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With the World Cup just a month away, South Korean coach Dick Advocaat named his World Cup squad of 23 and declared that ‘our first target is the second round’.
There were few surprises in the eagerly-awaited announcement, the main issue of contention being which hero of 2002 the Dutchman would opt for on the right side - Cha Du-ri or Song Chong-guk.
In the end it was Song who got the nod, leaving the Eintracht Frankfurt forward with a place on the five-strong standby list which will be called upon in one of the original 23 picks up an injury.
The only surprise inclusion was that of Kim Yong-dae. The Seongnam goalkeeper has yet to feature in Advocaat’s seven month reign so far and it was thought that 2002 World Cup understudy Kim Byung-ji would join the squad to provide some experienced cover for Lee Woon-jae.
The omitted shotstopper joins Cha on the reserve list as do defenders Jang Hak-young and Yoo Kyoung-ryeol and midfielder Kim Jung-woo.
However, in a packed conference room in north-west Seoul, a bullish but relaxed Advocaat preferred to talk about the players that had been chosen, stressing that the decision had not been easy.
“We made the final decision after last night’s (K-League) games but I don’t want anybody to think that it was an overnight process- we thought long and hard about it.
“Our staff has travelled a lot- with the team in the overseas tour and since then watching the players in Europe as well as here in Korea. The result is, I think, a balanced squad that can surprise the world.”
However, the Taeguk Warriors must first overcome France, Togo and Switzerland in Group G in Germany. Advocaat may have been dizzy from a thousand flashes but he was clear about what he wanted.
“It’s hard to say but quality wise we are better than 2002 though we don’t have home advantage and the fans. Our strength is that this team has a great team spirit, likes to win and attack. If we can balance that with a well-organised defence then we can reach the second round –that’s the target at the moment.”
According to recent polls, over 90% of fans in South Korea expect the team to do just that with most predicting progress beyond the last sixteen, though the Netherlands 1994 World Cup coach prefers to talk about a stage at a time.
“Then we will probably face Spain or Ukraine and then anything can happen – that’s the same for every other team and that’s what happened in 2002.”
Despite the optimism, there was acknowledgement that there is much work to be done before the opening game with Togo in Frankfurt on June13.
“There is one thing we have to improve -when we don’t have the ball, we have to get it back quickly. When we have the ball, we must have the intention to score as we have the players to score against the tightest defences.”
The squad, minus Lee Eul-young who is still in action in Turkey, will meet at the national football center in Paju this weekend for a training camp that will also involve warm-up games with Senegal and Bosnia on May 23 and 26 respectively.
“The squad will gather on Sunday and meet the medical staff on Monday and we’ll find the way to go forward. We have to find the right way to train and keep them fit. We don’t want to make the mistake that many coaches made in 2002, that of working the players too hard before the competition.
“Teams that were fresh in 2002 did well – like Korea and America. Other teams arrived after long, hard seasons –like France and Argentina- were very tired.”
Fatigue will not be a problem for those players not involved though the coach did have a message for them.
“Players that are not involved will be disappointed – that’s normal, they should be. They have to show us next time that they are better players, if they had done that before, they would be in the squad now. Some people will have other names, that’s understandable –but we know what we are doing.”
The world will see in June.
GK
Lee Woon-jae (Suwon Samsung Bluewings)
Kim Yong-dae (Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma)
Kim Young-kwang (Chunnam Dragons)
DF
Choi Jin-cheul (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors)
Cho Won-hee (Suwon Samsung Bluewings)
Lee Young-pyo (Tottenham Hotspur, England)
Kim Dong-jin (FC Seoul)
Kim Sang-shik (Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma)
Kim Yong-chul (Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma)
Kim Jin-kyu (Jubilo Iwata, Japan)
Song Chong-guk (Suwon Samsung Bluewings)
MF
Baek Ji-hoon (FC Seoul)
Kim Nam-il ( Suwon Samsung Bluewings)
Park Ji-sung (ManchesterUnited, England)
Kim Doo-heon (Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma)
Lee Eul-yong (Trabszonspor, Turkey)
Lee Ho (Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i)
FW
Park Chu Young (FC Seoul)
Ahn Jung-hwan (MSV Duisberg, Germany)
Lee Chun-soo (Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i)
Seol Ki-hyeon (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England)
Chung Kyung-ho (Gwangju Sangmu)
Cho Jae-jin (ShimizuS-Pulse, Japan)
Stand-by
Kim Byung-ji (FC Seoul)
Yoo Kyoung-ryeol (Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i)
Jong Hak-yong (Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma)
Kim Jung-woo (Nagoya Grampus Eight, Japan)
Cha Du-ri (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany)
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