Reversals of fortune in Korea

Early days 

Three games down and the big story in the K League Classic is that champions FC Seoul are having problems. One point out of a possible nine was not the start that was expected. An opening day draw at home against Pohang Steelers was not a terrible start but then a first home defeat in nine years against Incheon United followed and then came a depressing 1-0 loss at Busan I’Park.

Fans are saying that the tactics and team selections are predictable and there is an over-reliance on offensive stars such as Dejan Damjanovic and Mauricio Molina and if they are not in form, which they are not, then coach Choi Yong-soo does not seem to have a plan B. If you add an out-of-form goalkeeper into the mix and have a defence looking vulnerable to counter-attacks.

The season ahead is still long as is the road back to the top and Seoul have much to work out if they are going to get there. It wasn’t necessary in 2012, the Demolition Duo was unstoppable and that may prove to be the case in 2013, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Incheon finished last season very strongly and have been the story of the new season so far with two excellent wins in Seoul and Seongnam. Coach Kim Bong-kil has the team well-organised with wide men Nam Jun-jae and Han Gyo-won looking sharp and rookie Lee Seok-hyun looking talented just behind the main striker.

Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma is another struggler but the seven-time champions went through something similar in 2012. Like a number of teams, there is a new coach and like almost every other team there are a lot of new players. Seongnam’s new signing Server Djeparov made his debut in the home defeat at the hands of Incheon United, scoring a late consolation goal. The Uzbekistan captain will need time to settle back in the life in Korea but when he does, he can help lift the team back closer to where it used to be.  

K League Challenge

The new second division is already on its second name as it came to be felt that using the old K League name was confusing. K League Challenge won out against K League Basic, and rightly so.

The big game of the opening weekend was the game between Anyang and Goyang (pictured left, courtesy of the K League).

 Four thousand fans turned out to watch the first professional game in the city since 2004 when Anyang Cheetahs, champions of Korea in 2000 and finalists of the Asian Club Championship a year later, were moved by conglomerate owners LG, to the capital to use the vacant Seoul World Cup Stadium.

Anyang scored inside the first minute to send the fans wild but that was the only goal of the game. It was an entertaining affair the fans went home happy and with promotion a possibility this season, there is much to play for.

 Road to Brazil approaching a crossroads

Things are not going exactly smoothly in Korea’s quest to qualify for an eighth successive World Cup. One point from the last two games has people nervous. Usually, the visit of Qatar would not be cause for concern but this is a game that Korea now see as a must-win.

Three points here and three points in Beirut in June and the last two games, both at home, against Iran and Uzbekistan will be much easier to handle. The big news was the exclusion of Park Chu-young from the squad. The former Arsenal striker has been in and out of action with Celta Vigo in Spain and while he has three goals to his name, coach Choi Kang-hee feels that it is not enough.

The other European-based stars have all been called up. Son Heung-min is still in good form in Germany with Hamburg and Koo Ja-cheol has been starring for FC Augusburg. And with Ki Sung-yeung coming off a solid first season in the English Premier League with Swansea, there should be enough talent to see off the Qataris.

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New Year New Starts in Korea

There is rarely a quiet month in South Korean football and while January is the close-season, the first month of 2013 has been a busy one.

It started with a change of name for the league which is celebrating its 30th birthday. ‘The K League’ now refers to the second tier of South Korean football. The top tier is now known as 'K League Classic'. As well as the name, there is a new logo.

"We wanted to inherit the tradition and values of professional football in this country, and at the same time, we wanted to convey our willingness to take on new challenges," said then-K League Commissioner Chung Mong-gyu sat the unveiling in January. "We thought long and hard over different ideas so that our names and logo will be beloved by many fans of our sport." Reaction has been reasonably positive and with promotion taking place for the first time in 2013, relegation was introduced last season, The new logo is a little Pepsi-esque but if it can help a little fizz return to the league, then so much the better.

Chung on the move

If that wasn’t enough change then Chung won the January 28 election to find the new chief of the Korea FA. Cho Chung-yeon had announced his decision to resign in 2012 and Cho, in charge of the K-League for two years, beat three other candidates to become the most powerful man in Korean football and will serve a four-year term.

“I want to share the joy with all those in the football circle,” said Chung. “I will try to make football a culture that everyone can enjoy.”

European rumours

Yoon Seok-young provided the biggest story of the transfer window. The young left-back, who starred in the 2012 Olympics, was linked to all manner of European clubs but it set to join QPR despite interest from Fulham and Liverpool. Yoon, who made his senior national team debut in October in Iran, will become the 11th Korean to play in the Premier League.

There were also reports that Ulsan's tall striker, Kim Shin-wook turned down a move to Loftus Road while Hamburg attacker Son Heung-min, who recently grabbed his seventh goal of the Bundesliga season, has decided to stay in Germany until the end of the season at least amid reports of interest from Spurs.

Domestic shuffling

There have been a number of transfers. Jeonbuk Motors have been perhaps the busiest, and splashed out on Kevin Oris. The Belgian striker scored 16 goals last season for Daejeon Citizen and with the addition of classy Incheon defender Jung In-hwan Jeonbuk will be looking forward to the new season.

Suwon added to the signing of North Korean striker Jong Tae-se by picking up Lee Jong Min from FC Seoul. The club was linked to 2002 World Cup star Cha Du-ri who has been playing in Europe for over a decade in Germany and Scotland and has never played in his homeland. “There is no doubt that Cha Du-ri is a star player equipped with ability as well as popularity, but have to take into account his age as he is closing in on the mid-30s,” said a Bluewings official after the club made an offer to Fortuna Dusseldorf. “It is up to the player’s side whether to accept our offer or not.”

Suwon have also signed Seongnam wingback Hong Chul while Kwak Tae-whi, Ulsan’s Asian CL title-winning captain, becomes the latest Korean star to head to the Middle East, joining Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia.

Pohang Steelers have been the quietest while Busan have seen one of their best performers, Matt McKay head to China and have replaced him with 25 year-old Montenegrin Zarko Korac.

Taeguk Warriors ready to gather

The wheels are turning ahead of a vital 2014 World Cup qualifier in March against Qatar with Choi Kang-hee announcing a squad for a friendly against Croatia in February. The game will take place at the London home of Fulham. Korea have happy memories of Craven Cottage and defeated the reigning European champions Greece there in 2007 and then downed Ivory Coast in 2010.

There were few surprises. Thirteen of the 24 are based overseas. Veteran defenders Kwak Tae-hwi and Lee Jung-soo return as does Ji Dong-won, on loan to FC Augsburg from Sunderland.

“Croatia is a strong team and will be a great opponent for us in a friendly,” said coach Choi. “It will not be an easy match for us. We will have to test our defense and fiddle with our offense by putting in players from Europe. We will try to prepare the best we can for the World Cup qualifier against Qatar in March.”

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Splits, boycotts and redemption

The K-League is coming to terms with its first-ever split and it quite likes the feeling. At the end of August, the 16 team league divided in two, just like the Scottish Premier League does. Four teams were in the running for the eighth spot going into game 30 but it fell to Gyeongnam FC and they celebrated like they had won the league.

There was a good deal of media attention and authorities were feeling pretty good about it all but this being the K-League, there was a twist. Sangju Sangmu decided to boycott the rest of the season. It wasn't because the military club was in the bottom half and consigned to playing the seven other teams another two times to see who finishes bottom but due to the fact that whatever they did on the pitch, they were going down.

The AFC stipulates that the top tier of professional leagues should have professional clubs with professional players on professional contracts and the fact that Sangju's players are loaned from their original clubs for two years as they complete their military service. They are paid the same as regular conscripts i.e. not very much at all. Confirmation in mid-September that they will fill one of the two relegation spots -the trapdoor is installed for the first time ever - led to the boycott.

"The Armed Forces Athletic Corps and the Defense Ministry held talks today, and we've decided not to play the rest of the season," Lee Jae-cheol, the team's general manager said on September 12. "We just don't have the motivation to play out the season. The ministry is adamant about this.

"The K-League doesn't want to have anything to do with us, and I see no reason why we should stick around anymore," Lee said. "Rather than playing in the second division, perhaps we should declare ourselves amateurs and play with them instead."

Sangju were second bottom anyway and could have gone down, it was the lack of fighting change they objected to. From now, their fixtures will be awarded to the other team with a 2-0 scoreline.

Gangwon FC currently prop up the table and are four points from safety. Fans hope that coach Kim Hak-beom, who returned to the K-League in July after a spell in China can take the team up the standings. "We're in last place, and we can only go up from here," Kim said. "And I am confident we can do that. We don't want to be the first victim of relegation."

FC Seoul and Jeonbuk Motors have no such worries as they fight it out at the top of the table in what has become a two-horse race for the championship. Seoul are five points clear of the champions. Striker Dejan Damjanovic is still scoring goals for fun with 24 to his name this season. The capital club are the team to beat. It all may come down to the two games against Jeonbuk.

The Motors were looking imperious earlier in the summer but have developed a recent habit of losing to lesser teams. There is then quite a gap between the top two and the chasing pack. Ulsan, Suwon and Pohang are now fighting for the final Asian Champions League spot and they are separated by four points only. 


Tales from Tashkent

The road to Brazil 2014 remains fairly comfortable at the moment for the Taeguk Warrriors who followed up two wins that opened Group A in the final round of qualification with a 2-2 draw in Uzbekistan. The point maintains the three points lead that the team has at the top. It wasn’t a great performance and an inability to defend set pieces cost Choi Kang-hee’s men. A trip to Tehran comes in October and a good result in the Iranian capital could really set Korea up nicely for the second half of the group.  

Overseas players

It has been a pretty good start to the European season for many of the country’s stars out west. Park Ji-sung has had a mixed time at Queen’s Park Rangers but at least is playing every game. His performance against Chelsea was an impressive one and he raised a few eyebrows by refusing to shake the hand of John Terry. It showed a different side of the player, one ready to take the responsibility of being a captain of a Premier League team.

Park Chu-young has left Arsenal on loan and is enjoying himself in La Liga with Celta Vigo. He scored his first goal for the Spanish club on September 22, with a fine volley against Getafe that won the game for the newly-promoted club. It was a great start in his attemtpt to put the nightmare of Arsenal behind him and show fans in Spain and in England what he is capable of.

Ki Sung-yueng started his first game for Swansea City on the same day. His team slumped to a 3-0 defeat at home to Everton. It wasn’t quite as bad as it sounds – for the player that is, it was bad for the Swans – as he provided one of the few positives. He looked good on the ball, passed it well and on another day, could have scored one or two.

Son Heung-min scored twice for Hamburg in a thrilling 3-2 win over champions Borussia Dortmund. It was Hamburg’s first win of the season and Dortmund’s first defeat while Kim Bo-kyoung is still adapting to life in the English championship with Cardiff City.

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Olympics Take Korean Minds Off Summer Heat

The first few days of August will be remembered in South Korea for sizzling temperatures that reached 38 degrees Celsius. With the high humidity levels, many Seoulites headed for the river to cool down and watch the Olympics sat on the grass while drinking beer and directing fried chicken delivery riders through the sea of mats on the grass.

As well as brewers and chicken friers, it has been a successful couple of weeks in all kinds of events as the country quickly moved to the near the top of the medal standings and stayed there. Football is not going to add to that golden haul but that doesn’t mean that it has not been an exciting couple of weeks as the Olympic team reached the semi-finals of the men’s football tournament.

That dream ended with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Brazil at Old Trafford but it was no disgrace. In that game, Korea caused problems for the South Americans, favourites for the gold. With the game goalless defender Juan kicked Ji Dong-won the head as the Sunderland striker tried to nod the ball home into an empty net.

With Brazil leading 1-0 at the start of the second half, a clearer spot-kick was refused as Kim Bo-kyoung was chopped down in the box by Sandro. 3-0 flattered the Brazilians but once again, Korea could not take their chances when they came. That was the story of the competition though Brazil were the first team that the Taeguk Warriors met who were good enough to make them pay.

The group stage had been unspectacular but solid. A 2-1 win over Switzerland was sandwiched between goalless draws against Mexico, now preparing for the final against Brazil, and Gabon. All three group games saw Korea in control of possession but struggling to create clear-cut chances and struggling to convert those that were made. What was encouraging was the fact that the defence held firm, conceding one goal in 270 minutes of football.

Koo Ja-cheol, of German club Augsburg and Celtic’s Ki Sung-yeung, caught the eye in midfield with Kim Chang-soo roving up and down the flank from the right-back spot. Kim was injured five minutes into the quarter-final against Great Britain, a game won by the Asian team after a penalty shootout.

That was the high point for Korea. Beating the hosts in front of 80,000 fans at Millenium Stadium. A bright start saw Ji Dong-won fire home from the outside the area and a couple of soft penalties went to the hosts. One was converted by Aaron Ramsey and one soon after was saved by Jung Sung-ryeong.

The game went to penalties and in the end, a spot kick from Daniel Sturridge was saved by goalkeeper Lee Beom-yeong, who came on in the second half for the injured Jung, and Ki Sung-yeung fired home the last penalty.

Then came the Brazil match. It wasn’t to be but for fans at home, to see some of the K-League’s best young players in action and matching counterparts around the world certainly took minds off the oppressive conditions at home.

Back Home

Jeonbuk Motors and FC Seoul have been pulling away and the title race is looking increasingly a two-horse race with Suwon Bluewings falling by the wayside. Jeonbuk have said goodbye to two talented imports in Huang Bowen from China and Luis henique. Luis has been replaced by another Brazilian by the name of Leanardo while Australian defender Alex Wilkinson fills the Asian quota.

Suwon fans have been voicing their displeasure at a series of bad results and the fact that after a recent setback the players did not come and bow to the faithful behind the goals.

There are only four games left for most of the 16 teams before they are split into two groups with the top half fighting it out for the title and the bottom battling to avoid relegation.

Seongnam Ilhwa are the surprise name in the bottom group and need some good results sooner rather than later in order to avoid the ignominy of being stuck in the lower half for the rest of the season. Chunnam Dragons, a usual mid-table team, find themselves much further down than usual and are in real trouble.

Two teams will be relegated this year with army club Sangju Sangmu guaranteed to drop so there is one spot for the others to avoid.

As things stand, Gwangju FC, a little surprisingly as the team has some decent players is seriously struggling along with other usual suspects such as Gangwon FC and Daejeon Citizen – who managed a shock 1-0 win at Jeonbuk last weekend. Daegu FC have been performing reasonably well under Brazilian coach Moacir Pereira and while they are unlikely to escape the bottom half, relegation should not be too much of a worry.

Euro 2012 football

Sasa Ognenovski & Seongnam Want More Of The Same

2010 was a year to remember for Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. The team from just south of Seoul not only won the Asian Champions League but went on to finish third place at the FIFA Club World Cup after meeting European champions Inter Milan.

It was even better for Sasa Ognenovski, a man looking forward to his third K-League season. The big Australian was the man handed the Asian trophy in Tokyo in November. He was also named the MVP for the entire tournament and then the awarded the prize as the 2010 Asian Player of the Year. It was a dream season. Even better, the 31 year-old made his debut for the Australian national team in November and went on to star in the Asian Cup in January when the Socceroos made the final before losing to Japan.

That is all history now. The new season has just kicked-off for Seongnam and the 15 other teams in the K-League. The question I put to him was: how do you follow a season that was almost as perfect as it could be?

“Well, it is impossible if only because we are not in the Asian Champions League,” Ognenovski said. “However, it gives us a chance to focus on domestic issues such as the K-league and the FA Cup and doing our best to win those.”

Not being in the Asian Champions League is a blow for the club. Seongnam’s exploits last season came at a cost at home and they failed to qualify for the 2011 version by finishing high enough in the K-League rankings. In the past, winners were given an automatic place in the tournament for the following year. That is no longer the case.

“I think we should be allowed to defend the title,” said Ognenovski. “Any team that wins a major tournament should be able to defend that title but I don’t make the rules, we just have to not worry about Asia this year and all the travelling and just deal with the soccer in Korea.”

There is another consequence of not having to deal with the Asian Champions League and it is not as positive. As the competition, featuring 32 teams from all over the continent, grows in prestige and profile, players want to be in it, especially those that have experienced it.

Mauricio Molina was one. He could have been named the Player of the Tournament in Ognenovski’s stead and nobody would have batted an eyelid. Coming from Colombia, the wideman couldn’t, of course, have been named Asian Player of the Year but he was one of the best to play on the continent in 2010. So much so that FC Seoul paid out over $1 million to secure his services. He will be badly missed.

I asked Ognenovski if Seoul being in the Champions League and Seongnam not was the reason for Molina’s departure.

“Maybe,” he replied. “Obviously when you are playing on that stage, the whole of Asia is watching you and much of the world watches the final and then there is of course the FIFA Club World Cup. Players want to keep playing at the level and Seoul came in for him and they are in the champions League and we are not so he left.

“He brought goals in all competitions that he played in. Overall, he scored 27 or 28 goals. It is hard to replace that and talent like that is not always easy to find and he wasn’t even playing as a striker so it was even more valuable. His set pieces were excellent and his assists too. Whoever comes in has big shoes to fill.”

South Korean national team goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryeong has left for Suwon, another team in the Asian Champions League, and he was followed by Choi Sung-kuk. Ognenovski’s central defensive partner Cho Byung-kuk has left for Japan.

So despite not having the distraction of Asia, some of the team’s biggest stars have left. Winning an eighth K-league title will not be easy.

“It is never positive to lose good players, especially ones who are in the national team but the replacement goalkeeper we have is quality. We have been in pre-season now for a while and I have had chance to watch him in action and I can say he is good.” Ha Kang-jin certainly was in the opening weekend of the K-League season as he saved a last-minute penalty kick at Pohang Steelers to secure a 1-1 tie and has been named in the squad to face Honduras on March 25.

Seongnam coach Shin Tae-yong, one of the most highly-rated young tacticians in Asia, has promised fans two new players from Brazil that he hopes will replace the likes of Molina. Ognenovski hopes so: “In the K-League, if you get good foreigners then they can make a big difference. Hopefully the ones we bring in are better than the ones who left.”

Whatever happens, the big man from down under will not feel lonely in 2011. Three more imports have followed in his footsteps from Australia’s A-League. Iain Fyfe and Dutchman Bas Van der Brink have joined Busan I’Park while Luke Devere is now a Gyeongnam player.

“They talk to me and ask me about the lifestyle and the league. I usually answer in a positive fashion. I talked to Luke Devere and told him that he will improve as a player because he will be marking better players as a defender and will also be playing with better players.

“It is a great experience. I haven’t talked to the other guys but am sure that we will get a chance at some point. But we are here to play football in the end and that is our job. The other things are not so important. We are not here to look around and go sightseeing.”



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K-League Clubs Make History

Asian football history will be made this Wednesday with South Korea at the heart of it all. The Land of the Morning Calm is supplying 50% of the eight teams still involved in the Asian Champions League as the continental competition resumes at the quarterfinal stage after a break of four months.

Much has happened since the second round came to a close in May, not least the 2010 World Cup. Nothing like this, one nation supplying the maximum four teams possible, has happened before however.

East and South-East Asia supplied 16 of the 32 teams that started out in the competition back in February. The four teams each from Japan and China have fallen by the wayside as have representatives from Australia, Indonesia and Singapore. Only Korea remains as the K-League looks for a ninth championship and East Asia for a fifth in succession.

Now, with the final in sight, the continent is no longer split into east and west. After the group stage and the one-off match of the second round, the quarter and semi-finals are two-legged affairs.

Defending Asian champions Pohang Steelers and defending Korean champions Jeonbuk Motors will face long trips to West Asia over the next week. Not Seongnam Ilhwa or Suwon Bluewings though. Most eyes in Korea will be on the clash between the Gyeonggi giants who become the first all-Korean participants of an Asian tie since Jeonbuk and Ulsan met at the semi-final stage of the 2006 tournament.

It promises to be quite a clash, both at Seongnam’s Tancheon Stadium on Wednesday and in the second leg at Suwon World Cup Stadium a week later. A few months ago, Seongnam, would have been the overwhelming favorites to progress to the last four for the third time in seven years but much has changed over the summer.

To be more accurate, Suwon have changed. The team now bears little resemblance to the soporific and sluggish side that sank to the bottom of the K-League in the first half of the season. With loss after loss in the domestic game, coach Cha Bum-keun, regarded as the greatest Asian soccer player of the 20th century, called it a day in June.

His replacement Yoon Sung-hyo has, so far, been a revelation. Seven wins and two ties, a record marred only by last weekend’s loss at the hands of leaders Jeju United, have seen the Bluewings soar from bottom to seventh place in the league.
New signing Naohiro Takahara is starting to score and the former Japanese international in joined in attacked by the returning Shin Young-rok. With Kim Doo-hyun and Baek Ji-hoon looking like their former selves in midfield, Suwon fans are confident of upsetting Seongnam.

In Asian terms that would be something of a shock. Seongnam were much more impressive in the Champions League earlier this season and is still going well in the league with six wins from its last ten matches. Coach Shin Tae-yong is looking to become the first man to win the Asian Champions League as both coach and player after lifting the trophy with the same club back in 1996.

"Suwon has a strong forward and midfield line-up …and the team condition of Suwon looks very good and it is also playing well. But we don’t need to worry about this. We will prepare well and win.” said Shin to the official homepage of the Asian Football Confederation.

“Every K-League club has a keen desire to play in the Champions League. They want to win the prize money and they want to play in the FIFA Club World Cup. So they prepare a lot for the competition. I think this is the main reason why four K-League clubs could reach the last eight this year.”

Pohang Steelers won the competition last year for a record third time and despite the team’s poor form at home; they have made it into the last eight once again. The first leg is a long trek to the home of Iran’s league leaders Zob Ahan. It is the first time that the hosts have made it this far but after the Iranian national team won 1-0 in Seoul last week in an international friendly, Pohang will be taking nothing for granted.

The third Korean match sees Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia travel to Jeonju to face Jeonbuk Motors. It is the first West Asian opposition for the Greens since the final of the 2006 tournament in which they defeated Al Karama of Syria. Jeonbuk will be favorites to progress to the last four despite a poor showing last Friday as they lost 3-1 at home to Gangwon FC. Last, and for Koreans, least, is the all West Asian clash between Saudi Arabian powerhouse AL Hilal and Qatar's Al Gharafa.

Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com


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