In the Guardian’s sports blog, Simon Burnton rips on the Korean national team. He writes, “It is a little over five years since an ecstatic nation cheered their team to the semi-finals of the World Cup at home, but nothing about Korean football is as good now as it was then. That golden generation (yes, other countries have them too) has been destroyed, if not by age then by poor decision-making and an absence of self-control.”
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10 Comments
would rather watch shit draining down the toilet when flushed then korean football, fail to see the difference between the two
That’s a little harsh. Watching Korean (ice) hockey is worse than soccer. I remeber watching a Korea vs Australia (ice) hockey game one time, it was bad, but I wouldn’t say it was as bad as shit going down a toilet.
I read Korean netizens say the government should cut off funding for the national soccer team and give it to Kim Yeon-A instead, lol.
It was like that before 2002 too. Those of you here long ago may recall that the WC matches would disappear from the air once the Korean team was easily dispatched. The big issue would be who or what offended Korean sensitivities, such as Coca Cola did during the ‘94 WC (if I recall the year correctly) when it produced cans in Africa that had match results of previous WC’s. Hungary’s 9-0 thrashing of Korea in ‘54 outraged Korean missionaries in Africa who duly complained to the Korean press. Coca Cola had to apologize.
The only good outcome from the ‘02 WC is that the Premier League is broadcast here. Granted we’re limited to the matches of those teams that employ a Korean to warm the bench, but it’s better than nothing.
Calling the 2002 team the “golden generation” is a bit rich.
#4,
Oh, and the firing of the Korean coach shortly after the disqualification in 1998 because he had supposedly ‘killed the fighting spirit of the team’. They used him as a scapegoat because he had suggested that the team should see this as a learning experience in preparation for the 2002 WC…Guess who turned out to have been right?
Robert,
there were two interesting things about that article. One, the guy was interested enough to write about korea football and wrote a good piece. Two, the comments. They were considered, civil, and all-in-all, quite gracious to Korea and Korean players. (makes me wonder if they’re moderated…)
contrast that with the first post here from the eloquent jameslayne:
“would rather watch shit draining down the toilet when flushed then korean football, fail to see the difference between the two”
It was well written by a good football writer, but I feel he was too harsh on Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo.
Yes, Park will find it hard to break into the current United team after injury but time will tell, give him a chance.
Lee, was a great wing back for Spurs in his first season and but form has been a little erratic lately and so has the clubs.
Seol Ki-hyeon has always been inconsistent..started at Reading scoring a few and getting some assists but since joining Fulham has failed to impress.
i think so, too, baekduboy. and that was the cool thing about the comments after the article. they called him on that same issue, saying that those players have performed well.
but i think he’s basically spot on with the whiny “i’m bigger than the gam” attitude these guys have shown. no class, it seems. and definitely an unappreciation of the talent they have and the opportunity it has given them. but, i guess that’s not entirely new…
The Premier league is a tough competition. The article was a great read and the author definitely has is finger on the pulse as far as the Koreans in the premier league are concerned.
Is there are sample of players from another asian confederation country out performing the Koreans in England. Quite simply, apart from Australia..hell no.
Even Australia’s Premier league reps aren’t faring too well, Tim Cahill aside.
Let’s give Park Ji Sung the benefit of the doubt. As he was holding down his place and scoring a few goals before he did his knee in. I’ll have my eye on him in January. I think his attitude and work ethic are second to none. You won’t find stories if him going whoring during tournaments and getting home sick.
#9 - S. Nakamura certainly has been a good Asian federation player though he is in the SPL. Inamoto and Takahara are also good (but not great) Bundesliga players. Matsui is excellent for Le Mans in Ligue 1. Nakata at Basel isn’t bad at all. I think that, Nakamura and Park are definitely the best with Matsui and Lee also very good. In sum, I think that the overall European squads are roughly equal (and Japan may even have a bit of an edge). EPL isn’t the only league that matters :P.