North to Repeat Route 66?
By Bryan Kay
Contributing Writer
In world football, 1966 will probably be best remembered as the year in which England won its one and only World Cup. The northern Europeans have been struggling to reach such heights again since, failing to fulfill expectations.
But 1966 was also the year in which North Korea last graced the world stage in the planet's best-loved game. They too have struggled since that landmark year, though theirs has been a fight against poverty that stretches far beyond the football field and has seen them occupy the basement of the world's football rankings ever since.
So what has happened to the reclusive North since that landmark year? Much of the answer may lie in its poverty, but that fails to tell the full story of football north of the demilitarized zone.
They confounded world opinion in 1966 by beating Italy ― fancied to win the tournament ― 1-0. And the world held its breath as they raced to a 3-0 win in the quarterfinals against Portugal, only to be usurped by the class of Eusebio, eventually losing 5-3.
Their performance in England even led one observer to call them pioneers of the modern game, their fast-paced style unique at the time where slow buildup play was the norm, while today speed is the name of the game.
But then, true to form, they practically disappeared off the football radar. Famine, poverty and a lack of resources have nailed several bolts into its coffin. But it also has no professional league, and much of the true talent is to be found in the sporadically army team.
Latterly, South Korea tried to offer an olive branch and entice talent from the North to play on its team. And for the 2002 World Cup co-hosted by the South and Japan, North Korea opted out completely, refusing to even attempt to qualify in a politically motivated protest. Then, it languished around 136 in the FIFA world rankings.
In qualification for Germany in 2006, it surrendered meekly in the final qualifying round with five straight defeats and only a single win.
It is different this time, however, with only a single defeat and three wins in the Group B so far.
Indeed, Swiss football legend Andy Egli, sent by FIFA to the North late last year as an instructor for two months, reckons huge potential exists for the game in the North.
He claimed that in 20 or so years North Korea could be competing with the world's best thanks to its players' determination and ability to focus, in an interview with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation Internet portal swissinfo.
But despite the potential, Egli pointed out the huge disparities between the cream of the North's players and the weakest, also lamenting poor infrastructure and the quality of even the balls made available, which he said were comparable to those seen in the West in the 1970s.
The North is currently ranked 109, a jump of 12 places from February. Its continued good form of late is likely to see another jump next month toward the top 100. That may seem like small potatoes, but for North Korea, in footballing terms, it would be a seismic shift.
The two Koreas may not be brothers in arms, but they could be holding hands around the summit of Group B when the top two is decided - the teams who will progress to the finals proper in South Africa.
It would be quite an achievement if the two Koreas could both be performing on the world stage together come the summer of 2010. Still, it would perhaps be even more surprising than 1966.