N. Korea eyes another 'legend' in 2010 World Cup

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap) -- North Korea aims to create a "legend" in next year's
World Cup like when it wowed the world four decades ago by advancing to the
semi-final round of the international football tournament, a report from
Pyongyang said Monday.
Expectations for the 2010 tournament are high in North Korea, whose squad in June
advanced to the finals for the first time since 1966. The government bestowed
awards and medals on players and coaches last week for bringing "glory to the
homeland."
Choson Sinbo, a Tokyo-based newspaper that usually conveys a pro-Pyongyang
perspective, carried an interview with a football analyst in the North Korean
capital who said the North will hold a series of friendlies in Africa and Europe
in coming weeks as part of their build-up to the finals.
"The (North) Korean team will not be content with entering the World Cup for the
first time in 44 years, but will try to create Korea's 'football legend' once
again," the analyst, Ri Dong-gyu, said in the interview.
North Korea held a friendly with a Brazilian professional club, Club Atletico
Sorocaba, at May Day Stadium in Pyongyang last week. The match ended in a
scoreless draw. In October, the North traveled to France to play second-league
club FC Nantes and a team from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which also ended
0-0, respectively.
Ri noted the absence of major members of the North Korean national team in those
matches, like strikers Hong Yong-jo of Russia's FC Rostov in Russia and Jong
Tae-se of Japan's Kawasaki Frontale, and Japan-born midfielder An Yong-hak, who
plays for South Korea's Suwon Samsung Bluewings.
The friendlies "were a good opportunity to train substitute players and
strengthen the team's power," Ri said.
North Korea's strength is "mental power" but they also need to sharpen their fast
break and counterattack skills and accuracy in shooting, he said.
The team are set to play South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe as well as Portugal and
other European teams this year and their tours will continue in 2010, Ri said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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