

There was no such uproar the following day when Suwon Samsung Bluewings took on Pohang Steelers, just a good old-fashioned strong defensive performance by Suwon who took the game 1-0.



Suwon may lack the forward line of Seongnam but the Bluewings’ midfield is an excellent one. National team captain Kim Nam-il sits behind the inspirational playmaker Lee Kwan-woo and international midfielder Baek Ji-hoon, who since joining Suwon, has started to turn into an all-action midfielder.


He scored the only goal of the game and a fantastic strike it was too. A scorching shot from 25 yards that cannoned off the underside of the crossbar to hit the back of the net with the Pohang ‘keeper helpless.



The Steelers’ attempts to get back into the game were frustrated by a well-organised and well-drilled Suwon defence that even repulsed the returning Lion King in his bid for glory. Lee Dong-guk had missed the World Cup and seven months of the season through injury but the Pohang star was back at the right time to shoot the Steelers to a first title in 14 years.





It wasn’t meant to be and on Sunday, Seongnam and Suwon do battle in the first of two legs.


Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile

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Seoul Complete Play-Off Line-Up

The regular season of the 2006 K-League is over -now four of the fourteen teams that started the season will do battle in the championship play-offs starting on November 12.

The line-up is:

Saturday November 12

Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma - FC Seoul

Sunday November 13

Suwon Samsung Bluewings - Pohang Steelers

On the final weekend of the regular season, only Seoul had yet to secure its place but did so with a sluggish 1-0 win over Gyeongnam FC on a day when the first fingers of winter could be felt by the 17,000 fans in the cavernous Seoul World Cup Stadium.

Rumours from those in the know suggest that Seoul coach Lee Jang-soo is done for, whatever happens in the next three weeks. Fans of the club will be hoping that if he does go, he will leave the K-League trophy behind.

It is unlikely as Seoul have looked uninspired for the majority of the season and would usually come-off second best against Seongnam. However, Seongnam, having booked their play-off place months ago, have not won for the last five games – and even allowed the shot-shy Jeju United and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to score three goals each.

Whether coach Kim Hak-bom can get his players back to their form earlier in the season remains to be seen but the six-time champions are better bets to lift a seventh title than FC Seoul are to win their first (or fourth if one includes Anyang Cheetahs’ three triumphs before the club was uprooted and moved to the capital in 2004).

Suwon took the second stage with a series of effective rather than impressive performances. The same can’t be said of midfielders Lee Kwan-woo and Baek Ji-hoon who have made the difference since respectively heading north from Daejeon and south from Seoul in the summer.

Last not probably not least are Pohang Steelers, a team that has gone about its business quietly. Brazilian boss Sergio Farias has built a solid team that scores more and concedes less than most.

To make matters better, Lee Song-gook has returned to the line-up after seven months out with a torn cruciate ligament. The injury kept the Lion King out of the World Cup but he announced his return in emphatic fashion in the last game of the season. Three minutes after coming off the bench, Lee headed home to give Pohang three points at the home of champions Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i.

For those who believe in such things, some have suggested (OK, only me) that fate will propel Lee to clinch the title for his team and end what has been a miserable year on a high.

Changes to the K-League

Those boffins at the K-League like to keep things interesting. Upon realizing that the league was in danger of heading for a fourth season without being tinkered with, they got off their backsides and did something about it – for the twelfth time in 24 years.

The two-stage season has been cut back down to one but the league is hoping that the excitement will not be similarly reduced.

To such an end, one team will be promoted from the second tier N-League to expand the top flight to fifteen teams and 28 games.

The number of teams qualifying for the play-offs has been expanded to six. Concerned about attendances in the league, the powers-that-be have decided that such a move will generate more interest and excitement.

With the absence of relegation and champions league qualification, play-offs are a necessary evil in the league but extending the privilege to six – 40% of clubs - is excessive.

As that old football saying goes:

“Too many clubs spoils the play-offs.”

Lee Chun-soo

The biggest star in the K-League has been hit with a big ban for swearing at referee Lee Yong-chol in Ulsan’s recent 1-0 defeat at Incheon United.

Playing in his hometown, Lee took umbrage to the fact that the ref disallowed an Ulsan equaliser after Lee Jong-min bundled the ball into the net with his hand.

Lee left fly and was soon on his way off the pitch and possibly out of the K-League.

The K-League handed him a three-match ban and then his club sentenced him to three days community service.

"We've come to the conclusion of ordering him to take responsibility for his misconduct with the community service," the champions said in a press release.

“His deed really disappointed fans and tarnished our club's honour."

Lee, who rejected a move to Portsmouth last August, was repentant - in public at least.

“I will accept my punishment,” said the baseball-cap sporting star after the hearing.

“I am very sorry. As a professional player I want to win every game and play well but what I did wasn’t necessary.

“I would like to say sorry to the fans that go to the stadium because they love football. After the sending off I reflected deeply on what I had done.”

"I’d like an opportunity to apologise to the referee directly. I will use this experience to try and become a more mature player.”

And before anybody familiar with the opinionated winger asks, no, it wasn't possible to tell if his fingers were crossed.

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