Korean K.League Soccer News - May 2005

John Duerden reports from South Korea's K. League

Bucheon's municipal stadium sits in a fine location, nestled in the hills situated between the unlovely industrial grime of Incheon and the megalopolis that is Seoul.

The city is more famous for its annual film festival than its football team which doesn't attract anywhere near the same crowds but from time to time offers much more drama and entertainment, including the rollerblading track that rings the stadium.

That was the case on May 29th as Busan I'Park, coached by Ian Porterfield came to town. Busan won their group in the AFC Champions League with ease and made the long trip north-west from the south coast full of confidence.

Bucheon, despite finishing bottom for the past two seasons, are not the pushovers they once were and had hopes of moving into the top three. Such dreams were dashed as the visitors took the lead thanks to a Park Seong-bae penalty in the 14th minute. The lead lasted only 11 minutes as Lee Dong-shik equalised foor the hosts.

These relatively early exchanges were completely forgotten in the 78th minutes as Busan's Doh Hwa-sung scored a goal of rare class and sheer impudence. His team had defended a free kick and the 24-year-old picked up the ball in his penalty area and advanced to halfway inside his own half before lobbing the Bucheon keeper, understandably wandering around the edge of the penalty box, from fully 70 yards.

The result lifts Busan up to fourth place, with games in hand on the leaders, a group which surprisingly includes Incheon United.

Three wins from three from last season's strugglers is a fantastic start after a traumatic first season in existence and is testament to Jang Woe-ryong's coaching talents. It is difficult to see United maintaining their position at the summit for the rest of the first stage but three points next weekend's winnable game at home to Chunnam Dragons could see the west coast city start to get excited.

Ulsan Hyundai Horangi are predictably hanging around near the top along with Pohang Steelers but it is at the bottom of the table that makes surprising reading.

It has taken Chonbuk Motors four games to score a goal, albeit a penalty, but the 2004 AFC Champions League semi-finalists still sit rooted to the bottom.

Suwon Samsung Bluewings may have only played two games but a failure to win next weekend for the visit of Busan would signal a terrible start to the season for the defending champions, especially after their mid-week elimination from the AFC Champions League. Coach Cha Bum-keun can point to a number of injuries to key players and others away on international duty but the team should still have the squad not to concede four at Daegu.

Seongnam's poor start is less of a surprise as despite winning the title in 2001, 2002 and 2003, last season was a poor one for the powerhouse. A new coach Kim Hak-bum is in place just south of Seoul and has a big job on his hands to transform the club into genuine title challengers.

FC Seoul will be disappointed with four points from four games, including a 5-3 home defeat at home to Gwangju, which included a hat-trick from new star, Park Chu Young, who has now fought his way into the national set-up at the tender age of 19.

World Cup

Despite sitting on top of Group A, South Korea haven't been totally convincing in the three games so far, which have included home victories against Kuwait and Uzbekistan and an away defeat at Saudi Arabia.

Two difficult away fixtures in Uzbekistan on June 3rd is followed by a trip to Kuwait five days later, will go a long way to deciding if the country qualifies for a seventh successive World Cup.

Coach Jo Bonfrere has a fit Ahn Jung-hwan to call upon as well as Park Chu-young and both are battling along with Lee Dong-guk for the strikers' places. Lee has been in fine form for the national team despite failing to find the net so far this season for Pohang Steelers.

Ahn has also been performing well since his return from injury with Yokohama F Marinos in the J-League but it is unclear if the Dutchman is a fan of the mercurial striker. Park could be too young to play a major role but it wouldn't be a surprise to see the FC Seoul striker playing some part in the two games, ahead of the World Youth Championship starting a week later, a tournament in which the teenager is expected to shine.

AFC Champions League

Unsurprisngly, Busan I'Park marched into the last eight with six wins and 25 goals and find themselves Korea's only representatives in the knockout stage as Suwon Samsung Bluewings fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Group E rivals Shenzhen Jianlibao.

The defeat was a shock as the Chinese champions have endured a horrible start to the new season domestically, and were not expected to defeat the South Korean powerhouse.

The draw for the quarter-finals will be made in June and the teams that will be involved when the games kick-off in September are – Busan I'Park (Korea) Shandnong Luneng, Shenzhen Jianlbao (China), holders Al Ittihad, Al Ahli (Saudi Arabia), Pas (Iran), Al Sadd (Qatar) and 2003 winners Al Ain (UAE).

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K. League Standings May 29th

John Duerden

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