S/Koreans sound caution

Some unconvincing displays in qualifying — where they lost two and drew three of their 12 matches — should at least provide a note of caution for their highly expectant fans.

The South Koreans suffered an early embarrassment on the road to Germany when they were held to a goalless draw in the Maldives in the second match of the preliminary group stage.

That result cost Portuguese coach Humberto Coelho his job and led to the appointment of Dutchman Jo Bonfrere who guided the team through to Asian last eight with no further slip-ups.

However, come the final qualifying round in 2005, South Korean confidence took several more dents.

After opening with a home win over Kuwait in February, Bonfrere’s side was well beaten by Saudi Arabia in their second match on March 25, going down 2-0 in Dammam.

Although they then defeated Uzbekistan 2-1 in Seoul, it took an injury-time equaliser from debutant Park Chu-Young to rescue a point in the return match in Tashkent on June 3.

A 4-0 drubbing of Kuwait five days later secured their place at Germany 2006 but after a 1-0 home loss to Saudi Arabia in their final qualifier in August, Bonfrere resigned amid criticism of the team’s lacklustre performances.

Korea Republic are Asia’s most frequent visitors to FIFA World Cup finals and first appeared at the global showpiece in 1954.

Prior to 2002, however, they had not managed a single win in 14 finals matches.

That all changed under Dutch coach Guus Hiddink who led them to the last four after victories over four European teams — Poland, Portugal, Italy and Spain. It was a stunning run ended only by a 1-0 loss to Germany in the semi-finals.

Although there have been changes to the South Korean side since, the heroes of 2002 all retain key roles.

Park Ji-Sung, now at Manchester United, provides a genuine attacking threat from midfield, while left-back Lee Young-Pyo is a key figure in a defence that operates in front of experienced goalkeeper Lee Woon-Jae.

There are plenty of options up front, meanwhile, in Ahn Jung-Hwan, whose golden goal defeated Italy, Cha Du-Ri and Lee Dong-Gook, the top scorer at the 2000 AFC Asian Cup.

Coach Dick Advocaat — the third Dutchman at the South Korean helm — could field three forwards given the players available and will also no doubt consider the merits of youngster Park Chu-Young, who showed his predatory instincts by scoring twice in his three qualifying appearances.

Whatever Advocaat’s selection, this former Netherlands trainer knows that matching the feats of his compatriot Hiddink is not going to be easy.

Korea Republic are Asia’s most successful team in the FIFA World Cup. The team first qualified for the finals in 1954 at the first attempt. They have competed at every tournament since 1986.

Their first participation ended with heavy defeats to Hungary and Turkey.

And 32 years later, they returned to football’s biggest stage and made an instant impact, losing only narrowly against Italy. In 1990 an early exit after three straight defeats.

In 1994, Korea Republic managed a draw against Spain and lost narrowly to Germany.

They faced an uphill struggle in 1998 after finding themselves in a difficult group.

However, in 2002 they would enjoy their greatest success. After sensational victories over Italy and Spain, their dream was ended by a 1-0 semi-final defeat to Germany.

S/KOREA BACKGROUND
Founded — 1945
Affiliated — 1948
WC participations — 6 (1954, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002)
WC honours — Semi-finals (2002)
Continental Titles — Asian Cup twice (1956, 1960), Asian Games 3 times (1970 together with Burma, 1978 together with North Korea, 1986)