Korea DPR downs Qatar, 1-0

December 31, 2009

Korea DPR made it two wins from at the Friendship Tournament on Wednesday as a solitary goal beat hosts Qatar 1-0 in Doha.

Just two days after downing Iran 1-0 in the same tournament, the Koreans put themselves in position to win the competition as Choe Chol-Man’s goal in the 59th minute downed the Qataris, who had fallen to Mali in their opener on Monday.

Choe’s goal was his seventh in seventh in international competition, but his first since a six-goal salvo back in 2005. The 24-year-old, who plays for 4.25 Sports Group in Nampho, is making a bid to return to Kim Jong-Hun’s squad for South Africa.

Korea DPR play their final game of the tournament on Saturday against Mali and open World Cup play on 15 June in Johannesburg against Brazil.

Mali beat Iran 2-1 in the day’s other match.

Tags: 59th minute, beat hosts, brazil, Doha, final game, friendship tournament, international competition, Iran, johannesburg, Kim Jong-, Korea, korea dpr, koreans, mali, match, Qatar, solitary goal, South Africa, sports group, World Cup

Pohang Steelers grab World Club Cup third spot

December 19, 2009

Pohang Steelers beat Mexican club Atlante 4-3 on penalties to clinch third place in the Club World Cup here on Saturday.

The Koreans went ahead in the 42nd minute through a Denilson strike – his fourth in the tournament.

However, the equaliser for the CONCACAF champions came within a minute of the restart when Rafael Marquez scored on a Gabriel Pereyra cross.

Asian Champions League winners Steelers were the more aggressive throughout and had several chances to finish the match in regulation time.

Denilson could have scored much earlier, but his brilliant solo effort from his own half in the 22nd minute was stopped by Atlante goalkeeper Federico Vilar.

A minute after Denilson’s goal, Choi Hyo-Jin almost added a second but even as he beat Vilar, his push was cleared by Martinez.

For Atlante, Pereyra’s header in the dying minutes came back off the post.

In the shoot-out, Marquez failed to convert for the Mexicans as did Horacio Peralta.

For the Koreans, Park Hee Chul missed but the team took victory when Kim Hyun-gil scored.

A delighted Steelers coach Sergio Farias said: “To finish third at a world finals is a great result for this young squad.

“I’m pleased with our performance. Coming here was a great experience and I hope we can qualify for next year’s tournament.”

Atlante coach Jose Cruz said: “We’re sad to have lost. Pohang played well, although I think we played a little better and deserved to win. We had a lot of chances in the second half but just couldn’t put them away. We’re going home with our heads held high.”

Later Saturday, Barcelona tackle Estudiantes in the final.

ABU DHABI (AFP)

Tags: abu dhabi, asian champions league, Barcelona, club atlante, club world cup, concacaf champions, denilson, equaliser, farias, gabriel pereyra, horacio peralta, jin, jose cruz, Kim Hyun-gil, koreans, league winners, pohang steelers, rafael marquez, regulation time, Sergio Farias, shoot out, solo effort

Pohang beat Al Ittihad to win AFC Champions League

November 7, 2009

Pohang Steelers of South Korea shocked two-time champions Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia 2-1 to capture the AFC Champions League title on Saturday.

With the win, Pohang bagged a berth in the FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates from December 9-19.

It was a third time the Koreans have won the continental title, following their victories in the former Asian Club Championship in 1997 and 1998.

They eliminated Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan and Umm-Salal of Qatar on their way to the final.

TOKYO (AFP)

Tags: afc champions league, AFP, Al-Ittihad, asian club championship, berth, continental title, fifa club world cup, koreans, pohang steelers, Qatar, saudi arabia, south korea, third time, time champions, tokyo, Umm-Salal, united arab emirates, uzbekistan

Korea subdues Mexico on penalties at U-17 World Cup

November 6, 2009

Mexico surrendered a goal 1:13 into second-half injury time and then was outlasted on penalties 5-3 by Korea Republic to be eliminated from the Under-17 World Cup on Thursday.

Mexico was the last team from CONCACAF to be ousted, joining Honduras and Costa Rica, who failed to get past the group stage, and the United States, which was beaten by Italy 2-1 in its second-round match on Wednesday.

Mexico, which had the better of play, seemed headed for the quarterfinals until second-half substitute Kim Dong-jin scored his first goal for his country in injury time. Yun Il-lok worked his way to the byline before sending a sharp low ball into the middle of the box, where Kim volleyed it with his left foot, sending just inside the far post to equalize 1-1.

Guillermo Madrigal gave Mexico the lead in the 44th minute, running onto a through ball from Victor Manon in the area and lifting it over sprawled Korean goalkeeper Kim Jin-young from near the byline.

Mexico appeared to have scored an insurance goal in the 87th. Kristian Alvarez was unmarked at the right post to head in Carlos Campos’ free kick from the near touchline, but TV replays clearly showed the defender offside.

Goalkeeper Jose Rodriguez kept Korea Republic goalless in the 90th, positioning himself to block a right-footed poke from Lee Jong-ho after the Korean and beaten the Mexican defense to the left post.

After Lee Kang converted his penalty to put Korea Republic ahead in the shootout, Kim Jin-young dived to his left to block Campos on his attempt. An Jin-beom, Kim Jin-su, Lee Jong-ho and Lee Min-soo then converted their penalty attempts to send the Koreans to a quarterfinal showdown against either host Nigeria or New Zealand.

BAUCHI, Nigeria

Source

Tags: BAUCHI, Carlos Campos, concacaf, Costa Rica, dong jin, free kick, Goalkeeper, group stage, Guillermo Madrigal, injury time, Italy, jose rodriguez, Kim, kim dong, Kim Dong-jin, Kim Jin-su, Kim Jin-young, korea republic, koreans, kristian alvarez, Lee Jong-ho, Lee Kang, Lee Min-soo, left foot, madrigal, manon, Mexico, New Zealand, nigeria, offside, quarterfinal showdown, touchline, United States, Victor Mañon

United States falls to Korea Republic, likely out of U-20s

October 3, 2009

The United States surrendered a pair of first-half goals and was beaten 3-0 by Korea Republic on Friday at the Under-20 World Cup that likely ended its chances of advancing to the second round.

The Americans collected managed only one shot on goal, collected five yellow cards and finished with 10 men after defender Ike Opara earned his second caution in the 73rd minute.

The result left the United States in third place with three points and a minus-3 goal difference, unlikely to earn it a place in the round-of-16.

Korea had the better of play early and hit the post in the 21st minute when Koo Ja-cheol found a bounding ball at his feet in the middle of the area after a corner kick and unleashed a shot that U.S. goalkeeper Brian Perk slid to get his feet to, knocking off the underside of the crossbar.

Another corner two minutes later gave Korea Republic the lead when a similarly loose ball was corralled by Kim Young-gwon and he curled a left-footer off the upper left post and into the goal.

Korea Republic doubled the lead three minutes before halftime. Park He-seong looped a cross from the right that just cleared the head of U.S. defender Sheanon Williams and to Kim Bo-kyung, who settled with his chest and easily beat Perk.

The Asians again had the better of play in the second half and assured their victory when Okpara hip-checked Koo to knock him off the ball, earning the Koreans a penalty and the American defender his second yellow.

The Americans will have to wait for the remainder of the group stage to be completed to see it they will get a berth in the second round.

SUEZ, Egypt

Source

Tags: berth, brian perk, corner kick, crossbar, Egypt, goal difference, Goalkeeper, group stage, gwon, Kim Bo-kyung, Korea, korea republic, koreans, left footer, loose ball, opara, suez, suez egypt, three minutes, two minutes, U.S, United States, World Cup, yellow cards

Koreans hold Germany at U-20 World Cup

September 29, 2009

Korea Republic kept Under-20 World Cup hope alive with a slightly surprising 1-1 draw against Germany on Tuesday.

The Germans had already won their opening match and knew that a second win would guarantee a spot in the round of sixteen.

Things initially went according to plan for the Germans, as Leverkusen striker Richard Sukuta-Pasu opened the score after 33 minutes at Suez’ As-Suwais stadium.

But the Koreans wouldn’t give up and got an equalizer through Min-Woo Kim in minute 71.

Germany play their final group match against Cameroon on Friday, while Korea need a win against the United States.

Jonathan Roorda

Tags: cameroon, equalizer, final group, germans, Germany, jonathan, Kim, korea republic, koreans, LEVERKUSEN, match, Min-Woo, pasu, Richard Sukuta-, score, striker, u 20 world cup, United States

South Korea beat Australia in friendly

September 5, 2009

South Korea beat Australia 3-1 in an international friendly this Saturday, eight years after the two teams last met.

The home side went ahead after just five minutes, as a mistake from Shane Stefanutto eventually allowed Park Chu-Young to send a low shot past keeper Schwarzer.

The second goal came 15 minutes later, this time with Lee Jang-Soo converting from close range.

Australia then got one back in the 33rd minute as Patrick Kisnorbo headed into an empty net from a Mark Bresciano corner kick, but Seol Ki-Hyeon celebrated his return to the national team by scoring for 3-1 with four minutes left.

The two teams last met at the 2001 Confederations Cup, a match won 1-0 by the Koreans.

Tags: 15 minutes, Australia, close range, confederations cup, corner kick, five minutes, four minutes, jang, ki, koreans, lee jang soo, Lee Jang-, Mark Bresciano, match, mistake, Patrick Kisnorbo, seol ki hyeon, shane, Shane Stefanutto, south korea

Park sets bar for Premier League´s Asian stars

July 30, 2009

After two decades as Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson has grown used to watching his players treated like idols across the world, but even he was taken aback by the fervour that greeted Park Ji-Sung in South Korea during the club’s recent pre-season tour.

Park is by far South Korea’s most successful football export and he heads into his fifth season with United firmly established as a key figure in Ferguson’s squad.

So when Park returned home with United for the first time in July, his compatriots were determined to pay tribute to their hero.

They flocked to the airport to greet him when United arrived in Korea and, although Park was not fully fit, Ferguson felt compelled to send him on as a substitute in the friendly against FC Seoul.

Tickets for the match had sold out in hours and fans raised the roof for Park’s 17-minute appearance.

“Two years ago he was injured and didn’t play but I think he still got man of the match!” Ferguson said. “It shows you they have fanatical football supporters here. Korea is a football nation.”

While other Asians have enjoyed fruitful careers in Europe, none have managed to scale the heights that Park has reached.

His hard work and ability to find space that others fail to see quickly impressed Ferguson and, as United rolled to a hat-trick of Premier League titles, Park has become a more regular name in the team.

The 28-year-old became the first Asian to captain United soon after joining the club from PSV Eindhoven in 2005, but his crowning glory arrived in May this year when Park became Asia’s first representative in a Champions League final.

Ultimately that balmy evening in Rome ended in disappointment as United were easily beaten by Barcelona, but for Park it the culmination of a dream he thought may never come true when he was left out of United’s squad for the final against Chelsea a year earlier.

His value to United doesn’t just lie on the pitch though. Koreans have purchased 1.2 million United credit cards since Park moved to Old Trafford and merchandise sales continue to climb in Asia.

It was no surprise he signed a new four-year contract with United in May. But while Park has plenty to look forward to, some of his compatriots playing in England face a more uncertain future.

Fulham’s Seol Ki-Hyeon spent the second half of last season on loan at Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia. Seol played just six times for Fulham in 2008-09, yet the 30-year-old winger insists he wants to stay and fight for his place this season.

Another South Korean unsure if he will get a chance to prove his worth is Cho Won-Hee, who joined Wigan in March after trials with Monaco and Schalke.

Cho was injured on international duty soon after arriving in Lancashire and had to wait until the final game of the season against Stoke to make his debut.

Now Steve Bruce, the manager who signed Cho, has moved on to Sunderland, and the Korean will have to impress new boss Roberto Martinez instead.

Kim Do-Heon’s brief stay at West Bromwich Albion ended in July when the Korean returned to Suwon Bluewings in a 360,000 pounds transfer after struggling to make an impact in his year in England.

South Korea winger Lee Chung-Yong has much more to look forward to after completing a 2.1 million pounds transfer to Bolton from FC Seoul in July.

The 21-year-old, who has helped Seoul reach the AFC Champions League quarter-finals, said: “I had considered the transfer options several times because FC Seoul have a good chance to be number one in Asia and Korea.

“But I wanted to accept this challenge to join Bolton because such chances don’t come often.”

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: alex ferguson, balmy evening, compatriots, credit cards, crowning glory, culmination, fifth season, football export, football supporters, hat trick, ji sung, koreans, league titles, manchester united, park ji sung, park mo, premier league, sir alex ferguson, south korea

Bolton target Korea´s Lee Chung-yong

July 16, 2009

English premiership club Bolton are aiming to recruit 20-year-old South Korea winger Lee Chung-yong, local media reported on Wednesday.

K League side FC Seoul confirmed their midfielder was the subject of an offer from Trotters manager Gary Megson, but the Koreans said a deal was far from concluded to bring Lee to the Reebok stadium.

Lee’s agent Kim Sung-tae claims a deal will be struck which would eclipse the record for a South Korean moving overseas, which was set in 2003 when Lee Chun-soo moved to Spain’s Real Sociedad for 3.5 million dollars (2.4 million euro).

Bolton are currently at a fitness training camp in Austria.

LONDON (AFP)