Korea Falls to United Arab Emirates

After the Korean national team’s 0-1 loss to the United Arab Emirates in an evaluation match on January 18 at Al Shabab Stadium in Dubai, KBS commentator Yi Yong-su (Sejong University) remarked that this defeat could be a plus for the team in the long run.

Throughout the game, the Korean national team displayed a lack of scoring sense, weak passing and weak defense.

“They only had two chances while we had nine; the only problem was that we couldn’t score goals,” said team manager Dick Advocaat. “Losing is part of the game; today’s defeat will not break the team’s spirit.”

Korean players ended their season in December, and January and February are usually reserved for exercises. After three to four weeks of rest, their physical condition is not at its peak.

The same thing happened when Hiddink was leading the national team in early 2002 and Yi was the Korean Football Association’s technical analyst. “Around this time of the year, Korean players tend to move sluggishly and play poorly. It’s a typical cycle of Korean soccer and cannot be helped,” Yi said.

Advocaat experimented with deploying defensive midfielder Kim Sang-shik as a central defender and placing Jang Hak-yeong at left midfield. Neither of these experiments yielded satisfactory results.

Kim’s defense was generally poor, and he was beaten repeatedly by through-passes, while Jang was too jittery in his first A-match. “I was afraid to receive a pass,” he said later. As a team, Korea’s passes were predictable and their plays unnecessarily hurried.

Advocaat experimented with various formations as well, including switching from a 3-4-3 to a 3-5-2, and then to a 4-4-2. The 3-5-2 formation had a brief moment of effectiveness.

“Now, the ultimate goal is to improve the team’s condition before the match against Togo on June 13,” Yi said. “The players learn more by losing than winning.”

The Korean national team left the United Arab Emirates for Saudi Arabia on January 19 for more training.

Jong-Koo Yang yjongk@donga.com