| Username |
Post |
| villageVoice |
Posted
on 25-Jun-02 08:35 AM
So Korea's giant-killing streak comes to an end. I predicted, albiet mildly, so much (see thread: World Cup predictions). And thank goodness the better side prevailed. Though I have never been a great fan of German football, Koeans frankly don't deserve to go all the way to Yokohama.
Today, they were completely outplayed by an ever effective, if unexciting, Germans who managed what two European giants - Italy and Spain - had failed earlier. But what a relief. I was despairing that there would be a Brazil v Korea final.
I would like to particularly congratulate the referee and the linesmen, who would have none of Korean theatrics.
That said, my hats off to the Korean march and Hiddink. They have done us all Asians proud. I only hope their dream run continues. And they prove in the next Cup in Germany that their home run was no fluke, generously sustained by home advantage and officials intimidated by highly-charged partisan fans.
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| def |
Posted
on 25-Jun-02 09:31 AM
Yeah! Koreans lost!!!! They made all of us (may be not all), Asians, proud. It shows that Asians can perform well against European teams. Come next WC in Germany, I would love to see them do well to prove that its not just the home field advantage that took them all they way to semi final.
Football is a sport where one gets just a couple of opportunities to score and whichever team can capitalize on it advances. Germans got a couple of opportunities and they were able to score the lone goal on the expense of a poor play made by a Korean defensive player. Koreans just could not get a go-ahead goal, thanks to Kahn, probably the best keeper of this WC.
I have to disagree with VV regarding the refs and Korean theatrics. There weren’t any Korean theatrics on the field either today or in earlier games. It’s the refs who made the WRONG calls in previous games. In today’s game, refs where in immense pressure which showed by a couple of bad off side calls. If you think that Koreans made this far just by the bad calls by refs or due to the officials intimidated by highly-charged partisan fans (as you put it), you should not be proud.
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| Foosball |
Posted
on 25-Jun-02 10:21 AM
I was for Germany all along. Agreed they are playing bad... and have been criticized for it. But at the end of the day, all that matters is winning and they have definitely done that. They should have performed much better than this. Besides they've been awfully lucky. Didn't have to play any teams like Argentina, England and Spain. I think the final will be between BRA and GER. I'd like the Germans to win but I have a feeling it will be Brazil. With key players missing Germany does not look like a winner at all. I hope I am wrong.
-Foosball
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| Soccer Kid |
Posted
on 25-Jun-02 10:37 AM
Hats off to the KOREANS who were physically fit and played great soccer in this world cup. They knocked down some of the great teams in the league.
KOREANS ROCK!!!
SK
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| NK |
Posted
on 25-Jun-02 10:47 AM
Strange thing was happening while I was watching this game. Whichever team got the ball I would roo for the opponent. If Germany had the ball I wished Koreans would get it and vice versa. I was aware it was the first time Asians had come this far and was proud, then at the same time I thought Germany deserved to win. So the whole game my loyalty was alternating between two teams. If there was such a thing as God, that dude would have been totally confused with my prayers wisihing both team to lose and both team to win. After the game my nephew was as expected, delirious and the phone started to ring for him from germany and I was numb. Feeling sorry for the Koreans. What a bummer it is to watch a football game!
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| villageVoice |
Posted
on 25-Jun-02 11:56 AM
I can well understand the divided loyalty, particularly in your case NK :)
I passionately rooted for Koreans (not above Team Azzurri though) myself early on, but I wasn't very impressed by their footaball when they played against Italy and Spain. And I maintain, as has been proven by postmortem match reports, they were helped by some poor refereeing decisions in those two knock-out games.
But I would not go so far as to dissmiss their achievement. They made a lound statment of their quality in the preliminaries. Please take note, def.
Much that I may wish as an Asian, one swallow doesn't make the summer, however. Korea and Japan need to consistently stand up to football giants like Brazil, England, Germany, Italy, Argentina and Spain - and that in away games - before the world takes them as serious contenders in future tournaments.
So it looks like Gemany-Brazil clash for the title. All the pre-tournament favorites have gone home - Italy, Portugal, England and Argentina...And Brazil still has to overcome Turkey.
I totally argee with the fact that Germans have this funny knack of not playing the most attractive football, but still beating the opponent. That's fine. But since football's - or any game's future - rests on its appeal as spectator sport, I worry each time an attractive team loses. For example, the great Dutch team of Gullit and Van Basten, Riijkard, in the early 90s, which played "open football," frquently changing places and going for attacks in a wave.
But if it's a Brazil-Germany clash for the title, I would at least need not worry too much about divided loyalty. Who do I want to win? Brazil. Who do I think will win? Brazil of course. An attacking Latin American team that gives a lot of room for individual flair v a defensive European team that leaves few holes behind and grabs occasional goalscoring opps. with both hands.
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| jira |
Posted
on 25-Jun-02 01:00 PM
Well! Asian lost and the fans cried. Germany won despit its poor performance. The reson is clear, the lack of strong rivalry. I still have sympathy for English and Argies who had to be eliminated earlier. I guess, that is how it goes in soccer.
Inspite of pouring my 100% sympathy on this Korean team, I for some reason did not want to see Korea win. I had a little argument with one of my friend who wanted to see Turkey and Korea in the final. He simply wanted to break the history and more or less disgruntled to see the repeating history of South American and Europeans in the final. As a football fan, I am here to watch better games. I think the world cup is not about breaking the trend, it is about uplifting the teams whichever deserves. Germans are not certainly strong as compared to their fatherfigures but they are good enough to be in final with all the lucks they have had so far. Blissed with the same luck, you can not expect to see Saudi in the final. That is where the quality matters. Talking about quality, I am 100% confident that Brazil will win. But with this 'luck' thing staggering in the back of my mind, I may have to accept an unexpected debacle for Brazil.
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 25-Jun-02 05:23 PM
Korea prati yatro kataaxya kina, VillageVoiceji?
I think Korea played like a champion, and lost like a champion to another champion.
Along the way, Football sufferred a lot of because of unsportsmanship of a lot
of European countries which had no guts to accept defeat.
To bring a little politics here,I read about one latest hit book in England in The
Economist book review probably a few weeks ago.(Name is sth like "The World
We Live In") The writer was all enamored by Europe, and was urging UK to
side with Europe(its socialist idea, liberal view bla bla), while berating USA for
its narrow view. Europe ko liberalism pani dekhiyo this year. Italians threatened to
fire the a Korean player just for glancing home an aptly named 'golden goal', hurled
racial invectives against Korean spectators in Rome. Spanish, Portugalese were
also whining all time.Even talking loudly about conspiracy. What a world Europe has
been evolved into.[not to forget smearing of synagogues, exhuming corpse of
Jews etc in non-sports related domain].
Ironically, Germany is probably the most chastised nation.Its players were mostly
foreign born, and Germany is a lot liberal in its immigration rule.And its conduct
during World Cup is also praiseworthy. Sorry for mixing football with politics. Ke
garne, yespaali sabaile tesai garekaachhan.
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| !!! |
Posted
on 25-Jun-02 06:14 PM
.... Brazil will win the world cup if the Germans play same as yesterdays game. Today Turkeys will count 0's of goooooooals against Brazil.
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| !!! |
Posted
on 25-Jun-02 06:15 PM
.. Koreans will win the third place with turky
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| HahooGuru |
Posted
on 25-Jun-02 06:28 PM
It is very disappointing to see Mr. VillageVoice runs behind
"Brand Names". Mr. Kahn, the German Team captain and
Goal Keeper also said that Koreans played very good, while
our VV does not want to praise Korea, because Korea never
went to semi-final before. Well, I can guess that next time
(in 2006, German hosted World Cup) VV will be siding with
COREA because for him Corea will be a team that reached
to Semi-final in 2002. Our VV accepts only Old gold teams,
and in 2006, Corea will be a Old Gold Branded team. Lets
wait for another 4 years to see VV's support on Corea.
Korean made a history, the first asian to reach to semifinal
and that is giving message to the world that in due time,
asian will capture World Cup too, just the way Asians
now enjoy "Democracy", "industralization", "liberal society"
all these ideas borrowed from Europe. This time, the
Netherland borned coach had shown that Asian need
a good leader, just the way Asians need good "white skined"
management employees, and its because they don't know
the INSIDE STRATEGIES./TECHNIQUES. Thanks should goes
to Europe for transferring their technologies and management
skills, in sports, in biz. in politics.
VV Bro, lets not judge from color of the skin, but, from their
behavior, as you know its said by M.L. King, Jr.
HG
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| Makardhwaj |
Posted
on 25-Jun-02 07:09 PM
It was bad luck for Korea yesterday to lose it due to small mistake for defence.
Anyway, Koreans did their best yesterday too.
What I enjoyed in the is all the Koreans enjoying World Cup.
"De men ken gu!"
The reason why Japan couldn't reach to best 8 and then to the semi-final is that they have not enjoyed it. They just support at the same day when there is match only.
"Nippon ! chya chya chya !!!"
Due to my(& Koreans & its supporters) bad luck we could not come to Yokohama together.
Thanks Korea!
Thanks its supporters.
VV & Jira s are as simple as sheep. They just support the old strong teams without analyzing it well.
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| villageVoice |
Posted
on 25-Jun-02 10:10 PM
Sorry Biswa and HG, Korea sanga mero kunai tin puste dushmani chhaini la.
In fact, I have fond memories of the summer of 97 that I spent in
Seoul, Teaju, and the island of Cheju. And I still have some very good Korean friends. Make no mistake there.
It's just that I thought Kroea wasn't so great in the last three games. I don't want to go over that again. If Korea does go on to establish itself as a footballing nation, I would be more than pleased as someone who has special ties with Seoul.
Hey Biswoji, I perfectly understand politicization of sport, though in an ideal world neither of us would be discussing such a possibility. The US-led boycott of 1980 Moscow Olympics, the Soviet-led boycott of Los Angeles Olympics, Indian cricket team's ongoing boycott of Pakistan, South Africa's long sport wilderness due to apartheid...The list is long and painful.
I acknowledge that politics does color the way you look at a team. I for one can't see myself ever cheering for the Indian soccer team. Well, it may sound outrageous to HG, but such is the reality.
That said, I am a blind supporter of Indian cricket team - funny, huh. I have been following the team since their World Cup triumph in 83. Those who have invested a lot of emotion and energy following a national team, or individual players would know what I mean.
My allegiance cuts across the national/regional boundaries. For instance, I developed a stong bond to the Italian soccer in the early 1990s when Serie A boasted of such stars as Gullit, Van Basten, Baresi, and Maradona. And Biswoji, my love for Italian soccer isn't so fickle that I would switch allegiance just because one Italian lunatic dismissied a Korean striker for scoring against his nation :)
Maybe, I will develop similar kinship with the Korean soccer team (as they earn themselves a brand name, to borrow HG's phrase) down the road. Once you start following the ups and down of individuals players, it kinda consumes you. But as of now, as I write this, my Asian loyalty to soccer is frankly fickle. The idea that I should suppot an Asian team just because I am an Asian is frankly not very sexy to me. Jira would agree there.
As a matter of fact, I am still sad that Holland, a great soccer nation, didn't even qualify for this World Cup while B grade teams like China and S. Arabia did.
But you are most welcome to disagree with me.
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| Paschim |
Posted
on 26-Jun-02 04:20 AM
My only query after yesterday's game: why is the German team so boring? Even after scoring the goal, and winning, they looked like they had just returned from a funeral of a recently discovered but rapidly lost bhinaju (brother-in-law). Kasta manchhe. Latino debauchery rocks. I'm with Brazil from now on.
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| villageVoice |
Posted
on 26-Jun-02 09:22 AM
The German modus operandi: play not to lose, so much the better if you win in the bargain.
I hope Brazil v Germany clash lives up to its billing. Freewheeling Latin football that allows for individual flair against water-tight European team (Kahn, the German captain, is arguably the best 'keeper) that relies heavily on team-work.
Let's hope Brazil plays a better game this time to erase sad memories of their disatrous showing against France in the 1998 Cup final.
Another Battle Royale is in the making: the Glolden Boot Award. Klose v Ronaldo for the highest scorer of this Cup. Can't wait.
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 26-Jun-02 12:55 PM
VillageVoiceji,
OK, OK, you think Korea was so-so, that's fine, but please don't think that World Cup
becomes only when brand name European teams reach quarter/semi finals. Among
European teams, In my opinion, the only team that guarantees excitement whether
playing among with European or with South American team is England. And after
watching indefatiguable Koreans sprinting all over the ground all 90 minutes, and
after seeing Turkey playing for whole 90 minutes chasing balls so valiantly, I didn't
miss any other team in Semifinals:-)))
Btw, I don't know if we ever be following Korean League matches. They were once
talking about merging leagues of Korea and China, (for more money and viewership)
but it seems that is yet to materialize. If they in deed merge, they will probably be
successful in attracting a lot of viewers. And , like you, I used to watch Italian league
A games every sunday night in college and check the recent standing of different
clubs in China Daily the next day:-) And recent Perugia's ranting against Ahn came to
me as surprise actually, because I used to think that team to be most supportive of
Asian players, because they were the only team that had Asian player(A Japanese I
think) at that time.
Anyway, enjoyed your commentary about football very much, hai.difference bhaye
pani..
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| Foosball |
Posted
on 26-Jun-02 01:41 PM
Germany rocks..... they will win the cup no doubt. Slow and steady win the race and that's what matters when you are playing. Yo Paschim... what makes you think they were not celebrating? What do you do when you are in a stadium with 65,000 people supporting the opponent? Do you dance? You should realize that the crowd was supporting the Koreans and not the Germans. I am for Germany and they are cool.
-- Foosball
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| sangey |
Posted
on 26-Jun-02 01:51 PM
Hear hear (@Biswo).
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| villageVoice |
Posted
on 27-Jun-02 06:21 AM
Here's the Quote of World Cup 2002.
"But it's not necessarily the best teams which wins. If it were then Brazil would have won the World Cup 14 times."
-Ruby Voller, German Coach
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| villageVoice |
Posted
on 27-Jun-02 06:27 AM
And this one esp. for Biswo, whose passion for football has come as a pleasant surprise to me.
Korea's Ahn rejects return to Perugia
AFP
SEOUL: Ahn Jung-Hwan is refusing to return to Perugia, his agent said Wednesday, even though the Italian club claims to have patched up a bitter row with the South Korean World Cup hero over his matchwinning goal against Italy.
The pinup boy of Korean soccer is instead lining up a move to another European championship with clubs in England, Germany, Scotland and Spain all interested, said Ahn's agent ePlayers.
Ahn is one of a host of Korean players now hoping to secure a contract with a top European club after South Korea reached the semi-finals of the World Cup.
But the player is still angry with his former Italian club, said ePlayers.
"He will never play again for Perugia," said a statement released by the agent. "We will never consider his transfer to Perugia, which mounted a character assassination against Ahn just because he scored against Italy."
ePlayers said Perugia had failed to keep to FIFA's rules on extending a contract and was also four months in arrears on Ahn's wages. His annual salary at Perugia is about 400,000 dollars.
Ahn Jong-Kok, chairman of ePlayers, said "Ahn Jung-Hwan does not want to go back to Perugia and Perugia has no right to demand him back.
"I sent a message to Perugia yesterday to state our position. The Korean people do not want Ahn to go back to Perugia."
Perugia's president Luciano Gaucci launched an extraordinary attack on Ahn after he scored the winning goal in South Korea's 2-1 win over Italy in the second round of the World Cup last week.
Gaucci said the 25-year-old striker would never play in Italy again because he had "ruined" Italian soccer. "He'll just have to go back to Korea and earn 100,000 lire ($48) a month."
But Perugia performed a stunning u-turn this week saying it had completed his transfer from South Korean club Busan I.cons. Ahn had been on loan from Busan last season but the deal ends on Sunday.
"The misunderstandings which came to light before and after the Italy-South Korea match have been cleared up," Perugia said in a statement released Tuesday.
According to the statement Ahn has spoken to Perugia manager Alessandro Gaucci, the president's son, several times by telephone.
But Ahn's agent said that following talks with the Busan I.cons "we will go for a club which offers the best terms."
The agent said Chelsea and West Ham in the English Premiership, Spain's Atletico Madrid, SV Hamburg of Germany and Glasgow Rangers in Scotland were all interested in the striker who came on as substitute in South Korea's 1-0 defeat to Germany in the World Cup semi-final on Tuesday.
Cha Du-Ri, son of South Korea's greatest player Cha Bum-Keun, could be headed for Germany this year to join the Korean exiles.
The 21-year-old Cha, who showed his pace and determination in the semi-final despite the defeat, has been linked to a move to Bayer Leverkusen, one of his father's former clubs.
At the moment Cha is still officially an amateur playing for Korea University.
Lee Chun-Soo, 20, midfielder Song Chong-gug, 23, and 21-year-old striker Park Ji-Sung have also impressed during the World Cup.
Park, who scored the only goal in South Korea's win over Portugal that saw them through to the second round of the World Cup, is one of five Koreans playing in Japan's J-League where he is with Kyoto Purple Sanga.
Song is another Busan I.cons player and would be available to any foreign team.
Striker Seol Ki-Hyeon, who scored the first goal against Italy, is already in Europe with leading Belgian side Anderlecht.
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