By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff reporter
Korea's heroes are back. After reaching their first knockout stage at the World Cup on foreign soil, the national team returned home Tuesday from South Africa.
Their arrival was greeted by a huge crowd of supporters, flashing their cell phone cameras to capture the footballers with mixed smiles of excitement at Incheon International Airport.
All the Korean team members and coaching staff were there except for several foreign staff members and Kim Nam-il, who went directly back to his club, Tom Tomsk of Russia.
After a short break, players will move back to their local or overseas leagues. Those from overseas clubs will depart from Korea early next month.
Coach Huh Jung-moo said South Korea has now built up confidence that it can fight it out neck-and-neck with any football powerhouse in the world.
"But the team has a long way to go in skill and techniques. There will have to be systematic short- and long-term plans to improve the squad gradually," Huh said.
The players said they had better games in comparison with the surprise 2002 run.
"It was definitely much more difficult this time than in 2002," team captain Park Ji-sung said. "Because now I know what the World Cup is about, and had to play with all the burden on my shoulder. Overall, I think we played even better than eight years ago."
Another veteran Lee Young-pyo said he sees bright prospects for the young guns of the squad.
"We were really united with the same goal of reaching the top 16. I'm so proud of the young members of the squad, and am sure that Korea can do way better in future tournaments."
Other overseas-based players, including Park Ji-sung and Park Chu-young, will take a break in Korea before leaving for Europe to prepare for their new seasons.
The national team will also be set for an overhaul, starting from the coach's post. As Huh's contract expired with the end of the World Cup, the Korea Football Association will reshuffle the coaching staff and appoint a new coach no later than July 10.
It is still possible the 55-year-old coach will continue to take the helm of the squad for a while, according to local sources.
Several international matches are scheduled before the AFC Asian Cup, which will be held in January next year. After a couple of other friendlies in August and September, South Korea will host Japan on Oct. 12.
The opponents for the August match haven't been confirmed yet, but Saudi Arabia is a likely candidate prior to a match with Iran the following month. The revamped Taeguk Warriors will be called on again in early August to prepare for those matches.
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