Team Korea’s Wild Card Is Jo Jae-jin

Jeong Gyeong-ho, Lee Chun-su: “The team has an advantage in Jo Jae-jin’s height.”

Jo Jae-jin (Shimizu S Puls) sat down calmly and answered in a low, settled tone. In the interview held in Grand Hilton Hotel, Hongeun-dong, Jo reaffirmed the trust his teammates have in him. The team’s attacker Jeong Gyeong-ho (Gwangju Sangmu) and Lee Chun-su (Ulsan Hyundai) spelled out his name as Advocaat’s main go-to guy.

“It became a routine for me to get injured before an important game. I wish it was otherwise," said Jeong Gyeong-ho. "If I had to pick someone who could take over my role in the team," Jeong said after a brief pause, “It would be Jo Jae-jin. His height will be the major advantage.” Jo Jae-jin smiled at his teammate’s remark. Jo spoke of Ahn Jung-hwan (Duisburg) whom he competes with for the position of central attacker. “No one in the team wants to score goals more than Ahn. His dribbling and off-beat shooting is the best in Korea," said Jo. But he also pointed out that his style is different from Ahn. “I like my cross passes; that’s the major difference between Ahn and me. We`ll do well by sticking to what we each do best. Like Ahn in 2002, I would love to score a goal when team needs it the most,” said Jo.

Advocaat Trains Ahn-

Ahn seemed uneasy with the word "competition." He avoided direct answers to questions regarding his position as the team’s central attacker. “Many young players have taken the stage now,” said Ahn. “I have gotten older since 2002, but my stamina is at its peak." Although the team members gave their vote of confidence to Jo, Advocaat seems to prefer Ahn. Advocaat was reported to be tutoring Ahn on attack strategies. "I was told not to withdraw too far from the forward line,” said Ahn, indicating that Advocaat will focus on attacks from the front. In the end, Advocaat will try to find a balanced mix of Jo’s aerial play and Ahn’s technique. Ahn has scored 15 goals in 57 international matches he played, while Jo has four goals in 18 international matches.

On a separate note, Jeong Gyeong-ho touted the bold playing style of his rival Seol Ki-hyeon (Wolverhampton); Kim Nam-il named Lee Chun-su as the player that has improved the most since 2002.

Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com