ID :
55243
Mon, 04/13/2009 - 22:45
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/55243
The shortlink copeid
S. Korean football team in crisis due to absence of star strikers: coach
SEOUL, April 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's national football team lacks star strikers who can effectively take advantage of scoring opportunities, clouding the outlook for its remaining World Cup qualifier games, its coach said Monday.
"The rise of foreign attackers in the Korean football league" has kept Korean
athletes from competing for the position, coach Huh Jung-moo told reporters after
a meeting of the Korea Football Association (KFA).
"We need top strikers who are capable of capitalizing on all their opportunities.
We should come up with measures to foster potential players."
The team has so far scored 19 goals in 11 matches during the regional qualifiers
of the 2010 World Cup, but 11 of those goals were made in three games against
Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates, both of which have relatively weak
squads.
During the latest match against North Korea on April 1, South Korea managed to
edge out its rival on a free kick. South Korea's attackers, including Lee Geun-ho
of Japan's Jubilo Iwata and Park Joo-young of French AS Monaco, also missed a
number of chances to score.
Huh, 53, said his players showed great positioning and opened clear chances but
failed to grab them.
"Lee has scored many goals for the national team. He demonstrated good moves...
but failed to exploit them. He lacked that effective final touch," Huh said of
Lee, who scored three goals in the Asian qualifying round.
The coach, once a famed defender with the South Korean team, also said he is
closely watching rookies in the K-League who have shown potential as productive
strikers for the team.
"There has been no top scorers in South Korea since Hwang Sun-hong and Kim
Do-hoon retired in the early 2000s. Other players fell short of expectations."
Hwang, currently leading a Busan-based football club, scored 50 goals in 103
international matches, while Kim had 30 goals in 72 games.
"We should recruit young strikers to the national team earlier and train them to
foster their abilities. This is what we need to work out for the future of South
Korea's football."
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)
"The rise of foreign attackers in the Korean football league" has kept Korean
athletes from competing for the position, coach Huh Jung-moo told reporters after
a meeting of the Korea Football Association (KFA).
"We need top strikers who are capable of capitalizing on all their opportunities.
We should come up with measures to foster potential players."
The team has so far scored 19 goals in 11 matches during the regional qualifiers
of the 2010 World Cup, but 11 of those goals were made in three games against
Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates, both of which have relatively weak
squads.
During the latest match against North Korea on April 1, South Korea managed to
edge out its rival on a free kick. South Korea's attackers, including Lee Geun-ho
of Japan's Jubilo Iwata and Park Joo-young of French AS Monaco, also missed a
number of chances to score.
Huh, 53, said his players showed great positioning and opened clear chances but
failed to grab them.
"Lee has scored many goals for the national team. He demonstrated good moves...
but failed to exploit them. He lacked that effective final touch," Huh said of
Lee, who scored three goals in the Asian qualifying round.
The coach, once a famed defender with the South Korean team, also said he is
closely watching rookies in the K-League who have shown potential as productive
strikers for the team.
"There has been no top scorers in South Korea since Hwang Sun-hong and Kim
Do-hoon retired in the early 2000s. Other players fell short of expectations."
Hwang, currently leading a Busan-based football club, scored 50 goals in 103
international matches, while Kim had 30 goals in 72 games.
"We should recruit young strikers to the national team earlier and train them to
foster their abilities. This is what we need to work out for the future of South
Korea's football."
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)
