“Sincerity Moves Heaven?” Goals Expected

“Will they win this time?”

Preliminary match of Group B of the 2004 Asian Cup, held in Jinan, China.

The Korean national soccer team, led by Coach Johannes Bonfrere, will have its second match on July 23 at 10 p.m. against the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE stands at 71st place in the world ranking of FIFA, and South Korea stands at 20th. Korea is a step ahead, with six wins, five draws, and one loss in head-to-head competition against the UAE.

Sluggish play and a 0-0 tie in the game against Jordan was caused by the vacuum due to “World Cup defender” Choi Jin-chul’s exit. What is Bonfrere’s card now?

“Playmaker” Park Ji-sung—

Park Ji-sung, not completely recovered from ankle injury, will be playing offensive midfielder. Bonfrere will be counting on Park Ji-sung’s breaking through the opponent’s defense and his passes.

Lee Dong-guk (Gwangjoo) and Ahn Jung-hwan (Yokohama) will be playing two-tops. Bonfrere ordered Ahn not to drag the ball, but instead to attack by making passes to Park Ji-sung and Seol Ki-hyun.

Three-back or four-back?—

Bonfrere is also planning to put injured Kim Tae-young (Junnam) into the game. Rather than Choi Jin-chul, Park Jae-hong (Chunbook) will be put in to form a three-back formation with Kim Tae-young and Lee Min-sung (Pohang). If Kim Tae-young doesn’t smoothly recover, Lee Young-pyo will be playing the lower position as part of a four-back formation.

Dilemma on Seol Ki-hyun—

Seol will be playing two-top and offensive midfielder again. It was a position that turned out to be failure in the games against Trinidad and Tobago, and Jordan. Shin Moon-sun, SBS commentator, said worriedly, “Seol’s wide strides and big movements are fitted to play wing and striker. His advantage will be lost if he plays center midfielder, which requires small movements and accurate passing.” However, Bonfrere said, “If he plays the wing, he will be overlapped by Hyun Young-min’s play. Seol will quickly adapt to his new position.”

Jong-Koo Yang yjongk@donga.com