South Korea, or Korea Republic as FIFA wishes to recognise them as, are one of the major outsiders of the 2010 World Cup.
Okay, they reached the semi-final of the 2002 tournament but that was on home soil and amidst some suspect results. Defeating Portugal, Italy and Spain would be unthinkable in South Africa for the Asian side, but, that’s exactly what they did eight years ago.
Pitted amongst Argentina, Greece and Nigeria it is difficult to see the Koreans picking up any points in Group B and probably any kind of a result will be celebrated by their enormous fan base as a huge triumph.
They finished top of Group B in the Asian qualifying stages but how are we supposed to draw comparisons from wins against United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia?
Perhaps one glimmer of light for the Koreans going into the finals is the fact that they won both friendly matches against the Ivory Coast and Ecuador earlier this year.
Star player: Park Ji-Sung
There’s nobody else in the running for South Korea’s star player and the pressure will firmly rest upon the Manchester United midfielder’s shoulders. The 29-year-old will wear the captain’s armband and has 86 international caps under his belt.
Park made 26 appearances for Man United in the season just ended, getting on the score sheet four times in the process, and is a football icon for millions of football fanatics across Asia.
Park Chu-Young, who plies his trade with French side AS Monaco, will be the most likely source of goals in South Africa and his understanding with Park Ji-Sung may be worth watching out for.
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Park Ji-Sung in action for South Korea against Ecuador.
Manager: Huh Jung-Moo
This is currently Huh’s third stint in charge of the Korean Republic national team. He returned for the third time in 2007 but hasn’t always been a popular choice despite the fact that he played 84 times for his country and spent three years as a player with PSV Eindhoven.
In 1998, when Huh was appointed for his second term, he opted to bring in unknown players (including Park Ji-Sung) to replace the so-called stars of the side. After stern criticism, Huh was eventually sacked in 2000, and up until his most recent appointment the KFA banked with foreign managers.
If Huh is to have any success in South Africa it will deliver a huge message of “I told you so.â€
Prediction: Group Stage Exit
Unless the opposition are struck down with food poisoning I can’t see South Korea going anywhere but straight home after the Group stage.
The best they could hope for would be to sneak a draw against Nigeria in the final round as both nations could be out of the running by that stage.
Odds: 250/1
Irishness rating: 6/10
Not a massive connection with the Koreans, however, there is a strong contingent of young Irish people teaching English out there at the moment so maybe they are adopting the nation as their own for the World Cup.
If they were a car they’d be…
The Kia – they produced 1.6 million of them last year and the meaning of the Korean word Kia is “to arise to the world out of Asia.†That’s just what they will have to do in South Africa.
