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Asian Cup

John Duerden reports on South Korea's win in Syria

South Korea's attempt to lift the Asian Cup trophy for the first time since 1960 got off to a solid, if slightly scary, start in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo; defeating the hosts 2-1 on the opening night of the qualifying round for the competition destined to be held in no less than four south-east Asian countries in the summer after next.

There were two schools of thought in the Korean press ahead of the opening Group B game, a group that also contains Iran and Taiwan. Some journalists were concerned that just after finishing a five-week nine-game overseas tour in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and USA, Dick Advocaat's team would be drained and exhausted. To make matters worse, at the end of the tour the players flew to Damascus via London before embarking on a five-hour drive from the capital to the Aleppo, near the Turkish border – almost 24 hours travelling.

Other, more optimistic observers felt that the very fact that the players had been training and playing for six weeks, meant that the Taeguk Warriors would be at the top of their game, razor sharp and given the fact that competition for places in Germany was fierce, too much for the team ranked 95th in the world.

It turned out to be a little bit of both. South Korea dominated and controlled the first half, silencing a full house in the concrete bowl that is the Al Hamandia stadium. At the end of the game however, the visitors were mightily relieved to hear the final whistle with the realization that they had three points to take with them as they returned to the Land of the Morning Calm for the first time since January 15.

It all started so well and Kim Doo-heon fired home from five minutes and the tie was looking less tricky by the minute. In the first period, goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae had next-to-nothing to do and the Korean midfield dictated play and it seemed to be a question of how many the East Asians would score.

Not for the first time since leaving home shores in mid-January, the strike force failed to convert their opportunities and despite seeing two-thirds of the total amount of ball in the opening period, the score at half-time was only 1-0.

Not surprisingly, the Syrians showed more aggression in the first minute of the second half than they managed in the entire opening 45 minutes. Coach Miloslav Radinovic had roared at his players during the break and four minutes after saw Faris Al Khatib run through the Korean defence like a hot knife through butter to slot the ball past Lee Woon-jae. Although the keeper was a little slow off his line he was correct to be angry with his defenders for their seeming refusal to make any tackles.

At that moment, the hosts were looking the more likely to secure the victory but within a minute South Korea went ahead.

2005 K League MVP Lee Chun-soo's overall play has been improving since returning to Ulsan Hyundai Horang-I from an 18-month spell in Spain and if the winger could shoot straight on a more consistent basis – he would be a real star.

He showed a glimpse of what he can do when his twenty yard half-volley flew into the top right corner of the Syrian net - a fine goal that proved to be the winner in Dick Advocaat's first competitive game since joining the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists last October.

The energy levels of the Korean players seemed to drop as the minutes piled up and Syria had chances to draw level, aided by poor defending but let down by poor finishing. It was hard not to think that better teams would have taken advantage of the opportunities offered – teams like France, Switzerland and Togo for example in Group G.

Still, a potential banana skin was avoided and the Asian Cup can be put on the backburner until August for Advocaat's successor to pick up the mantle.

The Dutchman's job is to focus on the World Cup and the three months until the competition kicks off. The next stage of preparations begin with the visit of Angola to Seoul World Cup Stadium of Wednesday March 1. The Black Impalas reached their first World Cup by pipping Nigeria to the post and find themselves drawn with Mexico, Iran and Portugal in Group D.

The Korean Football Association is no different than most in the world as it believes that teams from the same continent play the same kind of football and so invited Angola to give the East Asians a taste of African football ahead of the opening game of the World Cup against Togo.

That game is getting closer and closer.

John Duerden

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