Asian Cup 2004: Korea Go Home Early

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John Duerden looks at Korea's early exit from the Asian Cup

It must have been fairly bewildering for new Korean coach Jo Bonfrere. The Dutchman was appointed to his post less than a month before the start of the Asian Cup.

However, one advantage to embarking on a major tournament so soon into his stewardship is that he now has a much better idea of the task facing him and it's looking like a considerable one.

The record books will show that South Korea topped their group fairly comfortably before succumbing to Iran in an epic 4-3 struggle but tables and results don't reflect the feeling that the Korean national team is at a crossroads.

The summer of 2002 seems like an age away and the Reds are in danger of slipping back into the mire of mediocrity on the global stage.

Unfortunately for Korea it is still virtually impossible to write an article about the former world semi-finalists without mentioning Guus Hiddink. The shadow of the current manager of PSV Eindhoven still looms large in this corner of North-East Asia.

It was even said that it was Hiddink who recommended his compatriot to succeed Humberto Coelho who had left the post by mutual consent in April after a string of poor results.

Still, the appointment of Bonfrere was a surprise as he was unheard of in Korea. After the initial disappointment of not getting one of the "big names" that were on the KFA's shortlist, any Korean fans examining his record would probably be unable to say if it was an impressive one or not.

The former MVV Maastricht player has a wealth of global experience both at domestic and international levels with his most notable achievement arguably the guiding of Nigeria to the 1996 Olympic gold.

Also encouraging is the new coach's Asian experience. Spells managing Qatar (twice) and the UAE have been interspersed with three stints with Al Wahda, one of the UAE's top domestic clubs. However, since taking over the reins at Qatar in 1997, the Dutchman has seemed unable to hold a job down for long.

The Korean job is his eighth in seven years. If he sees out his contract which runs up to the end of the 2006 World Cup it will have been his longest-serving tenure as a manager since leaving his beloved Maastricht in 1990.

The number one target Bruno Metsu priced himself out of the market and then claimed that he was never interested in the job. The other big names on the list didn't seem to be interested and Mick McCarthy was busy with Sunderland.

Bonfrere's name wasn't even on the list. Bonfrere has a tough job on his hands convincing the Korean public that he didn't get the job simply because he was available.

Still, Bonfrere probably has an easier task than his immediate predecessor, Humberto Coelho. It is surely better to succeed the man who succeeded the successful Hiddink. The laid-back coach from Portugal complained of a lack of support from the KFA and high expectations from the Korean public.

Coelho's departure from Korea and his criticism seems to have provoked some kind of soul-searching inside the KFA, which probably intensified as their own search to tempt a replacement to Seoul drew a number of blanks.

Maybe the Korean job wasn't as hot as they believed. It could be that Coelho's most significant contribution to Korean football is that subsequent coaches could receive a greater degree of support from the KFA.

Greater understanding seems to be the order of the day in the press too. The papers never warmed to Coelho and his easy-going ways. Grunts of approval have been heard as Bonfrere seems to be following his compatriot's strictness in his dealings with the Korean players.

This new-found understanding seems to have extended to Korea's premature exit from the Asian Cup which has not been greeted with the vitriol that surely would have been come Coelho's way had he still been the coach.

This is partly because the Korean team was weakened by the KFA's decision to remove captain Yoo Sang-chul and the influential Song Chong-gug from the Asian Cup squad in order to send them to Athens instead. However, the media seems to be holding back and "giving the new guy a chance".

The Asian Cup was a mixed bag for the Koreans. A disappointing goalless draw against the defence-minded Jordanians cemented fears that Korea simply wasn't able to score goals before a flattering 2-0 victory over the UAE gave the team some breathing space.

This confidence and comfort zone enabled the Asian Champions of 1956 and 1960 to contemptuously brush aside a disappointing Kuwait 4-0.

Winning the group led to a quarter-final clash against an Iranian side weakened by injuries and suspensions. A thrilling game saw the two Asian giants trading punch after punch before Iran landed the killer blow in the 78th minute.

Korea had come from behind three times but the relative lateness of Ali Karimi's third goal enabled Iran to concentrate on defence and Korea never came close to equalising for a fourth time. Korea could have no complaints about the result.

It is likely that on the short journey back to Seoul from Jinan in China, Bonfrere would have had more questions than answers. Despite a truly awful goalscoring record since the World Cup (which itself only saw six goals in six competitive games), the Koreans managed to score a creditable nine in four in China, albeit against relatively weak opposition.

One reason for this was the return of Lee Dong-gook. Lee likes the Asian Cup, as he was the top scorer in the 2000 version in the Lebanon with six goals. However, at the age of 23, the young striker was overlooked by Hiddink in 2002.

The omission meant that Lee wasn't granted an exemption that was given to the World Cup heroes from the two-year military service period that all Korean males have to serve. As a result Lee is currently playing with Gwangju Sangmu, the K-League's military team. However, Lee has shot himself right back to the front of the striker's queue with four in four in the competition, all goals being well-taken.

Where does this leave Ahn Jung-hwan? Seemingly, as Korea's new super-sub. The shaven-headed Cha Du-ri was preferred to Asia's Beckham for all of the games barring the goalless first.

After the Jordan stalemate, Bonfrere complained that Ahn had returned from the J-League season unfit, without the stamina to play a full game. Ominously for Ahn and his new moustache, Bonfrere claimed to have many replacements for the star of the 2002 World Cup. The Yokohama striker came off the bench to score twice but will still be concerned that his place in the team and the 2006 World Cup is under serious threat.

Despite scoring nine times, Bonfrere will be concerned about the foundation of Korea's recent success - the defence. Perhaps it was just a blip but Iran and the skilful Mahdavikia and the unstoppable Ali Karimi caused problems down Korea's left-side all night and simply ran past the unfortunate Park Jin-sub and Lee Young-pyo at will.

Every ball into the box seemed to cause confusion which the normally reliable keeper Lee Woon-jae did nothing to alleviate. Even the 2002 defensive lynchpin Choi Jin-cheul seemed uncertain in his last game for the national team before announcing his retirement from international football.

The country and the coach must now look toward the 2006 World Cup and the qualifying games. Korea must keep its eye on the ball and qualify. The exit from the Asian Cup could prove to be a blessing in disguise for Korea, leaving the coach, the players and the country in no doubt as to the size of the task ahead.

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