Kim Hak-Bom: Coach Of Korea's Winning Machine

In Korean, ‘Chunma’ is a Pegasus - the creature that in Greek legend had the ability to fly above the rest of the herd. Seongnam Ilwha Chunma has been doing just that in the K-League since 1993 when the team won the first of, to date, six titles.

The air may be thinner at the top, but the pressure to maintain high standards is intense and unyielding.

"There's a lot of pressure," Head Coach Kim Hak-bom told Soccerphile. "Our goal is always to win the championship and other competitions too. Just maintaining our position as one of the top teams is tough by itself."

It may be tough at the top, but that is where Seongnam is and plans to stay. The last league trophy resided in the trophy cabinet just to the south of Seoul in 2003. Kim took over at the beginning of 2005 and in the first half of 2006 he steered the team to the K-League first stage title -- by a margin of ten points -- earning a place in the end of season championship playoffs.

Even after such a statement of superiority, Seongnam was busy in the summer. US$1 million was enough to tempt ex-Romanian international striker Adrian Naega from Chunnam Dragons to link up with a strike force that is already one of the strongest among the league's 14 teams.

An added bonus to Naega's undoubted predatory skills was the fact, apart from his European experience, that he had already spent a year in Korea. According to Kim, buying players is a lottery.

"The chance of success is 50-50," the 46 year-old says. "Brazilians have mild characters and are good buys. They are technically very good. On the whole, good European players won't come to Korea but in Brazil they have two groups of players -- one goes to Europe, the others go to other countries."

"Sometimes I can find players in China or Southeast Asia but their level is not so high; we can find these types of players in Korea too. In China and Southeast Asia the players are a little expensive and they are a little lazy."

In this increasing age of globalization, coaches across the world are faced with the problem of blending players of different nationalities into a coherent and hard-working team. Kim has an advantage in the particularly potent brand of firewater that all Koreans know and not a few love.

"Soju is one way!" He laughs and adds, "With Soju they can talk heart to heart."

Perhaps the rice-based spirit could be made freely available in the stadium to tempt fans to the small stadium near Bundang station. Seongnam may be the country's most successful team, but they also attract the lowest crowds.

The team, Ilhwa Chunma, moved to Seongnam from Chonan in 2000 and it wasn't warmly welcomed by the sizeable Christian population in the city. The protestors objected to the fact that the club is owned by the controversial Unification Church. The church was founded by Reverend Moon Sung-myong, a name that gave rise to the nickname, widely used in the Western press, of "The Moonies".

Kim cares only about his team but is at a loss to explain why Seongnam have few followers.

"I just don't know," he says as he lights a cigarette. "As a coach, I am not happy with the situation. We do well but the fans don't come. It could be religious reasons or regional reasons, In the K-League, the regional feeling is weak. Seongnam people have no feeling for their city team.

"All we can do is play and perform well and then the supporters will know that and hopefully come back. The club officials are always trying to think of ways to attract fans. I hope to be like Manchester United where the tickets are already sold out."

Kim has been in the job around 18 months but before he answered Seongnam's call, he spent two years sitting on the Korean Football Association's Technical Committee, the body that is responsible for the national team.

The coach believes that the team over-achieved in 2002 and its natural level is just between the first and second rounds.

"It wasn't bad," he says "but we could have done better. The formation of the team was too defensive. Everyone agrees with this, including professional analysts, the media and the fans. Against Togo ... we should have been more attacking; they were a man down. If we have one more goal then we have a much better chance of reaching the second round."

"Look at Hiddink; did you think that Korea would beat Italy? But he said that 'this is Korea so we have no problem.' Advocaat is a top-class coach but he needed a big goal and then needed to develop a plan towards that. Hiddink did so and gave the players leadership and confidence to do so. Advocaat didn't."

Despite his criticisms of Advocaat, Kim holds the Dutchman in high regard, unlike his two predecessors Humberto Coelho and Jo Bonfrere. He urged the new coach, Pim Verbeek, to watch as many Korean games as possible in a bid to find the stars of the future.

"I was a member of the KFA technical committee with Coelho and Bonfrere. They used to say that there are no players in Korea. We said 'Hey, you are supposed to be high-level coaches. You say there are no players?' At the time we said to them 'we pay you lots of money to find players, you have to look.'"

With his national team experience, if Kim can achieve consistent success with Seongnam, then he could become a prime candidate for the national coaching job.

"It's good to learn from skilful foreign coaches. Someday Korean coaches have to take a role in the national team. It's hard to say if I will do but if a Korean person has experience and skill then they should have the opportunity."


Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com

K-League News and Interviews

K-League soccer football Pim Verbeek Korea Kim Hak-Bom John Duerden Seongnam Ilwha Chunma

Pim Verbeek interview

When were you offered the job?
We started talking seriously around the World Cup, before the game against Togo. At the time, we had the first meetings because officially Advocaat told the KFA on 15th June that he was leaving. I think that was three or four days after the Togo game. Before that he had a meeting with the KFA and told them that he would definitely leave the Korean national team.
That is when they came to me and said “he is leaving and we would like to go on with you.”

What was your reaction?
To be honest, my plan was to go to Europe. I had been away from my family for so long and I had more or less decided to go back to Europe and spend at least five or six months there and see what is happening.
Then this came and my family knows very well how much I like it in Korea and what I think about Korean football so they could understand that this was an offer I could not refuse. This is perhaps the only foreign job I would take because I know the country so well. I really think we can have great success.
It’s an obvious question but what are the main differences between being the assistant and head coach of South Korea?
Working with Hiddink and Advocaat is not so difficult because they give you all the freedom to organize the training sessions, to prepare team meetings and analysis and things like that. In the end, they take the final decision. You can have so many ideas yourself but in the end you always have to go to somebody who makes the final decision.
The good part is that with Hiddink and Advocaat, I never had a problem with the line-up, selection or whatever. You do a lot of the work but you never had the responsibility, that’s the biggest difference. If we win, I am responsible. If we lose, I am also responsible but that’s just a feeling.

How about the day-to-day things, the social side?
You know I always refuse interviews because of the limited time we have and also because I wanted to first have some results, know the players better and people know me better before I start talking about what the plans are.
The second part is that it is not so easy to go outside any more. Is that a big problem? For me it’s quite a big problem to be honest. I’d like to be outside and see something of the Korean culture and be among the people -drink a cup of coffee and visit a nice place. It is not so nice any more to go out and if I go out I wear a hat and sunglasses and that works but… it’s good that I have already seen a lot of Korea as now I spend my spare time inside.

The price you pay…
Yes, I knew that. I saw it with Hiddink and Advocaat. I always thought that that is the least interesting part of the job. I understand that everyone wants pictures and autographs and I try to co-operate as much as possible but it keeps you more inside and away from the social side than I like.

Has that aspect changed a lot since you became head coach?
It’s very strange. I was already here nine months and people recognize you and they say hello and take pictures but the moment they knew I was the new head coach, it was like I had scored ten goals in the World Cup!
It’s very strange but it keeps my feet on the ground because it has nothing to do with me but it’s all about my position. As the national team coach I am on television more than I was before. It’s not because I am a nice guy or because of my blue eyes but because I am the national team coach.

You are popular in Korea but after a few bad results, that could change. Are you prepared for that?
That’s the responsibility you take. I have the idea that the coaching staff and me do everything to make the team better and the players better and to win games. So as long as I have the feeling myself that I have done everything I can then I will accept everything. I have no problems at all with that. I started my coaching career in 1987 so after 19 years, nothing surprises me.
I didn’t come here to be the most popular and nice guy in Korea, I am here to get results from the national team and build up the national team.

The situation is different than the last two times you were here. Then, everything was focused on the World Cup but now there is a real chance to start from scratch.
Yes, it’s very different. We have a short-term plan and a long-term plan. I have tried to mix both but it depends a little bit on the results. It would have made my plans a lot easier if we had already qualified for the Asian Cup because then we could look toward the Asian Games, the Asian Cup and the Olympics but still now we need to get a point from the last two qualifying games.
It’s not easy to go to Iran and you know in football that everything is possible. People say “it’s only Syria at home” but in football everything is possible. We have to concentrate and bring in the best team we can find. This is no time for taking risks because that is what I’ve heard from left and right that some people still think that I don’t take enough risks.
I am not here to take risks. I am here to bring in the best players or bring in those who have a future and bring them in at the right moment like I did last week with Choi Sung-kuk. He had a very good training camp and is doing very well at Ulsan.

Who are these people who say you don’t take enough risks?
There are always people around in every job who think they know better than you – what you should and shouldn’t do. I don’t care about that as I think that is a strong point of football also. Everybody has an opinion; everybody speaks about it and is blaming players, coaches or referees. I am not stressed about it.
In answer to your question though I am trying to qualify for the Asian Cup and give young players a chance to show what they can do and also give the young players a chance to train with the best players we have in Korea. For every young player to train and play with people like Seol Ki-hyeon, Lee Young-pyo and Park Ji-sung is great and not only in training as they hear so many stories about how it is in Europe and how you can get there.

What is the main difference between you and Advocaat?
Advocaat was here for the World Cup and everything was geared towards that. He didn't have time to think about the long-term development of the game and the players but wanted good results – that was his job – though he did help young players like Lee Ho, Kim Dong-jin and Cho Won-hee.
He always wanted good results, even in friendlies because it not only helped confidence but because he knew that in Korea, results mean everything. I think that sometimes it is more important to give young players a chance in a friendly but Advocaat’s job was the World Cup. I have more time.
In the friendly games I will use some players and let them get some experience because that is the only way that they will become better players. It is also possible to make mistakes. I think that people in Korea have some problems to accept that, they think that if you are a national team player then you cannot make mistakes.
Last Saturday (in the 1-1 draw with Iran in which Iran scored in the last-minute to earn a 1-1 draw) we brought in one of the youngest and most talented young goalkeepers that we have in Korea (Kim Young-kwang). He played two very good games for us and we had no complaints at all. He did very well in training and he’s involved in one goal. I think there are three other players involved in that situation who made the first three mistakes. But people ask ‘why didn’t he play Woon-jae?”

In that situation where a mistake leads to a goal, what do you say to the players after a game?
After the game I didn’t say anything because I know from my experience that there is too much emotion. If you win there is a lot of emotion but it’s different but last week the level of disappointment was so high for everybody.
Nobody expected that we would concede a goal – nobody, because they had no chances at all. I told the players that I would say what I wanted to say on the next day. First you have to let the emotion slide away and then the next day they are more open to what I have to say.

So what did you say?
Of course, it was all to do with concentration, like it was in the World Cup. Without blaming Choi Jin-cheul but we knew exactly how Switzerland take the free-kicks and the corner kicks. When they take a free-kick and their most important player scores a goal then it has to do without concentration.
At that moment we were chasing the game and the consequences of losing concentration and playing for themselves are serious. Nam-il said that to the media, I never knew it but he said it anyway and I think everybody agreed with it and even the players agree. We showed them video analysis and we showed them what we didn’t do well. It’s nothing to do with the result but if you want to be a better team we need to avoid things like that.

So you agree with what Kim Nam-il said? (the new captain criticized overseas players such as Seol Ki-hyeon and Park Ji-sung for not playing for the team)
I fully agree. The players agree also with me. I can understand because I have been in Korea a long time already. The moment some players get the ball, the fans go crazy so the players always want to show how good they are and they want to entertain. I told them “do that when it is 6-0” and even then I think you should still play for the team.
We gave examples when everybody was there, I know it’s not really Korean style to confront players with what they did wrong but they know me well enough to know that we have to learn from our mistakes.
I’m not hiding. I think that everybody can make mistakes but you have to be alert and aware enough to know that you have made a mistake and the next time you should not make a mistake. If you make the same mistake three times and then you’re out.
The European-based players are used to getting criticised by the coach. I think I was fair; I showed them and didn’t say anything stupid after the game by yelling or shouting. That’s useless.

What about the World Cup? What were your thoughts on the team’s performance in 2006?
We still think and everybody thinks that the players could have done better. That’s easy to say but afterwards you need to find out what the problems are. For me it was easy because we had too short preparation time – that’s one.
Secondly, the players who are the most important players in your team at that moment, all of them came unfit – through an injury or not playing games for their clubs for the last four, five or six months.
For example Ahn Jung-hwan, Seol Ki-hyeon, Park Ji-sung –he came with an injury, he missed the first three weeks and he is a key player for us. So, the pressure and responsibility fell on the shoulders of players who are not the kind of players who can take it.
We knew that because of the lack of preparation that the players would get better as they played more games and we were 100% sure that it we reached the second round then the players would get much, much better – Park Ji-sung was much better in the final game than he was in the first or second game. He hadn’t played for four weeks. That was bad for him, the pressure on his shoulders was so big, he’s playing in Europe and everybody expects so much. You know how many commercials they made over here.
That was one of the most important reasons why we didn’t go to the second round. The first game we were under a lot of pressure, everybody expects us to win against Togo but it’s the first game for a lot of players in the World Cup. In the second game against France, we did much better and against Switzerland it’s all or nothing.
We gave an unnecessary goal away then you know you have to score a minimum of two.

What about the second Switzerland goal?
I still think it’s offside but I’ve seen so many times in football than a goal is 100% offside for one referee and the next referee doesn’t even look at it. I think that nobody knows what the exact rules are.

Many in Korea felt that the tactics and formations were too defensive, especially against Togo when Korea were leading 2-1 and against ten men and Switzerland, what would you say to that?
I don’t agree – at all. The only thing that matters in the first game is winning -three points. It was the same situation last week against Iran. We are winning 1-0 and the three points are very important. You can do two things and say ‘OK, we are going for 2-0 and then the game is finished but if that is not possible you say ‘OK, take the three points’.
I still think that Togo was dangerous in the counter-attack so why make it stupid for yourself and allow them a chance to make it 2-2? Three points is most important. Even with the next game against France, we always knew from the start that the Swiss game would be the most decisive game.
It’s easy to say three games afterwards that we should have scored more goals –if, if, if. Afterwards, I also know exactly what went well and what went wrong. I have no problems if people think that way but only one person makes the decision.

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for some of Korea’s players. For example, you omitted Ahn Jung-hwan from the Iran squad as he is currently without a club. What advice would you give to him to get back in the national team?
He knows also that he was gambling. He must have been gambling, I am not involved and I am not his agent but I am 100% sure that there were some teams interested in him and probably they were not at the level he had in mind to play at for the rest of his career.
That’s gambling – he took a risk to wait for a better possibility. Everybody is responsible for his own decisions and I think this is the wrong decision. I am sure that he thinks the same. Even if he doesn’t play in the biggest league in the world he is still playing football and he is still at an age where he can play for another two or three years. Put yourself in one of those leagues and if you score 20 goals in one of those so-called ‘minor leagues’ then you are still an interesting player.

What are the chances of him playing for the national team again?
At this moment –absolutely zero. There is no chance. I really like him as a player because he is a player that can decide any game. I was really thinking about using him in the Iran game because even in the last 15-20 minutes, he can do a job and score a goal.
It is impossible. I can’t defend my decision to the outside world to take a player without a club who hasn’t played a game for two months. Secondly, I knew that Jung Jo-gook was playing well in Seoul and if you leave out a talented player like Park Chu-young saying that he’s not playing so well then how can you select a player without a club?
I can still think about his qualities but you can’t take a player who is not playing and has no future.

If he joins a team, it doesn’t matter so much what kind of team and what kind of league, as long as he’s playing football?
Yes, for me it doesn’t make a difference. There are no players in Korea at the moment with his qualities. Jo-gook is a good player for the future but we don’t have players like Ahn who can decide the game out of nothing. He is an experienced player and really wants to play in the Asian Cup.

Why do you think he has such problems with his club career?
If I am the coach of a club then I would look at his resume and to be honest, he didn’t have so many appearances in France and then he went to Germany and played twice in five months. He is 30 years old and coaches start thinking that maybe he isn’t one of the cheapest players and then they think he’s too risky.
I still think that for a lot of teams that he can be an interesting player. If any coach calls me I will tell him Ahn’s qualities.
I would also say that he was not lucky in Germany. He arrived at a bad time. The moment he arrived in Duisberg, the team started winning without him. For a new player, that’s a disaster, it’s good for the club but not for the player. I understand the coach, he’s winning without Ahn so why change?
He was unlucky because I spoke with the director and the coach before they bought him. I explained to them exactly what kind of player he is and they said that desperately needed a type like that – they were so positive and so enthusiastic so they took him but then they started winning without him, then it’s difficult.
For us he was a starting member but he didn’t show in the three weeks before the World Cup that he was fit enough, mentally fit enough and that he was sharp enough to start in the World Cup.
It was the same with Seol Ki-hyeon. I think nobody in England could foresee that Seol is playing as well as he is doing now. If you look at his time with Wolves, especially the last six months, he was never in the team. Could you have told anybody that a player who couldn’t play in a second division team in England is now one of the most attractive players in the Premiership?

How about Lee Chun-soo? He had a chance of a trial in England but he turned it down.
I didn’t know that until last week. I haven’t spoken to him about it but I can understand as he wants to go abroad.

Would he do well in England?
I think Chun-soo can play in any game, anywhere in Europe because he has many special qualities though he still has a lot to learn. A lot of coaches and teams would be very happy to have a player like that who is left and right footed, he can score goals and he can score free-kicks. He’s willing to work for 90 minutes. A fit Lee Chun-soo is for any team, except perhaps the top three in the big leagues, a good player.
Many Dutch teams would be very happy to have a player like him. The only problem is that we don’t have the money to have a player like Lee Chun-soo. That’s a pity because I still think that the Dutch league is for any player, especially from Asia, to show themselves and get used to the European level, is a good league.

Also there was Lee Young-pyo and his near move to Roma, what was your take on that?
I saw him play for Spurs recently in the right-full back position. I saw that the left full-back they bought from Lens in France was doing a very good job. I think that Young-pyo also knows that the left-sided position will not be easy for him.
I don’t know. I spoke to him and said “if you your future is at Spurs then you have to focus on the right full-back position because I think the left back is doing a good job.”
I have no idea why he didn’t go to Roma. He told me that it had nothing to do with his religion. But what the real reason was, he said ‘I will keep it to myself.”
Spurs bought a new right-back, a very promising, talented, right full-back ..

And expensive…
And expensive and I know the coach is really happy with his new signings but I also know that he was really willing to keep Young-pyo. I don’t see many players who can play left-back and right-back and have such a fantastic mentality.

How about Park Chu-young, do you think too much pressure was placed on his shoulders too quickly?
Yes – we knew that last year. Even last year we had our doubts but every ball he touched was a goal – he had the golden touch. Everybody knows also that after such a year it will be difficult – not only now but it already started in March.
From March to the World Cup he didn’t do well but we took him because he still had something special – he’s fast, he’s hard-working and he can score goals. We had our doubts before the World Cup?

What kind of doubts?
He wasn’t playing well; he didn’t score goals any more. He started not to play for the team but to go for his own chances which if you are feeling well is good but if you are not feeling well then you have to look a little bit more for your team-mates.
It was difficult for a 20 year-old player to continue at the same level. It’s not bad at this time for him to be out of the squad line-up and return to do what he’s always done, scoring goals for his club and getting his confidence back.
I’ve always said that we can use him for the next few years because he is one of our promising players. The question is how long he will stay in the deep hole that he is in at the moment. He knows – he’s intelligent. That’s the good part, he’s not acting as a star – at all. He just hangs around with the other players, working hard in training. The difference is that last year that everything he touched was a goal but this year it is going over and wide and to the goalkeeper.
One problem is that he is not a player for a three-striker system. He’s a two-striker system player where he has a free role and can run everywhere and be dangerous in front of the penalty area. So we have to change our system and use his qualities or he has to change.

Also Lee Eul-young has retired from the national team…
He said to me in the training camp that “there are so many good players – it is time for them now, they are good enough and getting better all the time, I want to focus on my own club.”
I told him that I respected what he said. I still think that technical-wise that he is one of our better players; he never makes a mistake when he has the ball. I said to him: “stay with us this week and let the young players learn from you.” He said no problem.
I respect his decision and I think he is right. The younger generation is growing very fast. He had a great career, he played in two World Cups and he played in Europe. He was a technical and very intelligent player.

Will the team miss him?
He is not a starting member any more because the younger players are coming. Everyone knows about the qualities of Baek Ji-hoon, Jung-woo, Lee Ho so they all have to fight and Doo-heon is showing himself. We have some 16 or 17 year-old players in FC Seoul, we have Oh Beom-seok who can play in several positions so it would have been difficult for Eul-yong to be a starting member but I always like that kind of player to help the younger ones. Especially in training, players like Ji-hoon can learn a lot from him.

What are your plans for the rest of the year apart from qualifying from the Asian Cup?
We're focusing on the Asian games. We have to make a quick decision about the Asian Games selection.

Are the Asian Games a big deal?
I think so. If you look at the possible selection then there are a lot of national team players, the more international experience they get, the better it is. A lot of these players will be in line to play in the Asian Cup and if you look at their age then they in 2010 they will be around 27 and the main part of the national team. Even if it isn’t the highest quality tournament, you still have to play international games and I like to have the team together.
But first we must qualify for the Asian Cup.

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Copyright © John Duerden & Soccerphile.com

Read an interview with Pim's younger brother Robert Verbeek, presently coach of J-League Omiya Ardija for the 2007 Season.

Robert Verbeek Interview

Canon Word Tank V30

Already Dancing In The Streets Of Seoul

It has been four long years since the end of the third-place play-off with Turkey when South Korea said goodbye to the 2002 World Cup but it is almost time for the Taeguk Warriors to show the world that the fourth place finish was no fluke.

A regular stream of reported surveys suggest that around 90% of citizens in the Land of the Morning Calm are expecting a place in the second round, despite the fact that the team has never won an overseas World Cup game in fourteen previous attempts at five tournaments.

That rate may have tumbled slightly after the two latest displays of the national team.

June 1 saw a trip to Oslo to face Norway, whose World Cup hopes were dashed in the play-offs by the Czech Republic leaving their participation in the tournament to one that warms-up other teams.

For Korea, it was a first game on European soil since Hiddink was in charge and it wasn’t the most entertaining of returns on a bright Oslo evening. In fact, the visitors, missing an entire first-choice midfield, had one shot on target during the whole game and in a laboured performance, never came close to looking like scoring until the last minute when Seol Ki-hyeon hit the side netting.

The Scandinavians didn’t show a great deal more invention and most observers were relieved when the game was brought to a halt. Visits to Oslo to play the national team are rarely exciting (the high point of the game was Morten Gamst Pedersen telling Kim Sang-shik exactly what he thought of him in language that Blackburn team-mate Craig Bellamy would have approved of) but at least none of the Taeguk Warriors picked up any serious injuries – though the aforementioned Pedersen also managed to kick goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae in the head.

The following game took place back in Scotland where Dick Advocaat had taken the team for a eight-day training camp at the training ground of old club Glasgow Rangers. However, the team travelled the short distance to the capital Edinburgh and Easter Road to meet Ghana. Any Hibernian fan that made their way to the stadium on a bright Sunday afternoon to check out the rumoured summer target of Hearts, Korean striker, Ahn Jung-hwan, would have surely been urging their rivals to sign him up.

Ahn, whose hair gets curlier by the day, was taken off at half-time, a substitution that summed up a disappointing build-up to the World Cup for the star, though he should still get the nod over Cho Jae-jin for the central striking role for the clash with Togo on June 13.

By the break, Korea were one-down to a Ghana team that looked impressively fast, strong and skilful. Lee Eul-yong soon equalized for the Koreans, roared on by a large and shrill red-clad contingent. That strike merely served to spur the Africans to move up a gear and the Black Stars ran out worthy 3-1 winners and with a little more composure in front of goal, the scoreline could have been slightly embarrassing.

The one positive to take from the game was that it concentrated minds fully on the opening Group G game with Togo. Pre-Ghana, the feeling in the media and the country was that the Africans would present the team with three points leaving the vital clashes to be fought out with France and Switzerland.

Advocaat had forever tried to reduce the nation’s (and perhaps the players’) over-confidence but found that the Black Stars of Ghana, in a tough group with USA, Italy and the Czechs did it for him.

The defeat did little to dampen a World Cup fever that is rampant in Seoul and across the southern half of the peninsula.


Despite the fact that the Norway friendly kicked off at 2 am on Friday morning in Korea, thousands of people danced, sang and ultimately fell asleep in front of Seoul City Hall, the same happened on Sunday evening.

They will be back, and in greater numbers too – on the evening of June 13. The whole nation is ready.

Copyright © John Duerden & Soccerphile.com.

Korean Import Steals The Show

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

A-League Season Preview Part 1

With the new season touching distance away, Marc Fox previews the eight teams battling for the inaugural A-League prize.

NEW ZEALAND KNIGHTS

Despite an ordinary series of displays in the pre-season tournament, the New Zealand Knights won’t be the whipping boys many pundits are predicting.

Under manager John Adshead, coach of New Zealand’s national side when the All Whites qualified for the 1982 World Cup Finals, the Knights have recruited deliberately ahead of the inaugural A-League.

In an attempt to avoid the struggles they endured under the guise of the Football Kingz in the now defunct National League, the newborn Knights have picked up a number of players with English league experience.

Most notably, their acquisition of former Wolves and Crystal Palace utility man Neil Emblen, who will line up as a screening midfielder rather than central defender, brings Premier League know-how to the spine of the team.

Further forward, Adshead is relying on Englishmen Sean Devine and Simon Yeo to bang in the goals. Between them Devine – formally of Barnet, Wycombe and Exeter – and ex-Lincoln City sharpshooter Yeo have scored almost 200 goals in the lower leagues.

Meanwhile, tough central defender and captain Danny Hay can count Manchester United, Liverpool and Barcelona as opponents during his brief spell with Leeds United.

Key man: Sean Devine


ADELAIDE UNITED

Adelaide United’s A-League preparations received a setback when veteran striker Aurelio Vidmar announced his decision to retire just 24 days before its opening fixture against Newcastle United.

Vidmar, the well-travelled forward whose position on the starting XI had been under pressure after failing to hit the net in eight pre-season matches, will be replaced in the 20-man squad within the next fortnight but remains as assistant coach.

Even though the 38-year-old former captain had only been expected to play a bit part this season, he had been pressed into action while marquee signing Shengqing Qu reached full fitness.

No doubt contributing to his decision, some sections of the media had been critical of Vidmar and fellow striker 35-year-old Carl Veart’s performances upfront. Questions were asked as to whether the local favourites had the legs to compete in the combative new format.

By stepping down, Vidmar opens the door for the gifted Qu to make an impact worthy of Adelaide’s investment.

The 30-cap Chinese international aside, United’s squad has a substantial South Australian contingent. Coach John Kosmina has convinced Adelaide-born Angelo Costanzo to return home after five years at Marconi with the former Socceroo a vital cog in Adelaide’s engine room.

Moreover, ‘keeper Daniel Beltrame rejoins from Parramatta and young defender Adam van Dommele from Hartlepool United after a brief spell with the English League One side.

Key man: Angelo Costanzo


NEWCASTLE UNITED

Officials at Newcastle United will be trying to suppress a smile that dangerman Nick Carle was overlooked by Socceroos coach Guus Hiddink in the Dutchman’s first national team squad.

The gifted left-sided player should be hugely influential for the Jets by providing the fluency to link midfield with attack. Carle is arguably the most talented homegrown player to feature in the inaugural A-League season.

Saying that, team-mate Jade North was called up to Hiddink’s training camp, with the full-back certain to play a role in the qualifiers against the Solomon Islands in September given Australia’s recent defensive frailties.

Manager Richard Money, a knowledgeable European coach who holds the UEFA Pro Diploma licence, was the final piece of a well-constructed puzzle at Newcastle.

The Englishman arrived in Australia with the foundations of a strong side already recruited including an experienced backbone of Craig Deans, Ned Zelic, Richard Johnson and Ante Milicic.

Zelic, the enigmatic marquee signing who returns home after a decade playing in Europe and Japan, will most likely line-up alongside Johnson in central midfield although can play in defence if needed.

Johnson also possesses bags of know-how from his 12 seasons in England while Deans collected National League titles with Perth Glory in its final two seasons. Striker Milicic only missed out on a Socceroos squad place due to injury.

Key man: Nick Carle


QUEENSLAND ROAR

Despite being edged out of the pre-season tournament at the group stage, the attacking approach of the Queensland Roar will trouble the unprepared this season.

The homecoming of former Marconi striker Alex Brosque, voted young player of the season in the last year of the National League, was a feather in coach Miron Bleiberg’s cap and the 21-year-old forward will threaten from a starting position on the left flank.

Bleiberg’s preferred philosophy sees Brosque joined upfront by a couple of former under-20 team-mates from his time in Australia’s youth set-up – Jonti Richter on the right and Michael Baird furthest forward.

This exciting triumvirate will be among the quickest in the league although they do lack game-time together.

The Roar’s South Korean defensive midfielder Seo Hyuk-Su is another talented addition to Australian football, the former K-League star deployed to protect the back four and get forward momentum moving quickly.

Countryman Shin Tae-Yong is more of a creative influence ahead of Seo. His appearances at two World Cup finals in the 1990s speaks volumes for the former captain of K-League champions Seongnam Ilhwa.

The Roar might be an unfamiliar team with few big names but they aim to take advantage of a rigorous pre-season fitness campaign and the renowned climate of Queensland’s summer.

Key man: Alex Brosque

South Korea's Dynamic Duo

It’s a pretty good time to be a Korean football fan. Qualification for the World Cup was expected but still welcome for all concerned. But what is really getting people excited are the ‘Two Parks’ – Park Ji-sung and Park Chu-young.– the hottest properties in Asian football.


The older of the two, Ji-sung, has just joined Manchester United in a $7.4 million deal; one that thrusts the shy Suwon native stumbling onto one of the brightest stages on the planet.

Manchester United is the biggest and richest sports franchise in the world, have fans from Auckland to Argentina, have lifted the English title eight times in the past thirteen years and have young players like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo and will be challenging for titles at home and abroad for years to come.

The 24 year-old will need to use all of his, not inconsiderable, experience in England. He took the unusual route of moving to Japan without ever appearing in the Korean league. His two years at Kyoto Purple Sanga were successful ones but they weren’t the reason why the midfielder earned a move to Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven.

Ji-sung’s exploits in South Korea’s run to the semi-finals in the 2002 World Cup were the clincher to his European move as was his relationship with then Korean boss Guus Hiddink. When Park scored an exquisite goal against Portugal in Incheon, he ran straight to the Dutchman and jumped into his arms.

Hiddink has since been reluctant to let go and when he took over the reins at Eindhoven he wasted no time in persuading Park to join him and despite some initial settling-in problems, the Korean established himself as an integral part of the midfield in southern Holland, leading the team to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

Such performances inevitably attracted the attention of bigger fish and they don’t come any bigger than Manchester United. It’s difficult for any player to turn down the “Red Devils” and Park will soon become the first South Korean to play in the Premier League.

Equally inevitable were suggestions in the English and European media that United bought Park to ‘crack’ the Asian market – to help boost the focus of the club’s smooth merchandising machine in the east.

The biggest service the star, for a star he now is, can provide to the Asian game during his time at United is to prove that European clubs can actually sign Far Eastern players for their talent and skill and not for the dubious perceived benefits of selling shirts in the Orient.

It won’t be easy, as he has to break into the first eleven in England and stay there but playing with stars like Rooney and Ronaldo can only help the Asian develop.
“What is important for me is whether I can play in games or not,’’ Park, who is planning to study English, said in a press conference.
``I don’t think I will become a big star like David Beckham right now,” joked the Korean about the former Manchester player. “Maybe I can if I was that handsome, but I am always trying to be a better player, so I don’t think it is impossible to become a player like Beckham.’’
Such humor will serve him well as will his typical Korean determination to succeed. English fans prize effort, heart and willingness to give everything for the team above everything, qualities that Park has in abundance as well as no little skill.

If the elder Park is Batman then Chu-young is certainly the boy wonder and plans to follow the trail blazed by the United man, repeatedly stating his desire to play in England. With the meteoric rise of the player, who turned 20 on July 10, few would bet against the sensation doing just that.


To anyone living in north-east Asia, it is scarcely believable that the Daegu native was unknown just a year ago. The striker’s six goals during last November’s Asian Youth Championship, won the title for his team and the prize of MVP for himself.

The greater award of the AFC’s Young Asian Player of 2004 title was received in January 2005 as was attention from a host of K-League clubs with FC Seoul eventually capturing the services of the emerging celebrity.

Encouragingly for Park and for South Korea, he seems to be able to make the step up to the next level with breathtaking effortlessness. He finished the pre-season Hauzen Cup competition as joint top scorer and then went one better by becoming the outright leading marksman in the first stage of the K-League, despite missing five games due to international duty. His mere presence tempts the sometimes reluctant Korean public to pour into stadiums all over the republic.

If observers didn’t believe the hype, they had to reconsider in June. After only three appearances in the K-League, national coach Jo Bonfrere bowed to media pressure and included the deeply- religious goalgetter in the starting line-ups for the vital World Cup Qualifiers in Uzbekistan and Kuwait.

A last minute equalizer in Tashkent kept his country on the road to Germany 2006 and five days later, the striker scored the first goal in a sweltering Kuwait City and earned the penalty for the second to secure the win that guaranteed South Korea a place in a seventh World Cup.

Rarely has a rise been so dramatic but the ambitious and single-minded 20 year-old doesn’t plan to stop anytime in the near future as his avowed intent is to move to England as soon as possible.
South Korea just may have a pair of global stars on its hands