It is true to say that in football, the strikers are the ones who get the goals and get the headlines. Goalkeepers can play fantastically well for a full 89 minutes out of a fantastic match but one mistake and all know what the internet and newspapers will focus on.
Lee Dong-guk is one of the biggest stars in the league. It seems that he has been around for ever but he is still scoring goals and lots of them.
As well as 14 in the regular season so far, the Lion King, so named after his hairstyle at the 1998 World Cup when he burst onto the scene, has been on fire in the Asian Champions League. With the continental competition at the last four stage, Lee is now the leading goalscorer in the tournament with eight goals so far to his name.
Incredibly, six of those goals came in two games against Japanese team Cerezo Osaka. Both teams met in the group stage with both games ending 1-0 to the home side. The quarter-final was a completely different story with goals galore. The first leg in Japan ended 4-3 to Cerezo with Lee scoring twice.
The second leg was expected to be similarly close if not with as many goals. Last Tuesday evening at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, the opposite proved to be the case as there were goals galore as Jeonbuk won 6-1 with Lee getting four.
“It is the first time for me to score four goals in an official match,” said Lee. “We really want to win the Asian title but we also have to focus on the K-League.” it was one of the best nights of the player’s career.
It has been a long career and in European eyes, he will always be remembered for a season and a half in the English Premier League with Middlesbrough FC. It wasn’t a happy time for the player. He arrived at the club in January 2007 and within minutes of appearing in the red shirt for the first time, he had a great opportunity to score only to fire a shot against the post. A few centimetres to the left and perhaps things would have turned out differently.
As it was, while he managed to score in cup competitions, Lee never did it where it really matter – in the most popular league in the world. When his name is mentioned these days by the international media, words such as ‘Middlesbrough flop’ or ‘Premier League failure’ are often not far away. He returned to Korea in 2008 and after a brief and unsuccessful spell at Seongnam, he has settle well in Jeonju.
Not as fast, mobile or strong as he used to be due to injuries, especially a serious knee injury that ruled him out of the 2006 World Cup when he was the national team’s star striker and at the peak of his powers, Lee is still able to find the net when it matters. Eight goals so far in the Asian Champions League, he is on course to win the competition’s golden boot. His goals have helped Jeonbuk to the top of the K-League table.
Inevitably a return to the national team is now being discussed. Lee made the 2010 World Cup squad but never made the pitch. New coach Cho Kwang-rae tends to like younger players but has not ruled a Lee return out.
He hasn’t been summoned in the roster for the 2014 World Cup qualifier against UAE next Tuesday in Seoul and it is unlikely that he will be but if he continues to score the goals that give Jeonbuk a second K-League title and a second Asian Champions League win, then the Lion King’s career could have one final twist in the tail.
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Rabu, 28 September 2011
Minggu, 19 Juni 2011
Motors Driving Towards Success In Korea
It has been a topsy-turvy season in the K-League so far. Asian champions Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma have been kept off the bottom of the standings only thanks to the dreadful form of Gangwon FC. Suwon Bluewings find themselves in one of their annual slumps in form while champions FC Seoul have improved since earlier in the season but still can’t quite break free of the middle level.
One team though has been head and shoulders above the rest for much of the current campaign and that is Jeonbuk Motors. The team from Jeonju have found a level of consistency that the other 15 teams simply haven’t been able to match and not only that, it is entertaining fans in the south-west too. As Brazilian playmaker Eninho said on twitter at the weekend, “This is a Motors team without any brakes.”
Until Jeonbuk won the 2006 Asian Champions League, the Jeolla club was never really seen as a major contender in Korean soccer. They would win the occasional cup (which is how it qualified for the continental competition in the first place) but it wasn’t one of the big boys that vied for the league title. That started to change and in 2009, Jeonbuk lifted the golden K-League trophy for the first time. It would not be a surprise at all if it repeated that in 2011.
Just like the famous bi-bim-bap dish that hails from the city, Jeonbuk have all the right ingredients to give fans and players a taste of success. There is a solid foundation in defense, a lively and creative midfield; a strikeforce that can actually score goals with some Brazilian flair adding a little extra spice to what is already a tasty dish.
Jeonbuk are top of the standings with Lee Dong-gook getting most of the headlines. The Lion King’s time as an international is over but the striker is still hungry for success and has managed ten goals already this season. Despite topping the scoring charts along with Sangju’s Kim Jung-woo, Lee is not yet ready to start thinking about winning the Golden Boot just yet. “We have to see after the season is over. I personally want to finish the season without injury,” he said. “This year, I feel comfortable playing because my teammates are scoring easily. The team is getting stronger because many players are scoring goals.”
The former Middlesbrough marksman is right. Jeonbuk has scored an impressive 33 goals already this season in just 14 games. Gwangju was thrashed 6-1 and Incheon swatted aside 6-2. Just last weekend, the Motors came back from 1-0 and 2-1 down at home to Jeju United to win 3-2.
Jeonbuk were also top scorers in the group stage of the Asian Champions League and has been perhaps the most impressive team in the continental competition so far. The team have reached the last eight and could repeat its success of 2006 when it was crowned champion of Asia. The quarter-final against Cerezo Osaka is not until September, leaving enough time to increase its lead at the top of the K-League.
Lee may have been grabbing the headlines but it has been a real team effort. Lee pointed to the leadership of Kim Sang-sik in defence. The veteran pulls the strings. Former Korean coach Pim Verbeek often said that Kim was the best player in the country when he had the ball at his feet, so comfortable he was in possession.
The Brazilians in the team Luiz Henrique and especially Eninho have been around for a number of years. Eninho can be inconsistent but often reserves his best performances for the big games. The likes of Kim Dong-chan and Lee Sung-hyun may not grab the headlines but are quietly efficient with Lee being called up to the national team recently. The team’s Chinese midfielder Huang Bowen is also finding his feet in the K-League.
And in long-serving coach Choi Kang-hee, the club has a man who doesn’t say much but has seen it all in Korean and Asian soccer. “We are playing well at the moment but there is still a long way to go this season,” said Choi. “The challenge for us is to be doing the same at the end of the year and be challenging in both Korea and Asia.”
At the moment, nowhere holds any fears for the team from Jeonju.
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World Cup Posters
Euro 2012 football
One team though has been head and shoulders above the rest for much of the current campaign and that is Jeonbuk Motors. The team from Jeonju have found a level of consistency that the other 15 teams simply haven’t been able to match and not only that, it is entertaining fans in the south-west too. As Brazilian playmaker Eninho said on twitter at the weekend, “This is a Motors team without any brakes.”
Until Jeonbuk won the 2006 Asian Champions League, the Jeolla club was never really seen as a major contender in Korean soccer. They would win the occasional cup (which is how it qualified for the continental competition in the first place) but it wasn’t one of the big boys that vied for the league title. That started to change and in 2009, Jeonbuk lifted the golden K-League trophy for the first time. It would not be a surprise at all if it repeated that in 2011.
Just like the famous bi-bim-bap dish that hails from the city, Jeonbuk have all the right ingredients to give fans and players a taste of success. There is a solid foundation in defense, a lively and creative midfield; a strikeforce that can actually score goals with some Brazilian flair adding a little extra spice to what is already a tasty dish.
Jeonbuk are top of the standings with Lee Dong-gook getting most of the headlines. The Lion King’s time as an international is over but the striker is still hungry for success and has managed ten goals already this season. Despite topping the scoring charts along with Sangju’s Kim Jung-woo, Lee is not yet ready to start thinking about winning the Golden Boot just yet. “We have to see after the season is over. I personally want to finish the season without injury,” he said. “This year, I feel comfortable playing because my teammates are scoring easily. The team is getting stronger because many players are scoring goals.”
The former Middlesbrough marksman is right. Jeonbuk has scored an impressive 33 goals already this season in just 14 games. Gwangju was thrashed 6-1 and Incheon swatted aside 6-2. Just last weekend, the Motors came back from 1-0 and 2-1 down at home to Jeju United to win 3-2.
Jeonbuk were also top scorers in the group stage of the Asian Champions League and has been perhaps the most impressive team in the continental competition so far. The team have reached the last eight and could repeat its success of 2006 when it was crowned champion of Asia. The quarter-final against Cerezo Osaka is not until September, leaving enough time to increase its lead at the top of the K-League.
Lee may have been grabbing the headlines but it has been a real team effort. Lee pointed to the leadership of Kim Sang-sik in defence. The veteran pulls the strings. Former Korean coach Pim Verbeek often said that Kim was the best player in the country when he had the ball at his feet, so comfortable he was in possession.
The Brazilians in the team Luiz Henrique and especially Eninho have been around for a number of years. Eninho can be inconsistent but often reserves his best performances for the big games. The likes of Kim Dong-chan and Lee Sung-hyun may not grab the headlines but are quietly efficient with Lee being called up to the national team recently. The team’s Chinese midfielder Huang Bowen is also finding his feet in the K-League.
And in long-serving coach Choi Kang-hee, the club has a man who doesn’t say much but has seen it all in Korean and Asian soccer. “We are playing well at the moment but there is still a long way to go this season,” said Choi. “The challenge for us is to be doing the same at the end of the year and be challenging in both Korea and Asia.”
At the moment, nowhere holds any fears for the team from Jeonju.
Tags
World Cup Pens
World Cup Posters
Euro 2012 football
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