Sibling Rivalry
Huh Eyes Clash Against Rising North Koreans
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
In the reversed world of today where the best golfer is black and the best rapper is arguably white, could the best Korean footballer be wearing the colors of the North, not the South?
To suggest as such would obviously be an overstatement, drawing raised eyebrows from the likes of Manchester United attacker Park Ji-sung or Tottenham defender Lee Young-pyo.
However, Chong Tae-se, the 24-year-old Kawasaki Frontale striker who nearly gave North Korea an upset win over Japan in its East Asian Football Championship opener Sunday, is making the case closer than anyone would admit.
After escaping with a 3-2 win over host China in a thrilling tournament opener in Chongqing Sunday, South Korea is now bracing for Wednesday's clash against North Korea, which also doubles as its opponent in the regional World Cup qualifiers.
The match against its northern neighbors was supposed to be the soft spot in the schedule for South Korea, as the disparity in football talent between the two countries has been just as evident as the difference in corporate riches and food supplies.
Better Than Advertised
However, if North Korea's impressive display in its 1-1 draw against Japan is a true indication of the team's abilities, South Korean manager Huh Jung-moo is advised not to expect a breather of a match come Wednesday. .
``I was impressed mostly by the pace of their (North Korea's) attack," said Huh, after watching the North Korea-Japan match from the stands.
``That is a team with good fundamental skills," he said. ``They looked effective in the 5-4-1 formation, where Chong Tae-se, Park Nam-chol and Mun In-guk get the first outlets on the attack.''
Chong is clearly the highest profile player on the team, and his skills were well represented in the match against Japan. The relentless 1.81-meter striker gave his team an early lead after five minutes, when he collected a threaded pass from midfield, danced around three defenders and pierced a left-footer past Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima.
Despite being heavily marked by Japanese defenders, Chong emerged as the focal point of the North Korean offense, sending a shiver up the spine of Kawashima with an acrobatic volley in the 50th minute.
After a blunder by North Korean goalkeeper Ri Myong-guk resulted in the equalizer by Ryoichi Maeda, Chong nearly found the target again in the closing minutes of the game, but his effort sailed just high of the crossbar.
Chong is a rare combination of strength, athleticism and skills, and his talent is hardly a secret, having scored 12 goals in 24 games for Kawasaki in the J-League in 2007. That is a similar total to the 13 goals by Cho Jae-jin, considered by many as the top South Korean striker, for Shimizu S-Pulse last season.
Chong was also influential in North Korea's 1-0 win over Jordan in the World Cup qualifiers earlier this month and certainly gives his team a puncher's chance against the South Koreans.
Suwon BlueWings central midfielder Ahn Young-hak, the only North Korean national playing professionally in the South, Ryang Yong-gi, a resourceful attacker for Japan's Vegalta Sendai, and fleet-footed winger Mun In-guk are among the other quality players on the North's team.
``He certainly knows how to play football," said Huh when asked about Chong.
``He is the total package of a player, gifted with speed, skills and creativity. He looks capable both as a support striker and target man, and his versatility would make him very hard to contain."
Chu-young Back on Track?
Huh can't afford to lose the match against the North Koreans, as it would make next month's trip to Pyongyang's massive Kim Il-sung Stadium in the home-and-home World Cup qualifiers truly a dreadful thought.
It remains to be seen whether Huh will continue to endorse the three-back line of Kwak Tae-hwi, Kwak Hee-ju and Cho Yong-hyung, which gave up space like a lousy real estate agent to Chinese attackers in the opener.
However, the central midfield pairing of Kim Nam-il and Cho Won-hee looked promising, with Kim providing his usual composure as a deep-lying distributor and the energetic Cho harrying the will out of his Chinese opponents.
The triple-striker attack provided the offense plenty of width, with Lee Keun-ho tormenting defenders with his pace and trickery on the right flank and Park Chu-young finally breaking out of his funk with a two-goal outburst.
With the three-back line thought to be vulnerable to the swift North Korean attack, Huh could lean toward a 4-3-3 formation, with Kim, Cho and another central midfielder protecting the back-four.