By Kang Seung-woo
The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) rejected a request for special naturalization for the Jeonbuk Motors’ Brazilian midfielder Eninho for the second time Tuesday.
If the move had been approved he could have represented Korea in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2014 World Cup.
It was also a snub to national team manager Choi Kang-hee’s request to make Eninho eligible for selection as part of efforts to strengthen his squad.
The KOC ruled as it was supposed to, as the 31-year-old can’t speak Korean despite the five years he has been in the K-League.
Choi said he regretted the decision but will accept it.
“As we have prepared for the World Cup qualifiers regardless of the Eninho naturalization, there will be no problem in dealing with them,” the manager said.
The refusal is also backed up by history.
Special naturalizations were introduced in January 2011 and so far four athletes have taken advantage of it — American basketball players Moon Tae-jong, Moon Tae-young and Kimberly Roberson, and Taiwanese short track speed skater Kong Sang-jeong.
When the Moon brothers were granted citizenship, expectations were high that they would allow Korea to go toe to toe with China but the expectations fell short.
Tae-jong, 36, who plays for the ET Land Elephants in the Korean Basketball League, played for the national team at the William Jones Cup and Asian Championship last year.
The Korean squad failed to claim a title at either tournament and he did not make the roster for the London Olympics qualifying tournament, scheduled for July.
His younger brother, 34-year-old forward Tae-young, has never represented Team Korea.
On the women’s side, Roberson, who has recently changed her name to Kim Han-byeol, failed to make the national team that will vie for an Olympic slot in Turkey next month.
When news about Eninho broke last week, some Korean football coaches questioned if he merited consideration for special naturalization despite acknowledging his contribution to his K-League club.
A sports commentator said the naturalization attempt was more aimed at improving professional leagues than the national team because clubs who draft naturalized players can still secure a quota for foreign players.
Last week, Choi defended his plan to have Eninho naturalized and denied speculation of his affinity to the team and player he coached for three years before he joined the national team in December. The 53-year-old will return to Jeonbuk after the final World Cup qualifying round.
Another factor is that impressive individual performances by naturalized players have not translated to team success in a sport that capitalizes on chemistry.
The three basketball players statistically put up solid numbers in the local leagues, but none of their sides have claimed a championship.
Like basketball, football requires teamwork and communication as well as individual capability.
“The Under-23 Olympic squad has failed to claim a medal despite using overage players as wild card picks because they did not gel with the other players,” football commentator Lee Yong-soo said in a media interview.
“Ahead of the 2002 World Cup, there were rumors about naturalizing foreign players in the K-League, but manager Guus Hiddink declined the idea, preferring an all-Korean squad.”