Korean Soccer Stars See Europe Action

Lee Young-pyo (29, Tottenham Hotspur) is preparing himself for a match against Arsenal at Highbury Stadium in London.

Arsenal features the star players that Team Korea will have to face in its 2006 World Cup foes France, Switzerland, and Togo. The famed French striker Thierry Henry represents the quality of Arsenal’s offense. Henry scored 22 goals this season and is ranked atop the Premier League in scoring. Henry’s teammate, Philippe Senderos is considered as the core of Swiss national team’s defense. Arsenal FC also features Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

As Tottemham’s defender on the left side, Lee Young-pyo is expected to go head-to-head with Henry and Adebayor. His defense skill will also be compared against Senderos’s. Park Ji-sung of Manchester United recently played against Arsenal and scored his second goal of the season.

With three more games left on its calendar, Tottenham must hold on to fourth place (61 points) in order to earn a ticket to the next Champions League. Losing one game will be too many. Arsenal, with a total of 57 points so far, must go after Tottenham’s fourth place standing, making the upcoming bout a heated one.

In the German Bundesliga, Ahn Jung-hwan of Duisburg will start against FC Cologne at 10:30 p.m. on April 22, and Cha Du-ri’s Frankfurt will play against Stuttgart. Back in the U.K., Seol Ki-hyeon (Wolverhampton) will be on the active roster for an England Championship League game against Brighton to be held 11:00 p.m. on the same day.

Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com