Goalkeepers
JUNG Sung-Ryong (Suwon Samsung), LEE Beom-Young (Busan IPark)

Defenders
YUN Suk-Young (Chunnam Dragons), KIM Young-Kwon (Omiya Ardija[JPN]), OH Jae-Suk (Gangwon FC), JANG Hyun-Soo (FC Tokyo[JPN]), Hwang Seok-Ho (Hirosima Sanfrecce[JPN]), KIM Chang-Soo (Busan I-Park)

Midfielders
KI Sung-Yueng (Celtic FC[SCO]), NAM Tae-Hee (Lekhwia SC), HAN Guk-Young (Shonan Bellmare[JPN]), PARK Jong-Woo (Busan I’Park), KOO Ja-Cheol (Augsburg[GER]), JI Dong-Won (Sunderland[ENG]), BAEK Sung-Dong (Jubilo Iwata[JPN]), KIM Bo-Kyung (Cerezo Osaka[JPN])

Forwards
KIM Hyun-Sung (FC Seoul), PARK Chu-Young (Arsenal[ENG])

Not too many surprises on the list. The one exception may be Jung Sung-Ryeong. There had been a few predictions about who Hong would call up for the three overage players and the general consensus was Park Chu-Young and Ki Sung-Yong would definitely be there. The third spot was a bit more up in the air, but Jung was not a named mentioned often. Usually it was a defender like Lee Jung-Soo. I’m a bit surprised that Hong managed to get Suwon to agree to release him during the K-League.

Park Chu-Young’s inclusion isn’t too surprising. He was tipped to be in the squad for a long time given his struggles at Arsenal. The military scandal threatened his place, but since his press conference the furor has died down, and Hong’s presence at the presser also hinted at his inclusion. Ki Sung-Yong’s inclusion isn’t surprising either. Ki struggled to keep a spot at Celtic this season (and he’s widely rumored to be on the way out). A deep-lying, passing midfielder is something the U-23 team has lacked, so Ki should be a good addition.

It appears after a bit of wrangling with his club, Koo Ja-Cheol has managed to secure his dream of playing at the Olympics. Koo had made it no secret he wanted to play in London, but his parent club Wolfsburg didn’t really want him to. Guess things have been worked out. Also included is Sunderland’s Ji Dong-Won (although interestingly he’s listed as a midfielder). I was a little surprised to see Ji D.W. on the list since he hasn’t played much with the U-23 team since he was capped for the senior squad at the Asian Cup.

Overall though the team looks very strong on paper, particularly in midfield and attack. I don’t know as much about the defenders, and have only seen one, Kim Young-Kwon, in action. But seeing such a side, it certainly looks like Hong is going all in to win this one. Hopefully in a couple weeks I can get a preview for the Olympics up, with a little more information on all the players.

The less said about the friendly match the better. Spain thoroughly outplayed us, winning 4-1. Both teams really played a ‘B’ squad and seemed to be testing out fringe players (Spain for EURO and us for qualification).

The final round of qualification started in Qatar, where Korea fell behind the hosts early, but quickly leveled through Lee Keun-Ho. Kwak Tae-Hwi put us ahead in the second half, and then Kim Shin-Wook and Lee Keun-Ho wrapped up the victory in style. I didn’t watch this match as it was unfortunately A) at 2AM, B) I was sick, and C) my alarm failed to go off. I did of course watch the highlights (you can too, it’s below). Looking at the highlights, the goals were well taken, and it’s good to see other players getting on the score sheet not named Park Chu-Young or Koo Ja-Cheol. However, Qatar’s defense and keeper looked a bit shaky, and against better opposition we probably see most of those goals defended better. Still credit where it’s due, the guys took their chances and converted them.

The second qualifier was back in Korea (in Goyang), and against Lebanon. While Lebanon is not a rival, there certainly was a feeling of “revenge” about this game. It was against Lebanon, back in November 2011, that the whole debacle with Cho Kwang-Rae occurred. Lebanon beat us 2-1, costing Cho his job and throwing the KFA and national team into a frenzy.

This match saw a number of changes to the XI. Choi sent out the following line-up:

GK: Jung Sung-Ryeong; DEF: Oh Beom-Seok, Lee Jung-Soo, Kwak Tae-Hwi, Park Joo-Ho; MID: Ki Sung-Yong, Kim Bo-Kyung, Yeom Ki-Hun, Kim Jung-Woo, Lee Keun-Ho; FOR: Lee Dong-Gook

The formation was a bit of a 4-1-4-1 with Ki playing slightly deeper in midfield, and Yeom and Kim J.W. ahead. Kim B.K. was on the left and Lee K.H. on the right. Ki suffered an injury early in the game and was replaced by Koo Ja-Cheol. Korea played well, but lacked any real tactical focus in this writer’s opinion (which I’ll write more about later). Kim Bo-Kyung scored the opener, which like the Qatar match should have been saved by a better keeper. This keeper however, just managed to push the ball back and up onto the bottom side of the crossbar, and then it bounced down and over the line. Kim B.K’s second goal was well-taken though. On a break from a Lebanese corner, Kim broke quickly and finished well with a left-footed shot. Koo Ja-Cheol wrapped up the scoring later, after winning the ball outside the box with a driven shot into the top corner.

Some thoughts and notes from these two matches (but mainly the Lebanon match):

1) The team looks decent, and there seems to be a number of quality players coming through the ranks. A year or two ago the team seemed to rely heavily on it’s senior, European-based players, Park Ji-Sung, Park Chu-Young, Lee Chung-Yong for any attacking thoughts, but now it seems like there are several players ready to step up.

2) The team captain. When Choi was appointed Park Chu-Young was captain. But Choi seemed to have other thoughts as in his first match in charge, the armband was handed to defender Kwak Tae-Hwi (this was before Park’s military scandal). However, in these last two matches the armband was worn by Kwak’s defensive partner, Lee Jung-Soo. I’m assuming Choi is trying out different players to see who is ready to step up and take that leadership role.

3) Attacking wide players. Last year it was a lock. Park Ji-Sung on the left and Lee Chung-Yong on the right. Now, Park is retired and Lee recovering from injury. But, similar to point 1, many players are stepping up to stake their claim. With his two goal performance against Lebanon, Kim Bo-Kyung has made a big statement to start on the left. Lee Keun-Ho has delivered a few good showings as well to make a claim for the right. Style-wise both Kim B.K. and Lee K.H are a bit more direct than their predecessors, so I imagine the choices for the wide attackers will be based more on the system being played, as well as who is the center forward, rather than who is the “best” player.

4) The playing system. When watching the Lebanon match, I was struggling to really identify the tactics being employed by Choi. It didn’t seem to be very possession-based, nor did it feel very defensive or reactive. I realize there are many tactics in between those systems, but usually international sides seem to drift somewhere around those two camps. I feel that the team is good enough to play the way they did and beat many average sides, but would struggle against more experienced and higher-quality sides. I think the match against Iran in Tehran in October will be very enlightening on this matter.

The next competitive match for the senior squad will be in September, against Uzbekistan. Korea is currently topping the group with six points.

When South Korea manager Choi Kang-Hee released his roster for the friendly against Spain and qualifiers against Qatar and Lebanon, there was a notable, but perhaps slightly expected omission. Park Chu-Young. In his press conference Choi revealed that he and the KFA had told Park that Park would need to meet the press to clarify his intentions behind delaying his military service. Park never did, and he “disappeared” from sight for awhile. As such, he was not called up.

Finally, on Wednesday, Park held a press conference at the KFA headquarters in Seoul where he apologized for his disappearance and the controversy that he has caused. Park further explained about his decision to delay his service as it would allow him to continue to play in Europe for the rest of his career, rather than just a few years before having to serve. Park went on to tell reporters that he disappeared from public sight for a month because he “felt so sorry to my fans and my thoughts weren’t organized at that time.” Park also revealed that he wrote a letter to the military manpower administration pledging that he will indeed fulfill his commitment. *To elaborate, all Korean men are required to serve in the military. However, after the age of 36 they can only be called up in the event of war. Part of the uproar was over the fact that Park, now 27, would be 37 if he used all 10 years of the Monaco residency, allowing him to, if he chose, avoid serving at all.

Also present at the conference was U-23 and Olympic team coach Hong Myung-Bo. His presence there is leading many to speculate that Hong will select Park as one of the three “wild card” players for his 18 man team when he reveals the team next week. Hong did say that Park is on the 35 man preliminary squad. If Park is asked to play with at the Olympics he will likely accept given his club situation at Arsenal. If he does play, that could render this whole debacle pointless as a winner’s medal at the Olympics exempts one from military service. Park tried to avoid this issue by stating that he is not thinking about a medal.

Either way, hopefully this will end this whole mess. The team has done well without Park, both when he was injured at the Asian Championship and in the past two matches. However, keeping him out for non-footballing reasons is dangerous as Ji Dong-Won is still a bit raw and Lee Dong-Gook is a bit old (he’s 33). The team needs Park in the squad.

The list:
Goalkeeper: Kim Young-Kwang (Ulsan Hyundai), JUNG Sung-Ryong (Suwon Samsung), KIM Jin-Hyeon (Cerezo Osaka(JPN))

Defenders
KWAK Tae-Hwi (Ulsan Hyundai), CHOI Hyo-Jin (Sangju Sangmu), CHO Yong-Hyung (Al-Rayyan(QAT)), OH Beom-Seok (Suwon Samsung), Cho Byung Kuk (Jubilo Iwata(JPN)), LEE Jung-Soo (Al-Sadd(QAT)), PARK Joo-Ho (FC Basel(SUI)), KIM Young-Kwon (Omiya Ardija(JPN))

Midfielders
KIM Jae-Sung (Sangju Sangmu), KIM Bo-Kyung (Cerezo Osaka(JPN)), PARK Hyun-Bem (Suwon Samsung), KIM Jung-Woo (Jeonbuk Hyundai), KOO Ja-Cheol (Augsburg(GER)), KIM Do-Heon (National Police Agency), KIM Chi-Woo (Sangju Sangmu), YEOM Ki-Hun (National Police Agency), KI Sung-Yueng (Celtic(SCO)), LEE Keun-Ho (Ulsan Hyundai), NAM Tae-Hee (Lekhwiya SC(QAT))

Forwards
SON Heung-Min (Hamburg SV(GER)), JI Dong-Won (Sunderland(ENG)), LEE Dong-Gook (Jeonbuk Hyundai), KIM Shin-Wook (Ulsan Hyundai)

First thing of note. No Park Ju-Young. Park has lately been embroiled in a public controversy that is semi-football related. All Korean men, of good health, are required to serve in the military. Footballers usually continue playing on the military team (Sangju Sangmu Phoenix). At the beginning of the season, Park had said that part of his decision to go to Arsenal was due to the fact that he probably only had a few more seasons left until he would have to return to Korea to serve. However, a month or so ago it was revealed that Park was able to postpone his enlistment for 10 years due to a loophole in the law (Park got a special residency visa from Monaco where he used to play). This has created a huge uproar in Korea who feel that Park is abusing the law in his favor, and could possibly allow him to avoid serving at all if he uses all 10 years of the postponement since during “peace time” the oldest mandatory serving age is 35 (Park would be 36). Draft dodging is a very serious issue in Korea, people, particularly celebrities, who attempt to avoid their service are uniformly lambasted in the court of public opinion. Something, which Park Ju-Young is discovering to his cost now.

Park’s selection has been a widely debated issue amongst fans. Choi said, when asked about Park’s exclusion, that he (Choi) had told Park that he would call him up if Park publicly explained his decision to defer his military service. Park never did, and thus was never called. I want to write a post about this, so I will refrain from discussing this topic for now, and instead focus on those who did get called up.

Most of the players who were called up were also called up last time. New inclusions are the return of Koo Ja-Cheol and Hamburg’s Son Heung-Min. The other notable exclusion is Lee Chung-Yong. Granted it’s not a surprising exclusion considering Lee just came back to action as a late substitute for Bolton. He probably isn’t fit for an international match though. Celtic’s Cha Du-Ri also misses out, but back in is Sunderland’s Ji Dong-Won.

While it’s quite early, the lack of Park Ju-Young would seem to hint at a formation of 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1. Jung Sung-Ryong will certainly be in goal. Choi Hyo-Jin will likely be back at right back. Lee Jung-Soo and Kwak Tae-Hwi will partner up in central defense. Park Won-Jae started the last match at left, but he wasn’t called up this time. So, I’ll guess we’ll probably see the return of Kim Young-Kwon. Ki Sung-Yong will play his usual deep, pass distributor role, with Kim Do-Hyeon playing the holding role. Koo Ja-Cheol will be the playmaker, Lee Keun-Ho will be wide right, and maybe Kim Bo-Kyeong on the left. Son Heung-Min is also an option on the left if Choi wants to be more attacking, but not likely. Lee Dong-Gook will start up top.

Lee Dong-Gook

Kim Bo-Kyeong / Koo Ja-Cheol / Lee Keun-Ho

Ki Sung-Yong / Kim Do-Hyeon

Kim Young-Kwan / Lee Jung-Soo / Kwak Tae-Hwi / Choi Hyo-Jin

Jung Sung-Ryong

While I do find it interesting to look at the world and how it’s changing, this blog isn’t exactly the place for that. Yet globalization is finding it’s way into the footballing world. Actually it’s been happening for a while. It used to be that each country, at least the major powers, all had their own identity they were associated with (rightly or wrongly). Brazil had flair and skill, Spain had technical prowess, Germany was smart and efficient, England was strong, Italy was defensive. This applied to the national teams and their clubs. But as time went on, this identity has lessened to an extent, particularly at the club level. Players from all countries have gone to all others. So much so that rules and laws have been needed, or debated, to help clubs keep their identities.

Lately, this has started to become more common at the national team level as well. Players moving from countries to play at the club level, where they stay for several years and earn citizen status in their new country. Then for many, they are eligible to play for that country. There are three basic ways you can qualify to represent a nation:

1) You were born there
2) You had a biological parent or grandparent born there
3) You are a citizen there

The 2nd and 3rd way is how many players gain access to national teams where they are not originally from. Italy’s famous oriundi come to mind. Players like Mauro Camoranesi, Raimondo Orsi, or . . . Amauri. This is common with some European nations, but not in Korea. Korea’s case is that the KFA is attempting to get a player naturalized. A Brazilian named Eninho. Eninho was born in Brazil, and has Brazilian ancestors. Eninho has spent the past five years in Korea plying his trade in the K-League with Daegu and lately Jeonbuk Motors (where he played under Choi Kang-Hee).

Eninho is talented. And he would be a good addition to the squad, which is why Choi and the KFA are pushing for his naturalization. It has since been denied, but the KFA has reportedly filed an appeal. But, who is “right”? Choi and the KFA or society. Should countries use players who have played in their league for a few years in the national team? Does this cheapen national identities?

The general feel in Korea is that most seem to be against this move. Choi seems to favor this move purely for footballing reasons. The committee that recommends naturalization said that they chose not to recommend Eninho because he does not speak Korean, which shows a lack of sincerity on his part, and I agree. It would be one thing if a player truly loved a country he moved to and played for, but I feel that if Brazil and Korea were calling, it would be an easy choice for Eninho.

To contrast this, let’s look at a more high profile case. Giuseppe Rossi. Born and raised in the U.S., Rossi opted to play for Italy, his parent’s homeland and a place he spent some time as a youngster in Parma’s youth set up. Even in the U.S. Rossi told of how he would follow Serie A and the Azzurri. I don’t fault Rossi for picking Italy because of his cultural connection. Eninho seems to have no cultural connection with Korea. He played at several clubs in Brazil and then ended up in Korea. I feel this is the end of Eninho’s connection with Korea. Purely professional.

Which is why I oppose this move; on a philosophical level. There’s a reason why the World Cup, and to a lesser extent Euro, the Copa America, Gold Cup, Asian Championship, and African Cup of Nations is so important to people. Yes, the football is usually a higher level overall, but that’s not the main reason. It’s a time for nations to come together to celebrate a common bond. This feeling may not be as strongly felt here in the U.S., where many of us come from different countries and retain strong connections to them. But in many other countries, such as Korea, the feeling of nationalism is extremely strong. During the regular season, many K-League games experience sparse attendance. Many national team games are only half full. But when the big tournaments roll around, the whole nation is obsessed with the Taeguk Warriors. Many people who could care less about soccer and sports, live and die with each kick of the national team. Top players become national heroes.

I don’t have a problem with club teams who field a large number of imports, but I do with the national team. I realize the value of Eninho and the skill that he could bring to the team, but I hope that Choi Kang-Hee realizes that this isn’t Jeonbuk Motors. It’s not about going out and finding the best players that you can, but utilizing the players available to the best of their ability. Leave the Republic of Korea team to the Koreans. Not the players who play in Korea.

First, to recap, for the final round of qualifying, the following groups were picked:

Group A:
Iran, Lebanon, Qatar, SOUTH KOREA, Uzbekistan

Group B:
Australia, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Oman

Neither group is a cake walk, but you feel that there’s a bit more uncertainty in our group. Uzbekistan is always a tough test, and Iran, a traditional Asian power, seem to be revitalized under Carlos Queiroz. Lebanon isn’t usually strong, but they beat us in the 3rd round (the loss that cost Cho Kwang-Rae his job). Qatar have been tough to break down as well. But, there will be more previews for those matches as they come closer.

The next match for Korea will be against current World and European champions, Spain. That match will be played in Bern, Switzerland on May 30th. Then World Cup qualifying starts, with the boys heading to Qatar for the opening match, and then returning home to face Lebanon in Goyang (both of these matches will be in June).

No call-ups have been announced as of yet, I’ll post them when they’re released.

Choi fielded a side similar to the one that claimed a 4-2 win over Uzbekistan a few days prior in Jeonju. The most notable change was the inclusion of Park Chu-Young. Some reports before the match claimed that Park may be excluded from the starting XI due to friction between him and Choi favorite Lee Dong-Gook, or because of a lack of match fitness, or because of lack of familiarity with Choi and his new teammates. In the end, none of it mattered as Choi, apparently still saw Park’s recent goal run for us as important enough to include him. Park was however, stripped of the captain’s armband that former boss Cho Kwang-Rae had given him. Defender Kwak Tae-Hwi led the team out of the tunnel. But the match. Choi’s first non-friendly team took the field like this:

Lee Dong-Gook

Han Sang-Woon / Park Chu-Young / Lee Keun-Ho

Kim Do-Heon / Kim Sang-Sik

Choi Hyo-Jin / Kwak Tae-Hwi (C) / Lee Jung-Soo / Park Jae-Won

Jung Sung-Ryong

Despite the scoreline, the win was not a comfortable one for Korea. In fact, for large stretches of the game Kuwait looked the better side. It took Korea, probably about 20-25 minutes to really start getting into gear. For the first 20 minutes Park Chu-Young led the attack with Lee Dong-Gook dropping deeper. After 20 minutes they switched and the team seemed more together. Which makes sense, Park is technically superior than Lee and is more comfortable in a more midfield position. Lee, on the other hand, is more comfortable with his back to goal. The change worked and Korea played more “their” game.

The rest of the team still looked a bit shaky. The midfield in particular seemed very disjointed. Possibly due to not being very familiar with each other, or possibly due to a lack of match fitness. None of the players currently actively playing since the K-League was just ending their preseason workouts and Park Chu-Young does not feature for Arsenal. There seemed to be a lack of communication between the players with too many passes going astray. The team also seemed to lack a focal point to play through. Under Cho, the team was a technical, short passing side with Ki Sung-Yueng there to help control the pace of the game and help change the direction of play. In this match the team seemed to still want to play this way, but lacked someone to control the passing. The team also lacks a creator in attack. Lee Kuen-Ho, who scored the second goal and helped create the first, was probably the best on the pitch, but created mainly from his pace. But his touch and vision was lacking at times, and I’d be hesitant to rely on him in the future. To help create a comparison, he’s similar in some regards to Theo Wolcott.

In the end though, the team won and qualified for the final round of qualifying, which I suppose is all that matters. Due to my lateness with this post, the final qualifying groups have already been announced. These are the following groups:

Group A:
SOUTH KOREA, Iran, Uzbekistan, Qatar, and Lebanon

Group B:
Japan, Australia, Iraq, Jordan, Oman

Not the easiest of groups, but Korea should qualify. It certainly won’t be easy, and there are, as always, plenty of questions that still need to be answered. But for now, let’s just let out that breath of relief that we’re in the last round. Things could have been much worse.

Position Name Club Caps/Goals
GK Kim Young-Kwang Ulsan Hyundai 14/-10
GK JUNG Sung-Ryong Suwon Samsung 40/-32
GK KWOUN Sun-Tae Sangju Sangmu 0/0
DF LEE Jung-Soo Al-Sadd(QAT) 47/5
DF KIM Hyung-Il Sangju Sangmu 2/0
DF . KIM Chang-Soo Busan I-park 2/0
DF KWAK Tae-Hwi Ulsan Hyundai 21/4
DF PARK Won-Jae Jeonbuk Hyundai 7/0
DF CHOI Hyo-Jin Sangju Sangmu 14/1
DF HONG Jeong-Ho Jeju Utd. 14/0
DF OH Beom-Seok Suwon Samsung 39/2
DF CHO Sung-Hwan Jeonbuk Hyundai 3/0
MF KIM Do-Heon National Police Agency 59/11
MF Choi Tae Wook FC Seoul 29/4
MF KIM Sang-Sik Jeonbuk Hyundai 58/2
MF KIM Chi-Woo Sangju Sangmu 23/2
MF HAN Sang-Wun Seongnam Ilhwa 0/0
MF KI Sung-Yueng Celtic(SCO) 44/5
MF LEE Keun-Ho Ulsan Hyundai 39/10
MF SHIN Hyung-Min Pohang Steelers 7/0
MF HA Dae-Sung FC Seoul 2/0
MF KIM Jae-Sung Sangju Sangmu 13/2
FW KIM Shin-Wook Ulsan Hyundai 6/0
FW LEE Dong-Gook Jeonbuk Hyundai 86/25
FW PARK Chu-Young Arsenal(ENG) 57/23

Notable absences are Cha Du-Ri, Ji Dong-Won, Koo Ja-Cheol, and Son Heung-Min. Koo is suspended due to yellow card accumulation, Cha and Ji due to lack of playing time at their clubs, while Son is excluded probably due to age and experience.

Notably here is Park Ju-Young, Lee Dong-Gook, and Ki Sung-Yueng. Lee Dong-Gook, actually isn’t that surprising given his experience with the national team (86 appearances, the most of any called played), his history with Choi, and his importance at Jeonbuk. However, when you consider he hasn’t been terribly impressive for Korea, one wonders if he should be counted on as the potential hero we need right now. Ki is a slight surprise given he’s falled down the pecking order at Celtic and is also coming off an injury. It is certainly possible that he could have been in the notable absences list, but there definitely isn’t a quality replacement for his role at the moment. In the last match, where Ki missed due to illness, the team looked lost in midfield with no player to spread the play.

Park Ju-Young. So important that he gets his own paragraph. Despite not featuring, virtually at all (save for one Carling Cup appearance and one Champions League appearance), for Arsenal he still gets a call. Likely due to the number of goals that he scores for Korea. Will he start? Who knows? It’s certainly possible that Choi will turn to Lee Dong-Gook instead. But, Park is the captain (although that may change) and his record speaks for itself. But is he match fit? Is he ready to cope with the pace and emotions of a must-win qualifier after not even making the bench lately for Arsenal? Questions. So many questions.

Good calls? Bad calls? Someone missed who shouldn’t have? Someone here who shouldn’t be? What do you think?

It’s an odd move really. Simply because of the timing. The team is in a very precarious position. One qualifying game left with everything to play for, whether the dream of Brazil 2014 dies or continues on to the final round. And it is now that the men in charge decide to change managers? Admittedly, there have been some very disappointing performances in the latter half of 2011, the 3-0 loss to Japan and the 2-1 shock to Lebanon. But, to make the change now is a bit head scratching. In an interview, Cho suggested that outside powers, possibly political, were behind it. If a coach is to be fired (or hired), it is done by the KFA’s technical committee. This committee did not meet to discuss or vote on Cho’s position, at least, according to Cho. The head of the committee, Kwan Hwang-Bo, met Cho privately and informed him that the KFA’s vice-chairmen had decided that it was time to leave, and Kwan suggested to Cho that he agree.

Today, Kwan appeared in front of journalists to help clear up the issue. The transcript of the press conference (in Korean), can be read here. In short, Kwan clarified that he had not consulted the committee because there really is no committee right now. So, with no official committee to consult, Kwan met with senior officials and together they decided to act.

I’ve always considered, that one of my biggest strengths was the ability to see both sides of an issue. And to an extent, I can understand the KFA’s view, that qualification is in jeopardy and they must act to ensure that the team advances. However, it seems that this move only seeks to jeopardize it. The next qualifier is a few months away, but there isn’t much time for a new coach to come in and work with the players. Will the new coach seek to implement their own style of play or continue with Cho’s methods? How will the players respond to a new boss? Will they be able to find a qualified manager so quickly? So many questions with no answers leaves me even more concerned about the future.

Firing him now seems to be a massive mistake. I could understand it, if the team does not qualify, but they certainly have a good chance of qualifying. All that is needed is a point, and we will play the final match in Korea. By firing him, the KFA is basically saying, “We don’t believe that you will be able to get a point for us at home.” I don’t see any indication that this wouldn’t happen. Under Cho, the team is 6-2-1 at home, with the one loss coming in Cho’s second game in charge (against Iran). In the past, I’ve had my doubts and criticisms of Cho, but I have always appreciated his strategy and view of the future of the Korean team. The team certainly seems stronger to me than they did in South Africa 2010. The defense is the same, but the midfield has gotten much better, as has the attack. Cho had a clear vision, and I don’t feel he was given enough time to really implement it. Granted time is the one thing that no manager is afforded at the top level. Unfortunately, it may come back to bite Korea in the butt.

As far as replacements go, there are none really tipped to become the new boss. Hong Myong-Bo, the U-23/Olympic team coach has ruled himself out, as has Jeonbuk Motor’s Choi Kang-Hee. Former assistant coach Afshin Gotbi has done likewise. Kwan stated that the new coach does not need to be Korean, but does need to be familiar with Korean football. I’m racking my head to think of who they’ll hire, but cannot think of anyone. Whoever it is, I hope it all works out for the best.

Coach Cho K.R. named a strong XI of :

Ji Dong-Won

Park Chu-Young / Koo Ja-Cheol / Seo Jung-Jin

Ki Sung-Yueng / Lee Yong-Rae

Kim Young-Kwan / Lee Jung-Soo / Hong Jeong-Ho / Choi Hyo-Jin

Jung Sung-Ryong

This line up would seem to be Cho’s strongest, with the exception of the injured Lee Chung-Yong. Despite the fact that most of the team, particularly in the center, have played together, they looked unorganized. Ki S.Y. and Lee Y.R. didn’t have the smoothest of partnerships and Koo J.C. seemed a little lost. He looked far from the player that grabbed so much attention at the Asian championships last winter. His move to Wolfsburg, seems to be on the verge on the tag “ill-fated”, as he has not impressed there, and is struggling to get minutes. Granted Koo is young, but you’d like him to be playing consistently somewhere. A loan move may be in order, but I digress.

Ji D.W. was average in his performance, and he most certainly would have liked to do better, with club boss Steve Bruce in the house. But, Ji missed one golden chance to score, when Korea was up 1-0, but could not direct his header down on target. Park C.Y. continued to supply the goals for Korea, as he tries to convince Arsene Wenger that he’s good enough for Arsenal. Seo Jung-Jin did well, but does not seem to provide enough of a spark to push out Lee C.Y. once he returns to full fitness.

Defensively, the team looked . . . okay. Hong and Lee J.S. seem to be the preferred center backs for Cho. It will be interesting to see what happens with Lee J.S. following the brawl between his club team (Al-Sadd) and Suwon in the ACL. Certainly he seemed unsettled after the incident, and may be looking to move. Whether this affects Cho’s thinking on him will be something to look out for. Kim Y.K. did well at left back, but was not as influential as he was earlier, against Serbia in his debut. He is still probably our left back for the future though. Choi Hyo-Jin was average. Didn’t make too many mistakes, but wasn’t great. Cha Du-Ri will probably be the preferred right back, when healthy.

Despite the shaky performance, the team is still in a good position. Top of the group, and looking to qualify for the next round fairly comfortably. The next match is once again versus the U.A.E., this time in Dubai, in about two weeks time.