Hiddink ``Shim Jae-Won Best Defender`

With the evaluation game with Senegal and Croatia national teams ahead next month, the Korean national soccer team will announce its members on 29th.

Shim Jae-Won (22, Frankfurt) is the most attention intriguer in the national team, in which the overseas players in Japan and Europe will join. It is because that he is expected to resolve the weakness in defense, which is the most serious problem in Korean soccer.

Shim Jae-Won became a first Korean defender last August, who advanced to European stage, even though the German`s second professional league. Thus far, he has participated in 10 straight games including FA Cup, playing for full-time 90 minutes except one game.

It was due to his physical strength, heading ability, and quickness comparable to offenders that Shim could solidify his position as a starting member in relatively short period, about two months.

Sometimes he has flustered himself when switching between offense and defense, but he is dealing with this problem through the experiences. Pim Verbeek, national team coach, also praised him after home game with Argentine on 21st that ``the concentration and the one-to-one mark have much improved since he moved to Germany.``

Shim Jae-Won is expected to play a catalyst role in the Hiddink squad. Although he has mainly played as a left stopper in 3-5-2 formation in Frankfurt, he has also taken the various positions such as play-maker according to the situation. It is the very point having stressed by Guus Hiddink that the player should play his role properly in any position under given situation.

Bae Keuk-In bae2150@donga.com