“Now That We Have a Full Grasp of Team, All Is Left Is Tempering“

`Hiddink`s Squad, the Korean national soccer team that launched on Jan. 12th this year, is now preparing for an active new start.

Thus far, Head Coach Guus Hiddink has tried to draw the whole picture of the national team through the detailed analysis on the Korean soccer, but from now on, he entered the stage in which he should practically equip the national team with ability enough to advance to semi-quarter finals of the next year`s World Cup.

Hiddink said after the game with the USA team, "I think of this moment as a brand new start for the World Cup."

▼ Resting Is Medicine

The national team is taking a 26 day break until Jan. 5th next year. The break will be the crucial period, during which the players are expected to banish their mental and physical fatigues that came from the continued hard march so far. Of course, there is no such thing as a complete rest for professional players. The players should take this rest period as the opportunity to build up their physical condition for new start. Head Coach Hiddink suggested `the individual training program` for maintaining the physical conditions of players. Hiddink plans to take a vacation at the end of this year after making out the schedule for next year and confirming the roster of the ninth squad of Hiddink. And the newly-selected national team members are scheduled to leave for training camp in the U.S. on Jan. 6th next year.

▼ Schedule For Semi-quarter Finals

Head Coach Hiddink is making out the next year`s schedule of the national team consulting with the national team`s technical committee, such as the North and Middla America Gold Cup (Jan. 16th – Feb. 3rd) and the training camp in Europe. He thought of not participating in the Gold Cup in order to avoid facing again the USA team, which is the Korean team`s first-round opponent in the World Cup finals, but it seems unavoidable to participate in the tournament because the entire schedule of the tournament was prearranged. Hiddink is now considering the training plan after the tournament, in which the Korean team might pass the preliminary round or fail to reach the final round.

As of now, he is planning to participate in the Gold Cup, and then to conduct the intensive tactic training through the training camp in Europe in March. And he is pursuing the evaluation games with Nederland, China, England, etc.. The Korean team is scheduled to hold `a last semi-quarter final rehearsal` facing France on May 27th.

▼ Completion Of Hiddink`s Squad

Head Coach Hiddink said that the team is 80 percent complete. Currently, the following players are expected to be securely selected in the national team; Song Jong-Gook and Yoo Sang-Cheol as midfield defender, Lee Cheon-Soo and Choi Tae-Uk as right and left wings, Seol Ki-Hyun, An Jung-Hwan, Hwang Sun-Hong as striker, Park Ji-Sung, Lee Eul-Yong and Lee Young-Pyo as midfielder, Lee Min-Sung and Choi Jin-Cheol as defender, and Lee Woon-Jae and Kim Byung-Ji as goal keeper. Hiddink is planning to select 23-entry for the World Cup through incessant competitions and tests for multi-task ability of the players.

Yang Jong-Koo yjongk@donga.com