South Korean football.
It has been a roller-coaster week for South Korean football. The
final week of the Year of the Cow started well, the hump was very difficult to
get over but the first day of the Year of the Tiger brought a smile to a nation
returning home after the holidays.
The East Asian championships provide three games in quick
succession. The biennial tournament held in Tokyo this time, started with an
easy 5-0 victory over Hong Kong, continued with a much-lamented 3-0 loss at the
hands of China but ended with an entertaining 3-1 win against old rivals Japan in
the backyard of the Blue Samurai – the packed National Stadium.
The Hong Kong thrashing was expected but the defeat against China
was hard to swallow. Since the two teams first met back in 1978, South Korea
had never lost to its giant neighbor to the west. In 27 games, Korea had won 16
and drawn 11. That is some hoodoo. So much so that the Chinese media came up
with the concept of 'Koreaphobia’ to try and explain the problem.
But there was no such burden for the Chinese in Tokyo. Yu Hai
headed his team in front after five minutes after being given the freedom of
the penalty Togel Singapore area,
Gao Lin took advantage of a schoolboy error from Kwak Tae-hwi midway through
the half to extend China’s lead and then, Deng Zhuoxiang scored an impressive
third in the second half, dancing round desperate challenges from the Korean
defense. The Chinese media was jubilant.
Korean netizens, never slow to form opinions and never shy to
express them, were disconsolate. The name ‘Hiddink’ could be heard above the
din as a replacement should Huh get the boot. The general consensus though was
that, with less than four months before the World Cup is due to start, the time
for experimenting was over and that, above all, it was time to get the backline
sorted out. For all three Chinese goals were preventable. Such games occur now
and again to any team but coming after two years after of unconvincing
defending, it was almost the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Huh’s words at the time didn’t make anyone feel better.
"That unbeaten record had to end one day," Huh told reporters.
"But we had a few players come into the side who weren't in tune with the
way we play.
"I'm not afraid. We have to accept the result against China,
analyse our mistakes and fix them in time for the Japan game."
Japan had problems of its own. A pre-tournament 0-0 draw with
Venezuela was followed by a similar stalemate against China. That game saw the
team jeered off the field by fans in Tokyo. Japan coach Takeshi Okada insisted
his team was improving but losing 3-1 against a young and fairly inexperienced
Korean team means that he will be in for a tough few weeks in the build-up to
the World Cup.
It has already started and Okada was forced to declare that he
was not going anywhere.
"As I've said before, me and the coaching staff are under
contract with the [Japan Football Association] whether we win or lose. It's up
to the president and the technical committee to decide my place here.
"I have no intention of bailing out on my players as long as
they are behind me."
Huh will now be fine. It wasn’t a pretty win in Tokyo but it was
an effective one. It also showed character as the young Taeguk Warriors fell a
goal behind to a Yasuhito Endo penalty in the first half. By half-time however,
the reds were ahead thanks to a Lee Dong-gook penalty and a deflected shot from
young FC Seoul star Lee Sung-ryeol. Late in the game Kim Sung-jae won the game with
a fine strike from outside the area.
The win meant that Korea finished second behind China.
"We didn’t achieve our objective of winning the competition
so I apologize to the fans,” said Huh. “We may have some difficulties at the
moment as we are trying out lots of players. We are discovering some good
domestic-based players but I can’t say who. We will watch them in the K-League
and then decide.”
Tented Accommodation in Gauteng
4000 tents available in a very secure tented town near four
Soccer World Cup stadiums. Each tent is a four man tent which sleeps only up to
two people for comfort. Mattress, pillow and electric lighting will be
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Tented Accommodation in Gauteng
In the village: big screen TV’s, transport to and from stadiums
as well as airports, live entertainment, beer gardens, kiosks, ATM, food stalls
with a huge variety of foods, curio shop, clean ablutions, etc.
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