Group D News
Koreans Face Saudi Test
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Despite skidding since its superb World Cup showing in 2002, the
South Koreans stubbornly declare themselves as the team to beat in
Asian football. The moment of truth comes just around the corner as
South Korea opens its Asian Cup campaign tonight against another
regional power in Saudi Arabia.
South Korean coach Pim Verbeek boldly predicts to bring home the
tournament crown, which would be the first for the country since
the 1960 event, but with the team riddled with injuries, critics
question whether he has the right men to back his words.
The Dutchman cant afford to lower his expectations, however, as a
lackluster tournament performance could come at the cost of his
future with the Korean national team, with the ever-petulant Korean
Football Association (KFA) yet to give him the vote of
confidence.
Hong Myung-bo, a Korean football legend who starred in four World
Cup tournaments and now part of Verbeeks coaching staff, downplays
the worries over the teams depth.
``The absence of Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo and some of our other
regulars gives us lesser options but we believe we could offer just
as potent of a lineup using our younger players. This team has a
lot of talent and we have perfect chemistry, said Hong, adding that
his players are playing ``smarter, not just harder.
``The players have a better understanding of our strategies and are
doing a better job in moving the ball and creating space. The team
has full confidence in our defensive unit, as the players are young
but mature beyond their age, he said.
Its hard to deny that Verbeek would not have wished for a
situation where he had to rely on his less-experienced players more
than he wanted to.
The absence of Manchester Uniteds Park Ji-sung, nursing a knee
injury, and Suwon Samsung midfielder Kim Nam-il, who was the teams
skipper before being left off the roster with a sports hernia,
deprives the team of its two best distributors.
Tottenham defender Lee Young-pyo and Reading winger Seol Ki-hyeon
are also in crutches, forcing Verbeek to completely switch his left
flank.
Operating with an injury-struck midfield, Verbeek has gone the safe
way by adopting a 4-5-1 formation, packing the midfield with five
players and having either Middlesbrough forward Lee Dong-gook or
Shimizu S-Pulses Cho Jae-jin put on the role of lone
striker.
Although the enlarged midfield would certainly help the team keep
possession, it could come at the expense of the attack should
wingers Choi Sung-kuk (Ulsan Hyundai) and Yeom Ki-hun (Chunbuk
Hyundai) are forced to play deep to cover for defense, which would
leave the target man isolated for long stretches.
Verbeek has yet to choose between Lee or Cho as his starter, as
both face questions over their abilities to play the grueling role
of lone striker.
Lee is the better finisher of the two when healthy, but has yet to
fully recover from a knee injury that forced him to miss last
years World Cup tournament. The 28-year-old showed flashes of
brilliance in limited appearances for Middlesbrough this year but
has yet to be tested for longer stretches.
Lees confidence also seems to have taken a hit, as he pulled
himself twice from practice in training camp while openly admitting
his fears of re-injuring his surgically-repaired knee. No doubt
Verbeek is constantly reminding him that he scored 10 goals in the
past two Asian Cup tournaments.
Cho, a sturdy forward who stands at 1.85 meters, has all the
physical attributes to be a dominating attacker but his growth has
been limited by raw skills.
With Lee out of the tournament, Cho was forced to play lone striker
for Korea in last years World Cup and performed rather
impressively, showing keen ability to win the ball in air and keep
possession until support arrived.
However, Chos efforts never materialized into a goal, which, fair
or not, proved the point of his critics that he lacks the special
``sixth sense for the net. Cho is doing his best to quiet the
skepticism, scoring two goals in a friendly against Uzbekistan last
week.
With Verbeek leaning towards bringing Lee off the bench to lessen
his pressure, the starters job may be Chos to lose.
``The World Cup in Germany last year helped me grow as a player and
now I believe I have developed to a point where I can compete with
Lee. I think Verbeek will have a hard time deciding who will
start, said Cho, meeting reporters after a team practice in
Jakarta.
``Nobody has to remind me about the importance of our first game
against Saudi Arabia. We have nothing to fear, and if we
concentrate and stay focused till the end of the game, we will
win, he said.
It bears further watching whether Verbeeks game plan could coax
his players to perform better than the sum of its parts. Saudi
Arabia undoubtedly poses a strong test, with the midfield __ the
Koreans biggest weakness __ being their biggest strength.
Saudi Arabias point man in the midfield is Saud Kharir, two-time
AFC Champions League winner with Al Ittihad, who will be supported
by ``Baby Maradona Mohammad Al Shalhoub, 2006 AFC Player of the
Year nominee, and the up-and-coming Ahmed Darwesh.
The forward line is also packed with capable attackers, with Yasser
Al Qahtani, Malek Maaz, Saad Al Harthi, and Saleh Bashir all vying
for a place in the starting lineup.
The Saudis all-out attacking style will put Verbeeks 4-5-1 to the
ultimate test, with the Koreans looking to grind down the game into
a slow and ugly slugfest while taking their chances on transition
when they can.
The South Koreans have locked their sights on finishing top of
Group D and Saudi Arabia and co-hosts Indonesia pose as the biggest
threats. The 16-team tournament is being staged jointly by
Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, with the finals taking
place in Jakarta on July 29.
