Having arrived in Japan only two days prior to kickoff, Barcelona was expected to be playing at only 70 percent or so--and possibly fade in the second half. It didn't happen. In spite of a 12-hour flight and a half day time difference, the Catalans put on a 90-minute display of the beautiful game, crushing Mexican champion Club America 4-0 at the venue for the 2002 World Cup Final.
The scoreline could have been much worse. The Mexican side had but one real chance at goal all evening, when former Argentine forward Claudio Lopez flubbed a beautiful pass that left him alone in front of the Barcelona keeper early on. After that, it was all Barcelona.
Playing in a steady rain in Yokohama, Deco guided the midfield with grace and aplomb, moving the ball around with tremendous pace. Up front, Ronaldinho only found the net once but confounded the Mexican defense throughout the match and set up Deco's brilliant strike.
In the eleventh minute, Iceland international Gudjohnsen opened his account. Falling to his left, he curled in a low hard shot with his right foot against the flow of play. Barca's next goal came from Mexican international Marquez who headed in from a corner in the 30th minute.
The first half ended at 2-0 and Barca having 65% of possession.
The second half continued the same way. After many close calls, Ronaldinho finally scored in the 66th minute. From close range, the Brazilian star picked up a loose ball with players all around him, feinted once, then pounded the ball into the upper right corner, just eluding the keeper's outstretched hands.
Ronaldinho then set up the fourth and final goal--a bullet from Deco--by feeding him and then body blocking a defender out of the way and thus clearing a path for the shot.
Barcelona is now in the Final. With a few days off to further acclimate and practice, they look nearly unbeatable.
Club World Championship
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Showing posts with label World Cup Championship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Cup Championship. Show all posts
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Al Ahly v Internacional
Al Ahly Cairo 1-2 Internacional
Brazil's Libertadores Cup winners Internacional squeezed by Egypt's African champions Al Ahly Cairo 2-1 at Tokyo's National Stadium tonight.
19-year-old substitute striker Luiz Adriano's first professional goal booked Internacional's place in the final of the Fifa Club World Championship in Yokohama on Sunday where they will face Europe's Champions League winners Barcelona from Spain or Mexico's Club America.
Youngster Pato Alexandre put Internacional ahead in the 23rd minute of the first half from a corner before Angolan striker Flavio equalized after the break in the 54th minute for Al Ahly.
Both sides hit the post in a lively encounter, before Luiz Adriano, on for room-mate Pato Alexandre, who was taken off with an ankle injury, sealed the match for Internacional.
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World Club Championship soccer football Al Ahly Internacional Tokyo Stadium Egyptian Football Pato Alexandre
Brazil's Libertadores Cup winners Internacional squeezed by Egypt's African champions Al Ahly Cairo 2-1 at Tokyo's National Stadium tonight.
19-year-old substitute striker Luiz Adriano's first professional goal booked Internacional's place in the final of the Fifa Club World Championship in Yokohama on Sunday where they will face Europe's Champions League winners Barcelona from Spain or Mexico's Club America.
Youngster Pato Alexandre put Internacional ahead in the 23rd minute of the first half from a corner before Angolan striker Flavio equalized after the break in the 54th minute for Al Ahly.
Both sides hit the post in a lively encounter, before Luiz Adriano, on for room-mate Pato Alexandre, who was taken off with an ankle injury, sealed the match for Internacional.
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World Club Championship soccer football Al Ahly Internacional Tokyo Stadium Egyptian Football Pato Alexandre
Monday, November 6, 2006
Seoul Complete Play-Off Line-Up
The regular season of the 2006 K-League is over -now four of the fourteen teams that started the season will do battle in the championship play-offs starting on November 12.
The line-up is:
Saturday November 12
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma - FC Seoul
Sunday November 13
Suwon Samsung Bluewings - Pohang Steelers
On the final weekend of the regular season, only Seoul had yet to secure its place but did so with a sluggish 1-0 win over Gyeongnam FC on a day when the first fingers of winter could be felt by the 17,000 fans in the cavernous Seoul World Cup Stadium.
Rumours from those in the know suggest that Seoul coach Lee Jang-soo is done for, whatever happens in the next three weeks. Fans of the club will be hoping that if he does go, he will leave the K-League trophy behind.
It is unlikely as Seoul have looked uninspired for the majority of the season and would usually come-off second best against Seongnam. However, Seongnam, having booked their play-off place months ago, have not won for the last five games – and even allowed the shot-shy Jeju United and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to score three goals each.
Whether coach Kim Hak-bom can get his players back to their form earlier in the season remains to be seen but the six-time champions are better bets to lift a seventh title than FC Seoul are to win their first (or fourth if one includes Anyang Cheetahs’ three triumphs before the club was uprooted and moved to the capital in 2004).
Suwon took the second stage with a series of effective rather than impressive performances. The same can’t be said of midfielders Lee Kwan-woo and Baek Ji-hoon who have made the difference since respectively heading north from Daejeon and south from Seoul in the summer.
Last not probably not least are Pohang Steelers, a team that has gone about its business quietly. Brazilian boss Sergio Farias has built a solid team that scores more and concedes less than most.
To make matters better, Lee Song-gook has returned to the line-up after seven months out with a torn cruciate ligament. The injury kept the Lion King out of the World Cup but he announced his return in emphatic fashion in the last game of the season. Three minutes after coming off the bench, Lee headed home to give Pohang three points at the home of champions Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i.
For those who believe in such things, some have suggested (OK, only me) that fate will propel Lee to clinch the title for his team and end what has been a miserable year on a high.
Changes to the K-League
Those boffins at the K-League like to keep things interesting. Upon realizing that the league was in danger of heading for a fourth season without being tinkered with, they got off their backsides and did something about it – for the twelfth time in 24 years.
The two-stage season has been cut back down to one but the league is hoping that the excitement will not be similarly reduced.
To such an end, one team will be promoted from the second tier N-League to expand the top flight to fifteen teams and 28 games.
The number of teams qualifying for the play-offs has been expanded to six. Concerned about attendances in the league, the powers-that-be have decided that such a move will generate more interest and excitement.
With the absence of relegation and champions league qualification, play-offs are a necessary evil in the league but extending the privilege to six – 40% of clubs - is excessive.
As that old football saying goes:
“Too many clubs spoils the play-offs.”
Lee Chun-soo
The biggest star in the K-League has been hit with a big ban for swearing at referee Lee Yong-chol in Ulsan’s recent 1-0 defeat at Incheon United.
Playing in his hometown, Lee took umbrage to the fact that the ref disallowed an Ulsan equaliser after Lee Jong-min bundled the ball into the net with his hand.
Lee left fly and was soon on his way off the pitch and possibly out of the K-League.
The K-League handed him a three-match ban and then his club sentenced him to three days community service.
"We've come to the conclusion of ordering him to take responsibility for his misconduct with the community service," the champions said in a press release.
“His deed really disappointed fans and tarnished our club's honour."
Lee, who rejected a move to Portsmouth last August, was repentant - in public at least.
“I will accept my punishment,” said the baseball-cap sporting star after the hearing.
“I am very sorry. As a professional player I want to win every game and play well but what I did wasn’t necessary.
“I would like to say sorry to the fans that go to the stadium because they love football. After the sending off I reflected deeply on what I had done.”
"I’d like an opportunity to apologise to the referee directly. I will use this experience to try and become a more mature player.”
And before anybody familiar with the opinionated winger asks, no, it wasn't possible to tell if his fingers were crossed.
Copyright - John Duerden & Soccerphile
K-League News and Interviews
K-League soccer football Lee Chun-soo Korea Lee Song-gook John Duerden Korean Soccer
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
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
Thursday, August 10, 2006
A tie, with a Lam starter
Sometimes in life you have to be willing to compromise. This morning for example, it was too chilly for a t-shirt, yet perplexingly, a little too warm for a jacket. After considering my options at length, i embraced the middle ground by selecting a long sleeved top. An almost identical situation is currently in play in the Middle East; they could do worse than ‘be like the G’ and consider a compromise, as could all bettors looking to take an interest in the Community Shield.
There’s a stigma involved with backing a draw in a football match, you’re basically telling the bookmaker that you’re not smart enough to solve the conundrum, but with so many question marks surrounding the preparation of both Chelsea and Liverpool, backing the draw at 11/5 will prove a profitable concession.
Jose’s getting his excuses in early by claiming his players are under prepared, the reality is that Rafa has him by the short and baldies. Mourinho has come out on top in only two of his last seven face-offs with Benitez, Jose’s incessant whining is an exercise in pre-emptive damage limitation. Chelsea can’t be backed at 11/10, a 1-1 scoreline must be at 11/2.
Frank Lampard’s autobiography made fascinating reading. He claimed that his legs were heavy during the World Cup; talk about stating the obvious. He was told that he was the fittest England player; you can get 8/11 about a typo. Frankie’s performances in Germany were truly, truly awful, but there are few that can argue with the fact that ‘Lamb lard’ always performs for his club. The Lamp is an 8/1 shot to open the scoring.
Jose has gone to the extreme of shaving his head in a symbolic gesture that he is ready to go to war. Jose’s no mug, when entering the field of battle, it’s almost compulsory to have a German in the vicinity, hence the signing of Ballack. A sending off has been priced up at 11/4, if Craig Bellamy was on the pitch on his own that would tempt.
Bellamy and Pennant should both be in the starting 11 for the Pool, and let’s be honest; it’s probably not the last time they’ll appear in a line-up. Bellamy remains controversial, but the boyo can play. The Bell has been chalked up at 15/2 to score the last goal.
There’s another full Championship programme to get our teeth into, and Southampton are the weekend nap at home to West Brom. I fancy the Saints to be there or thereabouts at the end of the season, 11/8 is too big against a mediocre Albion side. Paradoxically, I can’t see the Saints performing well in the Cup competitions, with Pele in their team; they won’t get past a semi.
Ex-Baggie Rob Earnshaw found the net in midweek, and goals to Earnie are like bottles of buckfast to the wife, one begets another. Norwich look a great investment at 10/11 to beat Luton and the pacy, goofy, dwarf-like striker should be backed at 4/1 to bang in the opener.
Crystal Palace host Leeds in a potential cracker and the Eagles are the selection at 5/4 to maintain their 100% record. Leeds were denied a win in midweek when Shahbaz scored a 90th minute equaliser for QPR; if a little camp Scotsman can breach your defence, Macken and Morrison could literally run riot.
Leicester and Ipswich are both as pointless as voting on a big brother eviction, so an ‘O’ must go when they meet at the Walkers. Ipswich can take comfort from their performances in narrow defeats to Palace and Wolves while embarrassing defeats to Luton and Burnley will do little for the goalless Foxes. You can’t touch the crisp nibblers at odds on; you must accept the tractor factor; back Ipswich at a humongous 11/4.
Top marks to Billy Sharp for his superb goal celebration in midweek, Scunthorpe’s sharpshooter delighted all with a superb impression of our very own Monty. (That’s England’s latest spin sensation, not the large-breasted golfing choker.) On a related note, Saturday sees the last episode of Cricket AM, I enjoyed it immensely; it was like Soccer AM, only funny. Scunthorpe should be backed at 6/4 to see off a Crewe side in terminal decline.
Norwich, Southampton, Crystal Palace and Gretna form the accer of the week, it pays out at a whopping 17/1. Get on now, or forever hold your piece.
Copyright (c) Gerry McDonnell & soccerphile.com
There’s a stigma involved with backing a draw in a football match, you’re basically telling the bookmaker that you’re not smart enough to solve the conundrum, but with so many question marks surrounding the preparation of both Chelsea and Liverpool, backing the draw at 11/5 will prove a profitable concession.
Jose’s getting his excuses in early by claiming his players are under prepared, the reality is that Rafa has him by the short and baldies. Mourinho has come out on top in only two of his last seven face-offs with Benitez, Jose’s incessant whining is an exercise in pre-emptive damage limitation. Chelsea can’t be backed at 11/10, a 1-1 scoreline must be at 11/2.
Frank Lampard’s autobiography made fascinating reading. He claimed that his legs were heavy during the World Cup; talk about stating the obvious. He was told that he was the fittest England player; you can get 8/11 about a typo. Frankie’s performances in Germany were truly, truly awful, but there are few that can argue with the fact that ‘Lamb lard’ always performs for his club. The Lamp is an 8/1 shot to open the scoring.
Jose has gone to the extreme of shaving his head in a symbolic gesture that he is ready to go to war. Jose’s no mug, when entering the field of battle, it’s almost compulsory to have a German in the vicinity, hence the signing of Ballack. A sending off has been priced up at 11/4, if Craig Bellamy was on the pitch on his own that would tempt.
Bellamy and Pennant should both be in the starting 11 for the Pool, and let’s be honest; it’s probably not the last time they’ll appear in a line-up. Bellamy remains controversial, but the boyo can play. The Bell has been chalked up at 15/2 to score the last goal.
There’s another full Championship programme to get our teeth into, and Southampton are the weekend nap at home to West Brom. I fancy the Saints to be there or thereabouts at the end of the season, 11/8 is too big against a mediocre Albion side. Paradoxically, I can’t see the Saints performing well in the Cup competitions, with Pele in their team; they won’t get past a semi.
Ex-Baggie Rob Earnshaw found the net in midweek, and goals to Earnie are like bottles of buckfast to the wife, one begets another. Norwich look a great investment at 10/11 to beat Luton and the pacy, goofy, dwarf-like striker should be backed at 4/1 to bang in the opener.
Crystal Palace host Leeds in a potential cracker and the Eagles are the selection at 5/4 to maintain their 100% record. Leeds were denied a win in midweek when Shahbaz scored a 90th minute equaliser for QPR; if a little camp Scotsman can breach your defence, Macken and Morrison could literally run riot.
Leicester and Ipswich are both as pointless as voting on a big brother eviction, so an ‘O’ must go when they meet at the Walkers. Ipswich can take comfort from their performances in narrow defeats to Palace and Wolves while embarrassing defeats to Luton and Burnley will do little for the goalless Foxes. You can’t touch the crisp nibblers at odds on; you must accept the tractor factor; back Ipswich at a humongous 11/4.
Top marks to Billy Sharp for his superb goal celebration in midweek, Scunthorpe’s sharpshooter delighted all with a superb impression of our very own Monty. (That’s England’s latest spin sensation, not the large-breasted golfing choker.) On a related note, Saturday sees the last episode of Cricket AM, I enjoyed it immensely; it was like Soccer AM, only funny. Scunthorpe should be backed at 6/4 to see off a Crewe side in terminal decline.
Norwich, Southampton, Crystal Palace and Gretna form the accer of the week, it pays out at a whopping 17/1. Get on now, or forever hold your piece.
Copyright (c) Gerry McDonnell & soccerphile.com
Tuesday, August 8, 2006
Incheon United Coach Jang Woe-Ryeong
The monsoon season of 2006 was the wettest and longest in the living memory of even the oldest South Koreans. The sight of the rain cascading off the roof and on to the empty seats at the home of the second-youngest Korean professional team was a depressing testament to that.Some of those 52, 179 blue plastic chairs had been occupied the night before as Incheon United drew 0-0 with Daegu. It was the latest blank for United in a 2006 that, for the home team, has seemed as gloomy and interminable as the month of July and the bowels of the World Cup arena had the stale air of a dank basement. The next season – weather or football – can’t come quickly enough.
Incheon’s coach Jang Woe-ryeong could be found in his basement office, a large room that provided a glimpse of the sodden pitch and while it had the feel of a boxer’s locker room; it was adorned with paraphernalia from another sport.
The 47 year-old is one of the most recognizable figures in Korean football, fans are accustomed to seeing him standing in front of the dug-out sporting his trademark white baseball cap. Without it he still looks youthful and cheery despite the team’s mediocre tenth place (out of 14) in the first half of the K-League.
“Our pre-season was so short and we had little time to train together,” he explained. “The foreign players arrived late. We chose to train in China but it was a mistake as many players were injured at the time.”
The K-League is separated into two stages, the first finished in May, with a gap of three months between. During that time, clubs amuse themselves with the much-maligned Hauzen Cup competition – Incheon finished last.
“We didn’t care much about the competition,” shrugged Jang. “The reason we participated is that it gives a chance for our young players and older players to improve their teamwork.”
The struggle in 2006 has come as a disappointment after an impressive 2005 season in which the west coast club finished as runners-up. That feat was all the more impressive because the club came into existence only in 2004.
It seems longer but it is only 30 months since United burst into life in a blaze of publicity and excitement. Silver-haired German coach Werner Lorant arrived to oversee a squad that looked more than useful especially with the addition of Turkish international star Alpay.
Three months later as the K-League’s first stage ended with Incheon in last place. Alpay and Lorant soon disappeared. Jang was the assistant during that turbulent baptism, returning to Korea after five years coaching in Japan.
“There were many new players,” he recalled, “both foreign and Korean and naturally they had communication problems. At first, even the Korean players had problems communicating with each other under the new coach.”
The capture of the 2002 World Cup star and Premier League regular Alpay was a real coup for the club. He was not only the star player at Incheon but the biggest name in the K-League. According to Jang, his talent matched his reputation but …“he lacked a little professionalism. He is a good player…but he made no attempt to become part of the team.”
In the summer of 2004, Jang became coach. His philosophy was simple. Incheon would be united in more than just name.
“We focused on improving our communication,” said Jang. “Most Korean players lack communication skills on the field, they don’t talk much to each other… they go through school and university where there’s a strict hierarchy between older and younger players.”
The situation immediately improved. The second stage saw the team finish fourth.
In 2005, United collected the most overall points in the season, earning a place in the championship play-offs which saw defeat in the final at the hands of ulsan Hyundai Horang-i.
Consequently, expectations were high at the start of 2006. Prior to its commencement, the coach talked of the importance of qualifying for the Asian Champions League.
“Joining the Champions League would be good for the young players, it would be a good learning experience for them.
“It’s a big goal but bigger goals are better than small ones.”
In the meantime, Jang is encouraging his young players to learn from the foreigners that make their way to the Munhak Stadium. Unlike most other K-League teams with their Brazilian fancies, Incheon imports players from the Balkans – Serbs and Croats have featured strongly in the infant years of the club. In the past weeks, two international players have arrived – one Macedonian the other Bosnian.
“The chairman has many contacts and knowledge in that region,” smiled the coach by way of explanation. “I also have experience in working with East Europeans players. Compared to Brazilians, they are good at communicating and don’t make any problems.”
One of the signings debuted the night before, ‘satisfactorily’ according to Jang. For the sake of Incheon fans, the two need to settle in quickly as the second stage of the K-League kicks off on August 23.
All football fans in the country are hoping for a better second stage than first as the K-League is increasingly perceived as a competition with a number of fundamental problems.
“There are many ways to improve the league,” says Jang, sipping his green tea which matches part of his bright t-shirt. “The KFA, coaches and players need to open channels of communication.”
I asked about the frantic schedule that the K-League inflicts on its members.
“The administration has made the problem and needs to solve it. When it makes the schedule, it needs to focus on the K-League only but that doesn’t happen. It focuses on the needs of the national team.”
“Footballers need to train and play and we need to analyze the results. Hopefully, in the next game players can use what they have learned. If we have another game so soon then we have no time to do anything.”
Improving things is what Jang does. Despite a poor season so far, he is still one of Korea’s highest-rated coaches and wants to go higher.
“I want to be national team coach after the 2010 World Cup.”
Better to have big goals than small ones.
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Korea soccer football Incheon United K-League Jang Woe-ryeong
Copyright (c) John Duerden & soccerphile.com
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Interview with Ian Crook
Sydney FC’s assistant coach reveals how Australia’s sporting public will recognise Dwight Yorke – and it’s got nothing to do with the local nightlife.
Former Tottenham and Norwich City midfielder Ian Crook is playing a pivotal role in the development of football in Australia. Earlier this year, Crook was named assistant coach at self-confessed glamour club Sydney FC, pre-season favourites to claim the title in the inaugural A-League season starting late next month.
In addition to 18 years in English football’s top-flight during the 1980s and ‘90s, Crook finished his career in Australia where he spent the last six seasons involved in the defunct National League. Now the man who helped the Canaries beat European heavyweights Bayern Munich in 1993 will aid in steering the club representing Australia’s largest city into a new chapter of soccer down under.
Head coach Pierre Littbarski, a former World Cup winner with Germany, has joined Crook at the helm of newly formed Sydney FC, a club barely nine months old yet already under pressure as the standard-bearers of the brand new national competition.
Not only has Sydney recruited the most talented squad of players, its target market covers something in the region of a quarter of Australian residents. As a consequence, its success is sure to dictate the pattern of national acceptance of the new format in a sport hardly among Australia’s favourites.
Crook is one of the many who believes the development of the A-League offers football its last opportunity to make an impact down under.
“It’s getting to the stage where the league hasn’t got too many more chances,” Crook admits. “It has suffered badly over the last ten years where it’s gradually dipped and dipped. I think it is (a last chance) and this time there are no excuses.
“The administration side of it is good, the sponsors are onboard, the players are coming back, everything’s better. If it fails to find it’s little niche in the market now, then where else is there for it to go?”
In Crook’s mind, the support of specialist broadcaster Fox Sports has been crucial. Parallels can be drawn between English football pre-1992 and Australian today. The last decade of the Premier League confirms that improving the game’s exposure ultimately delivers a better product – something the old NSL never benefited from. As Crook puts it, “It’s now not just about what’s done out on the pitch. There needs to be a little bit of razzmatazz I suppose.”
Furthermore, Australia’s domestic game can finally compete with the Premier League on a level playing field. For fans down under, being able to regularly follow Sky’s comprehensive coverage has merely accentuated the gulf between local and overseas standards. The Premiership has in no small way contributed to the lack of passion 10,000 miles away.
By recruiting from the Premier League, A-League clubs plan to capitalise on a decade of free publicity. Crook’s employers fired a warning shot to their rivals with the prized capture of Dwight Yorke, a veteran of 15 seasons at the summit of English football. Yorke joins as Sydney’s dedicated ‘marquee’ signing, meaning he can be paid outside the AUD$1.5million annual salary cap.
The former Manchester United striker is renowned for being able to generate front- and back-page headlines in equal measure and his signing has raised concerns in some quarters. The profile of the inaugural league season could well plot a similar course to Yorke’s own. Crook, on the other hand, believes Australian football needs a player with the charisma of the Trinidad and Tobago international.
“The great thing about Dwight is he’s such a likeable character,” Crook says. “People will just recognise Dwight because of his smile. It’s really important that the game out here can have not just a good player, but a good character that’s going to be able to promote the game.”
Moreover Yorke’s face fits, not only because he’s one of the Premiership’s all-time leading goalscorers, but because of the ubiquitous nature of the English game. “If that had been (Andriy) Shevchenko, who is at the peak of his game and probably the best striker in the world,” Crook argues. “90% of people out here wouldn’t know him.”
Much has been made of the official name change from soccer to football, with equal doses of arrogance and fear on display in the written media. The round-ball game is moving forwards but is never likely to match sport fans’ desire for traditional ‘footy’ codes like Rugby League and Australian Rules. “If the game’s looking to do that, then I don’t think it will succeed,” Crook says. “The important thing is for the game to be comfortable with the niche it can find.”
Over time, its role should develop to the extent Australia’s most participated sport starts to rank alongside its most watched. But it will take time. “If people are expecting the A-League to blow everything away in the first year, that’s wrong,” says Crook. “You saw from the World Club Championship qualifying games that the standard was better. It will get even better over the next three years. That’s the time you’ll see the real difference.”
Former Tottenham and Norwich City midfielder Ian Crook is playing a pivotal role in the development of football in Australia. Earlier this year, Crook was named assistant coach at self-confessed glamour club Sydney FC, pre-season favourites to claim the title in the inaugural A-League season starting late next month.
In addition to 18 years in English football’s top-flight during the 1980s and ‘90s, Crook finished his career in Australia where he spent the last six seasons involved in the defunct National League. Now the man who helped the Canaries beat European heavyweights Bayern Munich in 1993 will aid in steering the club representing Australia’s largest city into a new chapter of soccer down under.
Head coach Pierre Littbarski, a former World Cup winner with Germany, has joined Crook at the helm of newly formed Sydney FC, a club barely nine months old yet already under pressure as the standard-bearers of the brand new national competition.
Not only has Sydney recruited the most talented squad of players, its target market covers something in the region of a quarter of Australian residents. As a consequence, its success is sure to dictate the pattern of national acceptance of the new format in a sport hardly among Australia’s favourites.
Crook is one of the many who believes the development of the A-League offers football its last opportunity to make an impact down under.
“It’s getting to the stage where the league hasn’t got too many more chances,” Crook admits. “It has suffered badly over the last ten years where it’s gradually dipped and dipped. I think it is (a last chance) and this time there are no excuses.
“The administration side of it is good, the sponsors are onboard, the players are coming back, everything’s better. If it fails to find it’s little niche in the market now, then where else is there for it to go?”
In Crook’s mind, the support of specialist broadcaster Fox Sports has been crucial. Parallels can be drawn between English football pre-1992 and Australian today. The last decade of the Premier League confirms that improving the game’s exposure ultimately delivers a better product – something the old NSL never benefited from. As Crook puts it, “It’s now not just about what’s done out on the pitch. There needs to be a little bit of razzmatazz I suppose.”
Furthermore, Australia’s domestic game can finally compete with the Premier League on a level playing field. For fans down under, being able to regularly follow Sky’s comprehensive coverage has merely accentuated the gulf between local and overseas standards. The Premiership has in no small way contributed to the lack of passion 10,000 miles away.
By recruiting from the Premier League, A-League clubs plan to capitalise on a decade of free publicity. Crook’s employers fired a warning shot to their rivals with the prized capture of Dwight Yorke, a veteran of 15 seasons at the summit of English football. Yorke joins as Sydney’s dedicated ‘marquee’ signing, meaning he can be paid outside the AUD$1.5million annual salary cap.
The former Manchester United striker is renowned for being able to generate front- and back-page headlines in equal measure and his signing has raised concerns in some quarters. The profile of the inaugural league season could well plot a similar course to Yorke’s own. Crook, on the other hand, believes Australian football needs a player with the charisma of the Trinidad and Tobago international.
“The great thing about Dwight is he’s such a likeable character,” Crook says. “People will just recognise Dwight because of his smile. It’s really important that the game out here can have not just a good player, but a good character that’s going to be able to promote the game.”
Moreover Yorke’s face fits, not only because he’s one of the Premiership’s all-time leading goalscorers, but because of the ubiquitous nature of the English game. “If that had been (Andriy) Shevchenko, who is at the peak of his game and probably the best striker in the world,” Crook argues. “90% of people out here wouldn’t know him.”
Much has been made of the official name change from soccer to football, with equal doses of arrogance and fear on display in the written media. The round-ball game is moving forwards but is never likely to match sport fans’ desire for traditional ‘footy’ codes like Rugby League and Australian Rules. “If the game’s looking to do that, then I don’t think it will succeed,” Crook says. “The important thing is for the game to be comfortable with the niche it can find.”
Over time, its role should develop to the extent Australia’s most participated sport starts to rank alongside its most watched. But it will take time. “If people are expecting the A-League to blow everything away in the first year, that’s wrong,” says Crook. “You saw from the World Club Championship qualifying games that the standard was better. It will get even better over the next three years. That’s the time you’ll see the real difference.”
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
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
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Park Ji Sung
Busan I’Park are just two points away from clinching the first stage title in the 2005 K-League season.
The FA Cup holders remain unbeaten after ten games and with two games remaining are in the enviable position of sitting five points above second-placed Ulsan Hyundai Horangi.
Coach Ian Porterfield has turned I’Park into an impressive, effective machine who in 2005 seem to effortlessly pick up points wherever they go. In sixteen games in the K-League and AFC Champions League the south-coast outfit have won thirteen and drawn three.
Such consistency is based on a tight defence, well-supported by international understudy Kim Yong-dae in goal but the Busan success story is one of some unsung heroes of Korean football – Lim Kwan-shik, Lee Jong-hyo, Park Seong-bae and Doh Hwa-seong. These players can’t be seen at the national level, which is not something that will overly concern their Scottish boss, but have produced a number of impressive performances that will, barring disaster, give Busan the first-stage ‘title’.
Another plus point for I’Park is the performances of new foreign signings, Brazilians Luciano and Bobo who have slowly but surely settled in well and made important contributions to the team’s success.
A 1-0 victory at the home of Chunnam Dragons, courtesy of a Lim Kwan-shik strike has put the AFC Champions League quarter-finalists within a win of the top spot and a place in the end of season championship play-offs.
With both remaining games to be played at the Busan World Cup Stadium, not many would bet against the leaders staying in pole position.
Even if the required two points are not forthcoming both Ulsan and Incheon United would have to collect the maximum return to overhaul the leaders. Such a feat seems to be beyond United who are going through a rough patch at a bad time and have collected just two points from the last four games, leaving the sophomore club sliding down the table.
Still, United will be more than happy with the first stage in only their second season in existence and the performance of Jang Woe-ryong at the helm of the club bodes well for the future of the west coast club.
As Incheon have slipped, Seongnam Ilhwa have found their form with three wins in a row that have lifted the six-time champions into fifth place. It is much too late for Ilhwa to challenge Busan but the improvement means that the 2003 champions can look forward to the second stage.
The 2004 champions, Suwon will be looking forward to the next stage also but for different reasons as the opening phase has been a nightmare for the Bluewings who finally managed a second win of the season at the home of bottom club Gwangju Sangmu.
Coach Cha Bum-keun will need to win the second stage to have any chance of defending the title he won in his first season back in his native land; failure to do so will increase the pressure of the former Bundesliga star.
It is a similar story for FC Seoul, tipped by many to be Suwon’s challengers for the title. Injuries to the highly-rated Nonato and international duty for Park Chu-young have interfered with the capital club’s much-vaunted dream strike force and it has been Kim Eun-jung who has taken on the goalscoring burden for the LG-backed outfit. The team, formerly known as the Anyang Cheetahs, are yet another one under a lot of pressure to produce a dramatically improved second half of the season.
The same can be said, only more so, for Chonbuk Hyundai Motors, who only a few months ago were unluckily losing the AFC Champions League semi-final to eventual champions Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia.
The Motors have spent much of the season rooted to the bottom spot, a dismal record that cost Jo Yoon-hwan his job as coach. His replacement Choi kang-hee has a wealth of experience with the national squad but will have his work cut out restoring confidence to a decent team – though the 2-1 win at Incheon United will help.
Park Ji-sung to United
The protracted transfer of South Korea’s star midfielder was finally settled with the English club paying a reported $7.4 million for the PSV Eindhoven midfielder.
The Dutch champions did their best to hang on to the 24 year-old but the lure of becoming the first Korean to play in the Premiership and for one of the world’s biggest clubs was too much for the former Kyoto Purple Sanga star to resist.
Park returned to his native Suwon to open a new road named in his honour and admitted that his first challenge was to break into the star-studded side.
“ I welcome the challenge and know that I have to prove myself,” the versatile midfielder told reporters “But playing at PSV gave me confidence and I believe that I can do well in Manchester, too.’’
The 2002 World Cup star has much to do to displace players such as Giggs, Keane, Scholes or Ronaldo but the player will be happy just to play.
``I don’t care much about my position. What is more important for me is whether I can play in the game or not,’’ he said.
Park’s determination, engine and no little skill should endear him to the Old Trafford faithful as well as the manager and the Korean hopes to win them over.
``I don’t think I will become a big star like David Beckham just yet. Maybe I can if I was more handsome,’’ he joked. ``But I strive constantly to improve my game to become a better player, so I don’t think it is impossible to become a player like Beckham.’’
The Suwon-born star has come a long way since being turned down by his hometown club, Suwon Samsung Bluewings and is excited about playing for the two-time European champions.
“The facilities, the stadium, everything show why people call them the best club in the world. I felt so happy to be there,” he also had the opportunity to briefly speak to new boss Sir Alex Ferguson by phone. “It was a short conversation but he welcomed me to Manchester and said that he expected much of me.
The same could be said of his countrymen who will be watching his every move in the north-west of England.
K. League
The FA Cup holders remain unbeaten after ten games and with two games remaining are in the enviable position of sitting five points above second-placed Ulsan Hyundai Horangi.
Coach Ian Porterfield has turned I’Park into an impressive, effective machine who in 2005 seem to effortlessly pick up points wherever they go. In sixteen games in the K-League and AFC Champions League the south-coast outfit have won thirteen and drawn three.
Such consistency is based on a tight defence, well-supported by international understudy Kim Yong-dae in goal but the Busan success story is one of some unsung heroes of Korean football – Lim Kwan-shik, Lee Jong-hyo, Park Seong-bae and Doh Hwa-seong. These players can’t be seen at the national level, which is not something that will overly concern their Scottish boss, but have produced a number of impressive performances that will, barring disaster, give Busan the first-stage ‘title’.
Another plus point for I’Park is the performances of new foreign signings, Brazilians Luciano and Bobo who have slowly but surely settled in well and made important contributions to the team’s success.
A 1-0 victory at the home of Chunnam Dragons, courtesy of a Lim Kwan-shik strike has put the AFC Champions League quarter-finalists within a win of the top spot and a place in the end of season championship play-offs.
With both remaining games to be played at the Busan World Cup Stadium, not many would bet against the leaders staying in pole position.
Even if the required two points are not forthcoming both Ulsan and Incheon United would have to collect the maximum return to overhaul the leaders. Such a feat seems to be beyond United who are going through a rough patch at a bad time and have collected just two points from the last four games, leaving the sophomore club sliding down the table.
Still, United will be more than happy with the first stage in only their second season in existence and the performance of Jang Woe-ryong at the helm of the club bodes well for the future of the west coast club.
As Incheon have slipped, Seongnam Ilhwa have found their form with three wins in a row that have lifted the six-time champions into fifth place. It is much too late for Ilhwa to challenge Busan but the improvement means that the 2003 champions can look forward to the second stage.
The 2004 champions, Suwon will be looking forward to the next stage also but for different reasons as the opening phase has been a nightmare for the Bluewings who finally managed a second win of the season at the home of bottom club Gwangju Sangmu.
Coach Cha Bum-keun will need to win the second stage to have any chance of defending the title he won in his first season back in his native land; failure to do so will increase the pressure of the former Bundesliga star.
It is a similar story for FC Seoul, tipped by many to be Suwon’s challengers for the title. Injuries to the highly-rated Nonato and international duty for Park Chu-young have interfered with the capital club’s much-vaunted dream strike force and it has been Kim Eun-jung who has taken on the goalscoring burden for the LG-backed outfit. The team, formerly known as the Anyang Cheetahs, are yet another one under a lot of pressure to produce a dramatically improved second half of the season.
The same can be said, only more so, for Chonbuk Hyundai Motors, who only a few months ago were unluckily losing the AFC Champions League semi-final to eventual champions Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia.
The Motors have spent much of the season rooted to the bottom spot, a dismal record that cost Jo Yoon-hwan his job as coach. His replacement Choi kang-hee has a wealth of experience with the national squad but will have his work cut out restoring confidence to a decent team – though the 2-1 win at Incheon United will help.
Park Ji-sung to United
The protracted transfer of South Korea’s star midfielder was finally settled with the English club paying a reported $7.4 million for the PSV Eindhoven midfielder.
The Dutch champions did their best to hang on to the 24 year-old but the lure of becoming the first Korean to play in the Premiership and for one of the world’s biggest clubs was too much for the former Kyoto Purple Sanga star to resist.
Park returned to his native Suwon to open a new road named in his honour and admitted that his first challenge was to break into the star-studded side.
“ I welcome the challenge and know that I have to prove myself,” the versatile midfielder told reporters “But playing at PSV gave me confidence and I believe that I can do well in Manchester, too.’’
The 2002 World Cup star has much to do to displace players such as Giggs, Keane, Scholes or Ronaldo but the player will be happy just to play.
``I don’t care much about my position. What is more important for me is whether I can play in the game or not,’’ he said.
Park’s determination, engine and no little skill should endear him to the Old Trafford faithful as well as the manager and the Korean hopes to win them over.
``I don’t think I will become a big star like David Beckham just yet. Maybe I can if I was more handsome,’’ he joked. ``But I strive constantly to improve my game to become a better player, so I don’t think it is impossible to become a player like Beckham.’’
The Suwon-born star has come a long way since being turned down by his hometown club, Suwon Samsung Bluewings and is excited about playing for the two-time European champions.
“The facilities, the stadium, everything show why people call them the best club in the world. I felt so happy to be there,” he also had the opportunity to briefly speak to new boss Sir Alex Ferguson by phone. “It was a short conversation but he welcomed me to Manchester and said that he expected much of me.
The same could be said of his countrymen who will be watching his every move in the north-west of England.
K. League
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