Too Full?

“Most of the players are overconfident. No one, and I mean that without exceptions, will receive any special treatment, even if they were part of the 2002 World Cup team.”

Jo Bonfrere, the head coach of the Korean National Soccer Team was furious.

After the second qualifying match against Vietnam for the 2006 German World Cup held on September 8 in Ho Chi Minh City, Bonfrere furiously exploded in rage after watching his team perform sluggishly, winning the match in a tight 2-1 game.

He said, “If our players could have played like the Vietnamese, we would have won the match 5-0. Some of the players I trusted were not able to show any of their abilities.” He also mentioned, “During the game I replaced two World Cup members with players from the Olympic team. Sul Gee-hyun wasn’t playing well either, but I already replaced all three players so I couldn’t get him out of the game. I hope the players will get back in the game next time.”

Domestic soccer fans were also very disappointed with today’s game.

They left punishing remarks on the Korea Football Association (KFA) website such as, “They (the players) need to go back to the basics,” or, “They’re not hungry anymore,” reprimanding the sluggish performance of the National Team.

Some even want to replace the National Team with young players who have an eager, objective, and ambitious drive to win.

Gwon Oh-son, a technical analyst from KFA, said, “The players couldn’t perform as a team which resulted in their poor performance during the game.”

Choi Soon-ho, the head coach of the Pohang Steelers, said, “The players must prepare themselves with more intense mental training. They not only have to worry about their physical conditions, but they must also remember how they must perform during games.”

Coach Bonfrere selected quite a few Olympic team members who are under 23 years of age, but didn’t place them in games.

This could be interpreted that his trust for the original national team was formidable.

That trust has now been broken.

Korea is currently first place in Group Seven of the second World Cup qualifying round, but is only ahead of second-place Lebanon by a single point.

This makes it all the more important to win the away game against Lebanon on October 13.

Only a month is left to prepare, and it is up to coach Bonfrere’s resourcefulness to whether or not he will select an entirely fresh National Team.

Soon-Il Kwon stt77@donga.com