2010 just keeps getting better and better for South Korean football and it could end on a real high if Seongnam Ilwha Chunma defeat European champions Inter Milan in the Club World Cup semi-final in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
It is a rare chance for a team from the K-League to mix it with the best in the world and fans back in East Asia will be eagerly tuning in to see if the seven-time champions can shock one of the biggest names in the world of football. If it happens, then a final is on the cards against either TP Mazembe of Congo and Brazil’s Internacional, no relation to the Italians.
Seongnam’s coach Shin Tae-yong thinks that the final is possible. Shin, just 40, led the team to the Asian Champions League title in November with a 3-1 win over Zob Ahan of Iran in Tokyo. That also granted access to the intercontinental competition behind held in United Arab Emirates.
On Saturday, Seongnam blew away local team Al Wahda with a 4-1 win. It was a fine display of clinical attacking soccer and served notice to the Italians, who won the European title with a victory over Bayern Munich back in May, that it will be a tough game in the fast-growing sporting city. Mauricio Molina, Sasa Ognenovski, Choi Sung-kuk and Cho Dong-keon were all on target for the K-League team.
“Inter are the top team in the world so it won’t be an easy game, but our players are here to do our very best and I’m sure we’ll play well against them," Shin said .“As an Asian team if we do get to the finals it will be an honour to Asia, to me and the players it will be a great honour.
“Inter are a very good team, but to challenge them at least once is a goal for all Asian teams. In Korea there is a proverb that goes something like ‘better than death is to challenge’ and we’ll apply that in the match. If we can show them that we can be in the same game as them, it will be great for us."
Inter boasts world stars such as the Netherlands’ Wesley Sneijder, one of the best players of 2010, Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito of Argentina and Sweden’s star Zlatan Ibrahamovic. It quite a line-up but the Nerazzurri, the blue-and-blacks, have not been in the best of form this season.
New coach Rafa Benitez, the Spaniard who took Liverpool to the 2005 European title, has found it tough to match the achievement of Jose Mourinho. The former Porto and Chelsea coach left to take control of Real Madrid in the summer. It has even been suggested that failure in this competition could cost Benitez his job. Three losses in the last four games in Italy have left the team in the unfamiliar position of sixth in the Serie A standings.
Benitez is aware of the rumours and reports.
“There is talk about many possible replacements for me, but I am the Inter coach, I want to win this Club World Cup and I am sure that if I do so, I will be here for a long time yet."
Shin has been called the “Asian Mourinho” for his confident comments but knows that the odds are against his team.
“In the media they’re talking a lot about Inter’s conflicts at home, but I’m not really concerned about that. The coach and players if they have a purpose and goal they’ll have a great game.
“If they show their unity they can beat us, but if we challenge them I’m sure there is a weakness because of their conflicts at home.”
“In the locker room I will tell them it’s worth a try because they will never have an opportunity like that, and now that we have an opportunity we should definitely make the most of it.”
Whatever happens, it will be a night to remember for Seongnam’s players. The eleven who swatted aside Al Wahda, supported by a passionate Abu Dhabi crowd of 35,000, will be desperate to take on the Italians.
It has been some year for the club on and increasingly off the field. The Asian success put around $2.5 million in the coffers and, so far, the Club World Cup has added another $2million. A win over Inter would add an extra $3million.
But now is not the time to think about money. Seongnam has a game against one of the biggest teams in the world.
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Minggu, 12 Desember 2010
Jumat, 26 Maret 2010
Seongnam Set Sights On Former Glories
It wouldn’t be the K-League without a strong Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. The Yellows have won seven league titles and possess the biggest trophy cabinet in the southern half of the peninsula. It was 2006 however when the golden trophy last resided just south of Seoul. Since then, Pohang, Suwon and, most recently, Jeonbuk have claimed the mantle.
The second half of 2008 and the first half of 2009 was a tough time for the club’s fans. Kim Hak-bom had led Seongnam playing attractive and successful football but the gruff tactician’s powers seemed to fade after four years at the helm. At the end of 2008, the former powerhouse looked a little slow and predictable and it was no surprise when Kim was out of the door.
The identity of the new man was something of a surprise. Shin Tae-yong may have been called ‘Mr Seongnam’ due to the fact that he spent 12 seasons with the club as a player but when he was appointed as coach, he had little experience to suggest that he could lead the club back to the summit. As his playing career started to come to an end, Shin headed to Australia and the new A-League. The midfielder barely got a chance to show Queensland Roar fans what he was made of before injury intervened. Shin stayed on with the Brisbane-based club as an assistant coach.
Still, few expected the 39 year-old to be announced as Seongnam coach for the 2009 season. It didn’t start well. Australian football is regarded as one where power is more prized than technique. Shin seemed to confirm that stereotype by introducing a more direct style to a Seongnam team that had long been known for a fluid passing game. In came giant Montenegrin marksman Dzenan Radoncic – a striker not known for his subtlety - and from Australia came a defender that was just as big, Sasa Ognenovski.
The first half few months were disappointing. The team looked disjointed and toothless. Over time though, results and performances started to improve and in the second half of the season, Seongnam was the team in the best form. That was partly due to the arrival of Mauricio Molina. The former Colombian international quickly established himself as the leading foreign player in the league. His goals, his passing, his creativity and set piece ability have all played their parts.
Seongnam made it to the final of the championship play-off series at the end of the season, only to lose out to Jeonbuk Motors.
Even with the undoubted class of Molina, not much was expected in 2010 as Seongnam lost its midfield heartbeat. Star player Kim Jung-woo answered the call of the military and started his two-year stint with Gwangju Sangmu while partner Lee Ho answered the call of his wallet by accepting a big-money move to UAE club Al Ain.
So far at least, they haven’t been missed. Last Friday, Jeonbuk became the first team to score a goal against this Seongnam team in 2010. Prior to that, Shin’s men had won two Asian Champions League matches, defeating the highly-rated Kawasaki Frontale of Japan 2-0 before heading to Australia to win by the same scoreline at the home of Melbourne Victory.
Earlier this week came the visit of Beijing Guoan. The Chinese champions, like Seongnam, had won both games so far and took the lead through former Scottish international Maurice Ross. Three goals in the last 12 minutes from the Korean team means that Seongnam are looking very good indeed for a place in the second round.
Domestically, the start to the K-League was just as good. An opening weekend 3-0 against Gangwon FC was followed by a demolition of Incheon United. The usually solid west coast team was thrashed 6-0 by a rampant Seongnam.
Then the Yellows went to the home of the Jeonbuk and came within a whisker of winning. Only a 94th minute free-kick from Eninho gave the host a 1-1 tie and stopped Seongnam moving to the top of the K-League standings.
Jeonbuk coach Choi Kang-hee was relieved after the final whistle. “Seongnam is a very good and balanced team,” said Choi. “It was a really tough game for us and we are just happy that we managed to get a goal at the end.”
It is a measure of how well Seongnam is doing that coach Shin was disappointed with a 1-1 tie at the home of the champions.
“We missed lots of chances and that is why we didn’t win the game,” he said. “it is always hard to concede such a late goal but overall we played well. We are going well and feeling confident but we know that the season is just beginning.”
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Soccer News football
The second half of 2008 and the first half of 2009 was a tough time for the club’s fans. Kim Hak-bom had led Seongnam playing attractive and successful football but the gruff tactician’s powers seemed to fade after four years at the helm. At the end of 2008, the former powerhouse looked a little slow and predictable and it was no surprise when Kim was out of the door.
The identity of the new man was something of a surprise. Shin Tae-yong may have been called ‘Mr Seongnam’ due to the fact that he spent 12 seasons with the club as a player but when he was appointed as coach, he had little experience to suggest that he could lead the club back to the summit. As his playing career started to come to an end, Shin headed to Australia and the new A-League. The midfielder barely got a chance to show Queensland Roar fans what he was made of before injury intervened. Shin stayed on with the Brisbane-based club as an assistant coach.
Still, few expected the 39 year-old to be announced as Seongnam coach for the 2009 season. It didn’t start well. Australian football is regarded as one where power is more prized than technique. Shin seemed to confirm that stereotype by introducing a more direct style to a Seongnam team that had long been known for a fluid passing game. In came giant Montenegrin marksman Dzenan Radoncic – a striker not known for his subtlety - and from Australia came a defender that was just as big, Sasa Ognenovski.
The first half few months were disappointing. The team looked disjointed and toothless. Over time though, results and performances started to improve and in the second half of the season, Seongnam was the team in the best form. That was partly due to the arrival of Mauricio Molina. The former Colombian international quickly established himself as the leading foreign player in the league. His goals, his passing, his creativity and set piece ability have all played their parts.
Seongnam made it to the final of the championship play-off series at the end of the season, only to lose out to Jeonbuk Motors.
Even with the undoubted class of Molina, not much was expected in 2010 as Seongnam lost its midfield heartbeat. Star player Kim Jung-woo answered the call of the military and started his two-year stint with Gwangju Sangmu while partner Lee Ho answered the call of his wallet by accepting a big-money move to UAE club Al Ain.
So far at least, they haven’t been missed. Last Friday, Jeonbuk became the first team to score a goal against this Seongnam team in 2010. Prior to that, Shin’s men had won two Asian Champions League matches, defeating the highly-rated Kawasaki Frontale of Japan 2-0 before heading to Australia to win by the same scoreline at the home of Melbourne Victory.
Earlier this week came the visit of Beijing Guoan. The Chinese champions, like Seongnam, had won both games so far and took the lead through former Scottish international Maurice Ross. Three goals in the last 12 minutes from the Korean team means that Seongnam are looking very good indeed for a place in the second round.
Domestically, the start to the K-League was just as good. An opening weekend 3-0 against Gangwon FC was followed by a demolition of Incheon United. The usually solid west coast team was thrashed 6-0 by a rampant Seongnam.
Then the Yellows went to the home of the Jeonbuk and came within a whisker of winning. Only a 94th minute free-kick from Eninho gave the host a 1-1 tie and stopped Seongnam moving to the top of the K-League standings.
Jeonbuk coach Choi Kang-hee was relieved after the final whistle. “Seongnam is a very good and balanced team,” said Choi. “It was a really tough game for us and we are just happy that we managed to get a goal at the end.”
It is a measure of how well Seongnam is doing that coach Shin was disappointed with a 1-1 tie at the home of the champions.
“We missed lots of chances and that is why we didn’t win the game,” he said. “it is always hard to concede such a late goal but overall we played well. We are going well and feeling confident but we know that the season is just beginning.”
Tags
Soccer News football
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