Archive: South Korea
Headed in Opposite Directions?
As I mentioned in the previous post, Ghana (the United States' third Group E opponent) beat South Korea 3-1 yesterday. Ghana has never played in a World Cup; South Korea was a semifinalist in 2002 (granted, with help from some home-cooked kim-chee). Here's another report on the game. Not sure if this result tells us South Korea is bad, Ghana is good, or both ... "Attack, midfield, defence, there wasn't a single good point tonight," said the Koreans' Dutch coach Dick Advocaat. "Game by game our team play has been getting worse and that is very disappointing." Unrelated: Reports have Coach Raymond Domenech unveiling France's starting 11 at Wednesday's friendly vs. China. The BBC.com story makes it sound like it will be: GK: Barthez D: Sagnol, Thuram, Gallas, Abidal MF: Viera, Makelele, Zidane, Malouda F: Henry and Trezeguet or Saha...
By Jon DeNunzio | June 5, 2006; 10:00 AM ET | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Who Do You Like in Group G?
Well, I like the team with the best defensive midfielders. But before we go there, your study guides: - Steve Goff's group analysis (written the day of the draw) - The Post's team profiles (also written way back in December) - BBC.com team guides: - France - South Korea - Switzerland - Togo My prediction: Nothing was quite like being in Paris the night France won the '98 World Cup (I was also there the night they won Euro '84, btw; did not attend either game, tho). I have a soft spot for Les Bleus. But I think they are old and vulnerable. I say the young, talented Swiss team knocks them off in a shocker in the opener. Perhaps on a gaffe by Barthez. France is not vulnerable enough to finish behind South Korea or Togo, however. They'll take second. Using BBC.com's predictor I can see South Korea going...
By Jon DeNunzio | May 26, 2006; 08:00 AM ET | Comments (26) | TrackBack (0)
Morning Kick-About
Kind of a slow news day so far ... - South Korea's Lee Dong-Gook is definitely out. Did you know his club team is the Pohang Steelers? - FIFAWorldCup.com does the Q&A thing with Croatia Coach Zlatko Kranjcar. The 1998 semifinalists (ask me about the game in Germany vs. Lyon) were pretty solid in qualifying: Unfancied prior to the start of the preliminaries, the Croats marched unbeaten through their section with a record of 21 goals scored and just five conceded, leaving opponents such as Sweden, Hungary and Bulgaria trailing in their wake. - Speaking of Croatia, Iran has a Croatian coach. He has annouced a couple of friendlies ... Arranging FIFA World Cup warm-ups has been a problem for Iran, particularly on home soil, with many international sides apparently reluctant to travel to Iran amid mounting tensions over the country's disputed nuclear programme....
By Jon DeNunzio | April 14, 2006; 09:36 AM ET | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Afternoon Kick-About
- Bad break for South Korea -- top striker Lee Dong-Gook, who missed 2002 with an injury, is hurt again - Becks wants to come to the U.S. Great. In this guy's opinion, MLS needs to be about players who will make a splash in future World Cups, not guys who were stars in 1998 or 2002 ... - Mexico will play Venezuela at the Rose Bowl as part of its pre-Cup schedule. The U.S. will play Venezuela three weeks later, in Cleveland. It's not new, but if you haven't noticed, MLS (technically, MLS's marketing arm) is the entity running and presumably profitting off these games....
By Jon DeNunzio | April 11, 2006; 12:12 PM ET | Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)
Morning Kick-About
A few headlines of note this morning: - The Guardian says Sven-Goran Eriksson has told Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole they are in his plans. - Match of the weekend? Arsenal-Manchester United. - FIFAWorldCup.com runs through Argentina's striking options. After Brazil, who looks better up top (on paper, at least) than these guys? - How often do you get to type this: Q&A with Cha-Bum Kun! Interesting to note that one of South Korea's best strikers, Lee Dong-Gook, did not play in 2002, but is expected to be there this time around. - Player wins injunction vs. German far-right party. The pamphlet pictured a white player wearing Owomoyela's jersey below the words: "White, not just a jersey color! For a real national team!" - Finally, I can't read much Italian, but I know what this quote from Carlos Alberto Parreira on Pippo Inzaghi means: E' come Paolo Rossi (He's like...
By Jon DeNunzio | April 7, 2006; 08:05 AM ET | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
Running Out of Time ...
Quick-hitters on players who are ... - Sweating out their World Cup chances for South Korea and England . (Wouldn't be an England team without Sol Campbell, would it?) - Never had much of a chance to get to Germany, but now seem definitely out for Argentina and England....
By Jon DeNunzio | April 6, 2006; 03:25 PM ET | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
The 'Park Chu-Young Effect'
One of the missions of this blog will be to ferret out info on teams that fly under the radar. Anyone who goes to SoccerNet, the BBC.com, etc., can get a quick fill of Euro news. Harder to find will be information of value concerning Asian, African and South American teams (save for Brazil and Argentina, of course). So here's a good place to start -- South Korea, the darling co-host of the 2002 tournament. The official World Cup site has a feature on young striker Park Chu-Young that's worth a read. South Korea would seem to be a reasonable choice to make it into the second round -- the Reds are in Group G with France (which has not inspired confidence of late -- see this piece written last month), Switzerland and Togo. If South Korea advances, it would face a Group H team -- Spain, Ukriane, Tunisia or...
By Jon DeNunzio | April 6, 2006; 07:26 AM ET | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
