Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek didn't quite measure up to his illustrious predecessor in charge of South Korea. On Wednesday night, Verbeek retried Guus Hiddink's shoes on for size as Australia mounted their maiden World Cup qualifying campaign through the AFC.
If Verbeek's 3-0 victory over Qatar wasn't quite enough to prove the bulk of his doubters wrong, it must have gone mighty close.
There will still be those - the cynics who harboured a personal preference of the shining CV of Omar (formally Philippe) Troussier over Hiddink's countryman and former assistant - who might remain unconvinced.
Let's see how Verbeek's inevitably jetlagged Socceroos handle the altitude of southwestern city Kunming in their first AFC qualifier overseas against China next month, they might remark.
But most of the 50,000-plus clad in the green and gold at the Telstra Dome in midweek, not to mention a host of interested TV viewers, will be jointly relieved and excited by a ruthless first-half display which saw the outgunned Qataris put to the sword in the opening 33 minutes.
The first test of the unheralded Verbeek was always going to be his wider influence in the boardrooms of Europe's grandest.
His sway over the often reluctant full-time employers of Tim Cahill and the like increased in magnitude when the Dutchman, in what has already become typical of his forthright style, discarded virtually every one of his original A-League contingent, labelling them not up to international standards.
Only Queensland's Craig Moore made Verbeek's first starting XI, excelling alongside captain Lucas Neill in central defence. Although whether the former skipper and 2006 World Cup goalscorer is truly considered a member of the A-League gang is doubtful.
In any case, Moore, 32, pulled the pin on his national team career immediately after the match.
Verbeek also showed his ruthless streak in quietly electing not to call-up Harry Kewell - to surprisingly little fanfare - and then axing Norway-based defender Michael Thwaite after he'd already completed the arduous trip home.
"I have better players in his position," was the coach's blunt assessment. "That’s the only reason. Michael did well at training and I really appreciated that he took the time and energy to come here but I have better players in his position. That’s football."
It would take a narrow-minded individual not to spot Verbeek gently asserting his control over a notoriously big-headed bunch.
Another absentee was Mark Viduka. The Newcastle United frontman played against Middlesbrough in the Premier League the Sunday previous with Boro goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer proving the flight home possible by doing it himself.
However, while Viduka's self-imposed international exile continues, Verbeek is not prepared to give up on him without a fight.
The Dutchman made a public play for Viduka's future services in the wrap up of the Qatar victory and said he would fly to the north east in person to share a coffee and a chinwag.
"Mark is always on the list," Verbeek clearly stated. "I would prefer to have five strikers to choose from and it's always better that players have a headache over fighting for their position than coaches have a headache."
Viduka might be on his shortlist, but at 33 this year and with first team football under Kevin Keegan at Newcastle no certainty, Verbeek needed to trial Plan B and stylishly did so in Melbourne, Viduka's hometown.
After toying with the idea of playing just one up front, he paired long-haired Karlsruher SC targetman Josh Kennedy with Scott McDonald, the stocky Celtic forward who hasn't stopped scoring in the SPL since moving to Glasgow in the off season.
Kennedy headed the opener from Brett Emerton's whipped delivery while McDonald was a menace all night, supplying the low centre which Cahill dummied for Mark Bresciano to tuck away for the clincher.
PSV's Jason Culina, in a holding midfield role, also received plaudits after the game, as did revitalised left-footer David Carney, now at Sheffield United in England's second tier.
Kennedy and McDonald aside, the names weren't actually that different from the failed Asian Cup campaign last July. But the attitude was.
However, with just one full training session to work with a group he'd mostly never before met, the nagging feeling about Verbeek's influence hasn't instantly gone away.
The March 26 game in China is another non FIFA-designated matchday which means Verbeek will have a similarly limited time with his players to prepare.
But at least for the next month or so he has, as Hiddink did before, Australia's goodwill behind him.
Copyright © Marc Fox and Soccerphile.com
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Showing posts with label Pim Verbeek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pim Verbeek. Show all posts
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
New era for Australia, shame about the jetlag
So it begins. Australia, the 46th member of the Asian Football Confederation, tonight (AEST) commences its maiden World Cup qualifying campaign in the AFC with a match against Qatar in Melbourne.
It is important to point out that this is by no means the first match Australia has played in Asia to get to a World Cup. The first couple of those games came way back in 1965, when Tiko Jelisavcic, a Yugoslav journeyman coach from a Sydney Jewish community club called Hakoah Eastern Suburbs, took a ragbag group of Aussies to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for a two-leg tie against North Korea.
Then, as now, Australia’s knowledge of our Asian opponents was limited.
A quote I used in my book, 15 Days in June: How Australia Became a Football Nation, summed up what passed for footballing due-diligence 40 years ago.
Australian Associated Press stringer Jim Shrimpton, one of the only journalists in Cambodia for the match, wrote of Jelisavcic and his “co-manager” Jim Bayutti, who was head of the-then Australian Soccer Federation, going to the Stade Olympique to check out the North Koreans training.
"[They] went to the stadium to mingle with crowds watching the North Koreans practise. But Cambodian officials guided them to special chairs in the main grandstand, ten yards from the North Korean officials. After the two groups had exchanged side glances for 20 minutes, the Australians introduced themselves. Jelisavcic, after watching the Koreans, said: ‘We shall beat them.’"
Well, not quite.
As history records, the Australians instead got thumped 6-1 in the first game and 3-1 in the second and returned home in some ignominy.
The North Koreans would of course go on to defeat Italy 1-0 in the 1966 World Cup and almost pull off the upset of the century in beating Eusebio’s Portugal.
Then there was the spate of matches played by Australia first under “Uncle” Joe Vlasits in 1969, the charismatic Rale Rasic in 1973, the now-forgotten Jimmy Shoulder in 1977, Les Scheinflug in 1981 and Frank Arok in 1985. Australia also faced Asian WCQ opposition again in 1997 for the infamous meltdown at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but from then until now Australia has been slogging it out with Oceania and South American teams to make it to the biggest sporting event on earth.
So it is a historic occasion for Australia to now be competing as a fully fledged member of the AFC on the Grand Trunk Road of Asian qualifying. These are not just a handful of matches. If Australia can survive beyond its initial foes of Qatar, China and Iraq, the Socceroos’ campaign could take in as much as 18 matches lasting up to November 2009.
It will augur a whole new view of Asia among Australians and hopefully facilitate the movement of some Asian players to the Australian A-League, where, as it stands, less than half a dozen Asian players earn their keep.
Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek was still playing his cards close to his chest even hours before the kickoff to the Qatar match, naming a provisional 21-man squad that then had to be culled to 18 hours later. Sensationally, Harry Kewell and Nicky Carle weren’t recalled from Europe for the game.
The likely starting lineup is not difficult to glean, with only two players who weren’t at Germany 2006 dead certs for Verbeek’s first XI: Celtic’s in-form Scott McDonald will lead the forward line in the absence of Mark Viduka while David Carney, playing some excellent football for Sheffield United, will slot in as a left wingback. (Soccerphile.com’s predicted XI: Mark Schwarzer, Lucas Neill, Craig Moore, Brett Emerton, David Carney, Jason Culina, Luke Wilkshire, Mark Bresciano, Tim Cahill, Scott McDonald, Joshua Kennedy.)
The only drawback to this team, however, is Verbeek is putting all his stock in a bunch of blokes (save Craig Moore) who have barely had time to wipe their eyes after getting off the plane (albeit in first class) from Europe.
For all of the Dutchman’s efforts to get up to speed with the Australian game in the two months he’s been in the country, and his commensurate efforts to get Australian football thinking in tune with European, it is jetlag, not Jorge Fossati’s scheming, that could well kybosh his plans for a winning start to Australia’s AFC World Cup qualifying campaign. Schwarzer only arrived in Australia Tuesday morning from London and went straight to training. The Qataris, meanwhile, have been in Melbourne for over a week.
Talk about irony.
As The Age’s sport columnist Richard Hinds wrote on Tuesday, this is one game where “home advantage” doesn't seem to apply.
Copyright © Jesse Fink & Soccerphile.com
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It is important to point out that this is by no means the first match Australia has played in Asia to get to a World Cup. The first couple of those games came way back in 1965, when Tiko Jelisavcic, a Yugoslav journeyman coach from a Sydney Jewish community club called Hakoah Eastern Suburbs, took a ragbag group of Aussies to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for a two-leg tie against North Korea.
Then, as now, Australia’s knowledge of our Asian opponents was limited.
A quote I used in my book, 15 Days in June: How Australia Became a Football Nation, summed up what passed for footballing due-diligence 40 years ago.
Australian Associated Press stringer Jim Shrimpton, one of the only journalists in Cambodia for the match, wrote of Jelisavcic and his “co-manager” Jim Bayutti, who was head of the-then Australian Soccer Federation, going to the Stade Olympique to check out the North Koreans training.
"[They] went to the stadium to mingle with crowds watching the North Koreans practise. But Cambodian officials guided them to special chairs in the main grandstand, ten yards from the North Korean officials. After the two groups had exchanged side glances for 20 minutes, the Australians introduced themselves. Jelisavcic, after watching the Koreans, said: ‘We shall beat them.’"
Well, not quite.
As history records, the Australians instead got thumped 6-1 in the first game and 3-1 in the second and returned home in some ignominy.
The North Koreans would of course go on to defeat Italy 1-0 in the 1966 World Cup and almost pull off the upset of the century in beating Eusebio’s Portugal.
Then there was the spate of matches played by Australia first under “Uncle” Joe Vlasits in 1969, the charismatic Rale Rasic in 1973, the now-forgotten Jimmy Shoulder in 1977, Les Scheinflug in 1981 and Frank Arok in 1985. Australia also faced Asian WCQ opposition again in 1997 for the infamous meltdown at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but from then until now Australia has been slogging it out with Oceania and South American teams to make it to the biggest sporting event on earth.
So it is a historic occasion for Australia to now be competing as a fully fledged member of the AFC on the Grand Trunk Road of Asian qualifying. These are not just a handful of matches. If Australia can survive beyond its initial foes of Qatar, China and Iraq, the Socceroos’ campaign could take in as much as 18 matches lasting up to November 2009.
It will augur a whole new view of Asia among Australians and hopefully facilitate the movement of some Asian players to the Australian A-League, where, as it stands, less than half a dozen Asian players earn their keep.
Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek was still playing his cards close to his chest even hours before the kickoff to the Qatar match, naming a provisional 21-man squad that then had to be culled to 18 hours later. Sensationally, Harry Kewell and Nicky Carle weren’t recalled from Europe for the game.
The likely starting lineup is not difficult to glean, with only two players who weren’t at Germany 2006 dead certs for Verbeek’s first XI: Celtic’s in-form Scott McDonald will lead the forward line in the absence of Mark Viduka while David Carney, playing some excellent football for Sheffield United, will slot in as a left wingback. (Soccerphile.com’s predicted XI: Mark Schwarzer, Lucas Neill, Craig Moore, Brett Emerton, David Carney, Jason Culina, Luke Wilkshire, Mark Bresciano, Tim Cahill, Scott McDonald, Joshua Kennedy.)
The only drawback to this team, however, is Verbeek is putting all his stock in a bunch of blokes (save Craig Moore) who have barely had time to wipe their eyes after getting off the plane (albeit in first class) from Europe.
For all of the Dutchman’s efforts to get up to speed with the Australian game in the two months he’s been in the country, and his commensurate efforts to get Australian football thinking in tune with European, it is jetlag, not Jorge Fossati’s scheming, that could well kybosh his plans for a winning start to Australia’s AFC World Cup qualifying campaign. Schwarzer only arrived in Australia Tuesday morning from London and went straight to training. The Qataris, meanwhile, have been in Melbourne for over a week.
Talk about irony.
As The Age’s sport columnist Richard Hinds wrote on Tuesday, this is one game where “home advantage” doesn't seem to apply.
Copyright © Jesse Fink & Soccerphile.com
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Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Verbeek gets crafty ahead of Qatar clash
More mind games from new Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek who stunned the Australian media this morning by announcing a 39-man squad for the Socceroos' upcoming World Cup qualifier against Qatar at Melbourne's Telstra Dome on February 6.
Only 25 players were expected to be named.
The unwieldy size of the group can be attributed to the influx of 19 of Australia's Europe-based stars which again does not include Newcastle United striker and World Cup captain Mark Viduka.
However Liverpool's Harry Kewell, Palermo's Mark Bresciano, West Ham's Lucas Neill and Everton's Tim Cahill have been included.
They are not expected to jet in to Melbourne until 48 hours before kickoff.
Uruguayan-Australian striker Richard Porta, who recently transferred from Montevideo's Club Atlético River Plate to Siena in Serie A, was not selected. He is tipped to choose between representing Uruguay or Australia next month.
Australia's forward line will almost surely be led by Celtic's Scott McDonald, with either Karlsruher SC's Josh Kennedy or Central Coast Mariners' John Aloisi as support, depending on Verbeek's preferred formation.
Verbeek's rationale for the number of players picked is "maximum flexibility", but in truth it will have more to do with keeping Qatar coach Jorge Fossati guessing on his starting line-up as long as possible.
With so many European club players selected, it is highly unlikely that any more than a handful of the 20 A-League players in the provisional squad will make the 18-man final squad to be named on February 4. Two days earlier, Verbeek's Australian-based players will have their last chance to impress in a behind-closed-doors hit-out with 2008 Asian Champions League debutant Melbourne Victory.
Pacesetting A-League club Newcastle Jets can be happy with its contribution, though, coughing up no less than seven players among the 20-strong Australia-based unit.
Sydney FC coach John Kosmina, who threatened to pull five of his players out of Verbeek's third all-A-League training camp on January 21 so as to prepare unhindered for his side's first-leg finals showdown with Queensland Roar on January 25, got little joy with the selection panel.
Only Socceroos defender Mark Milligan and fringe national-team striker Alex Brosque were deemed indispensable.
Roar's talismanic midfielder Matt McKay can count himself very unlucky not to make the 39, as he has been one of the A-League's most consistent and electric performers. Yet his team-mate Craig Moore, who didn't even participate in any of the three two-day training camps with Verbeek, was picked.
Verbeek, who has kept a relatively low profile since arriving in Australia from the Netherlands, knows he is set for a baptism of fire if he fails to get a result against the No. 88-ranked Qatar, which held Japan to a 1-1 draw during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup,
His preparation has been hampered by scheduling conflicts caused by the A-League going into the business end of the season and controversy over the make-up of his support staff, which includes his predecessor as national-team coach, failed Asian Cup helmsman Graham Arnold.
It is a situation highly unusual in international football to have the incumbent manager paired with the man who came immediately before him and tanked.
Qatar, meanwhile, is due to face Denmark at home on January 27 in its third and final international friendly before the WCQ on February 6.
In its two international warm-ups this month, against Iran and Syria, it has failed to score. Both matches ended in 0-0 draws. Verbeek's European-based assistant, Henk Duut, was shut out of the game against Iran at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on January 9 and all broadcast footage of the match was banned at the request of the wily Uruguayan.
Fossati named a 28-man squad in early January that did not contain the Gulf nation's most celebrated player, Boavista striker Hussain Yasser Abdulrahman. The 24-year-old is currently being loaned out by Sporting Braga.
Given the cat-and-mouse antics so far between Verbeek and Fossati and the Qataris' dry spell in front of goal, don't rule out Yasser turning up in Melbourne when the Qatar squad touches down Down Under on January 29.
Verbeek's 39-man squad: John Aloisi, Michael Beauchamp, Mark Bresciano, Mark Bridge, Alex Brosque, Jacob Burns, Tim Cahill, Nick Carle, David Carney, Simon Colosimo, Ante Covic, Jason Culina, Bruce Djite, Travis Dodd, Brett Emerton, Vince Grella, Adam Griffiths, Joel Griffiths, James Holland, Brett Holman, Josh Kennedy, Harry Kewell, Scott McDonald, Mark Milligan, Craig Moore, Kevin Muscat, Stuart Musialik, Lucas Neill, Jade North, Tom Pondeljak, Mark Schwarzer, Archie Thompson, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Michael Thwaite, James Troisi, Carl Valeri, Rodrigo Vargas, Danny Vukovic, Luke Wilkshire.
© Jesse Fink & Soccerphile
A-League Australian Soccer
Only 25 players were expected to be named.
The unwieldy size of the group can be attributed to the influx of 19 of Australia's Europe-based stars which again does not include Newcastle United striker and World Cup captain Mark Viduka.
However Liverpool's Harry Kewell, Palermo's Mark Bresciano, West Ham's Lucas Neill and Everton's Tim Cahill have been included.
They are not expected to jet in to Melbourne until 48 hours before kickoff.
Uruguayan-Australian striker Richard Porta, who recently transferred from Montevideo's Club Atlético River Plate to Siena in Serie A, was not selected. He is tipped to choose between representing Uruguay or Australia next month.
Australia's forward line will almost surely be led by Celtic's Scott McDonald, with either Karlsruher SC's Josh Kennedy or Central Coast Mariners' John Aloisi as support, depending on Verbeek's preferred formation.
Verbeek's rationale for the number of players picked is "maximum flexibility", but in truth it will have more to do with keeping Qatar coach Jorge Fossati guessing on his starting line-up as long as possible.
With so many European club players selected, it is highly unlikely that any more than a handful of the 20 A-League players in the provisional squad will make the 18-man final squad to be named on February 4. Two days earlier, Verbeek's Australian-based players will have their last chance to impress in a behind-closed-doors hit-out with 2008 Asian Champions League debutant Melbourne Victory.
Pacesetting A-League club Newcastle Jets can be happy with its contribution, though, coughing up no less than seven players among the 20-strong Australia-based unit.
Sydney FC coach John Kosmina, who threatened to pull five of his players out of Verbeek's third all-A-League training camp on January 21 so as to prepare unhindered for his side's first-leg finals showdown with Queensland Roar on January 25, got little joy with the selection panel.
Only Socceroos defender Mark Milligan and fringe national-team striker Alex Brosque were deemed indispensable.
Roar's talismanic midfielder Matt McKay can count himself very unlucky not to make the 39, as he has been one of the A-League's most consistent and electric performers. Yet his team-mate Craig Moore, who didn't even participate in any of the three two-day training camps with Verbeek, was picked.
Verbeek, who has kept a relatively low profile since arriving in Australia from the Netherlands, knows he is set for a baptism of fire if he fails to get a result against the No. 88-ranked Qatar, which held Japan to a 1-1 draw during the 2007 AFC Asian Cup,
His preparation has been hampered by scheduling conflicts caused by the A-League going into the business end of the season and controversy over the make-up of his support staff, which includes his predecessor as national-team coach, failed Asian Cup helmsman Graham Arnold.
It is a situation highly unusual in international football to have the incumbent manager paired with the man who came immediately before him and tanked.
Qatar, meanwhile, is due to face Denmark at home on January 27 in its third and final international friendly before the WCQ on February 6.
In its two international warm-ups this month, against Iran and Syria, it has failed to score. Both matches ended in 0-0 draws. Verbeek's European-based assistant, Henk Duut, was shut out of the game against Iran at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on January 9 and all broadcast footage of the match was banned at the request of the wily Uruguayan.
Fossati named a 28-man squad in early January that did not contain the Gulf nation's most celebrated player, Boavista striker Hussain Yasser Abdulrahman. The 24-year-old is currently being loaned out by Sporting Braga.
Given the cat-and-mouse antics so far between Verbeek and Fossati and the Qataris' dry spell in front of goal, don't rule out Yasser turning up in Melbourne when the Qatar squad touches down Down Under on January 29.
Verbeek's 39-man squad: John Aloisi, Michael Beauchamp, Mark Bresciano, Mark Bridge, Alex Brosque, Jacob Burns, Tim Cahill, Nick Carle, David Carney, Simon Colosimo, Ante Covic, Jason Culina, Bruce Djite, Travis Dodd, Brett Emerton, Vince Grella, Adam Griffiths, Joel Griffiths, James Holland, Brett Holman, Josh Kennedy, Harry Kewell, Scott McDonald, Mark Milligan, Craig Moore, Kevin Muscat, Stuart Musialik, Lucas Neill, Jade North, Tom Pondeljak, Mark Schwarzer, Archie Thompson, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Michael Thwaite, James Troisi, Carl Valeri, Rodrigo Vargas, Danny Vukovic, Luke Wilkshire.
© Jesse Fink & Soccerphile
A-League Australian Soccer
Monday, August 13, 2007
Foreign Stars Shine Before Independence Day
With South Korea preparing to celebrate independence from Japan on August 15, it is, perhaps, a little ironic that the K-League relies upon foreign players for a sizeable percentage of its goals.
It has been well-documented that South Korea scored a measly three times in six Asian Cup games last month. Departing coach Pim Verbeek blamed the goal drought partly on the scarcity of Koreans scoring goals domestically.
The Dutchman has a point. The top eight goalscorers in the K League all hail from South American and south-eastern Europe, not from Seoul or Busan. The highest ranked Korean is Daegu’s Lee Kun-ho way down in ninth.
The top five can be seen in the graphic above (put together by Sports Chosun). From left to right they are Cabore (Brazil –Gyeongnam), Stevica Ristic (Macedonia –Jeonbuk), Dejan Damjanovic (Serbia –Incheon), Mota (Brazil –Seongnam) and Denilson (Brazil –Daejeon).
Below is a graph that shows the percentage of total goals scored by overseas players. Own goals are excepted as are any scored by military team Gwangju Sangmu who aren’t allowed any foreign players –though their need is greater than most.
Top Two To Meet
Those wonderful waegookins will be in action on Wednesday night as 14 teams in the K-League do their thing on the pitch.
Since the end of the midsummer break last week, two rounds of games have suggested that spectators up and down the southern half of the Korean peninsula could be treated to a feast of fine football, excitement and perhaps even goals in the coming weeks.
It is unfortunate for Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma that the team which finishes top of the standings after 26 games doesn’t automatically win the title, though that fact will bother the other 13 clubs a little less. As the regular season ends, the top six teams will enter the championship play-off series in November.
After the resumption of the league, Seongnam have moved even further ahead at the top of the league and the seven-time title-winners are now nine points clear of Suwon Samsung Bluewings in second.
The two meet at Suwon’s ‘Big Bird’ World Cup Stadium in front of what should be a large and passionate crowd. A win for Suwon will keep faint hopes of replacing Seongnam on the summit alive. A repeat of the 3-1 defeat suffered in the first meeting between the pair in April however, will virtually seal top spot for the yellow machine that has not tasted defeat in the K-League for 22 games.
While the clash of the big boys takes top billing, there is still a good deal of action on offer a little lower down the table as the battle to gain a foothold in the top six increases in intensity.
FC Seoul went ten games without a win in the first stage but has started the second half of the season brightly. A home game against bottom club Gwangju Sangmu tonight provides an excellent opportunity for another victory. Just to the west, Incheon United has also collected four points in the last seven days and three more at home to fellow play-off hopefuls Chunnam Dragons will be welcome.
Asian champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors have looked sharp since the break, picking up an impressive 3-2 win at Suwon last Wednesday and will be looking for another victory at Pohang Steelers. The Jeonju outfit traded Yeom Ki-hoon for fellow winger Chung Kyung-ho in the summer and look to have got the best of the deal and not just because Yeom has a broken heel and will likely miss the rest of the season. In the 180 minutes Chung has played since moving to the south-west city, he has already shown the form that made him one of Korea’s brightest prospects two or three years ago.
With Chung wreaking havoc on the wing, the sublime Kim Hyeung-bum returning to fitness after a long-term injury and the energetic Kwon-jib returning to form in midfield, Jeonbuk look well-placed for the play-offs as well as an Asian Champions League quarter-final with Japanese champions Urawa Reds in September.
The rest of the action takes place in the deep south-east. Gyeongnam FC has so far struggled to reproduce its performances of earlier in the season and faces a tough task at home to a resurgent Daejeon Citizen, now coached by old warhorse Kim Ho. The former national team coach saw his new team shock usual contenders Pohang Steelers with a 3-0 victory on Sunday. Elsewhere, third-placed Ulsan Hyundai Horang-I face coachless Busan I’Park and Daegu FC take on Jeju United.
Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile
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Sunday, April 1, 2007
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.
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
Monday, March 19, 2007
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!
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
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
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
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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