Han Becomes Star in UAE Soccer Match

Center striker Park Chu-young’s absence, the jinx of Middle East away games, and the pressure of having to show a better performance than the first qualifying round were the desperate circumstances surrounding the 2008 Beijing Olympics men’s football second qualifying round.

In Group F’s second match against the United Arab Emirates held at Al Wahda Stadium in Abu Dhabi on March 15, this critical situation gave birth to a new star: Han Dong-won (age 21, Seongnam Ilwha, picture).

Dropped Out Of School And Joined Anyang…MVP-of the Minor League-

As Park Chu-young’s replacement, Han Dong-won was picked to start, played midfielder, and scored Korea’s precious first goal 21 minutes into the first half. He followed with an insurance goal in the 35th minute of the second half when the team was being chased 2-1. With this victory, the Korean Olympic national team, led by Coach Pim Verbeek, continued on their second consecutive winning streak and took first place in the group, ahead of Uzbekistan (2 wins) by goal difference.

Han Dong-won turns twenty-one this year, but he is a sixth-year K-League veteran. This is because he entered the professional field early enough to hold the record for the youngest player to run in a professional football league match, at the age of 16 years and one month.

After dropping out of Namsuwon Middle School in 2001, Han joined Anyang LG (present FC Seoul) and in the minor leagues took the title of Most Valuable Player in 2004, and Best Scorer in 2005. Last year, when he became a full-time major league player, he recorded five goals and one assist in 21 matches, and after he became a free agent (FA) this year, he joined Seongnam.

Seongnam’s Coach Kim Hak-beom, who had strongly requested that Han Dong-won be added to the team, said, “His ability to read the flow of the ball is excellent.”

5 Goals Last Year… Excellent Ability to Read Ball Flow-

This ability of Han’s was clearly evident when he made his first goal in the UAE match. When the opposing team’s goalkeeper punched out a ball and the ball was brought back into the box by Kang Min-soo’s header, Han Dong-won quickly made out where it would fall and kicked the bounced ball straight into the net.

Coach Verbeek commented, “Han Dong-won did a good job in the overall intonation of the offense, and showed good goal determination.”

kimsk@donga.com