China promises to be tougher than most
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National football team coach Uli Stielike, second from right, poses with South Korean players taking part in the East Asian Cup at Incheon International Airport, Friday, before departing for China for the regional football competition. Yonhap
South Korea to face ever-improving 2015 East Asian Cup host on Sunday
By John Duerden
The 2015 East Asian Cup kicks off on Sunday for South Korea with a tough game against the host of the regional tournament, China. Coach Uli Stielike will be looking for a good start, with games to follow against Japan and North Korea. Korean fans also will be looking to reassert past dominance against the giant neighbor.
In recent times, all the football news relating to China in the South Korean media has been with regard to cashed-up Chinese Super League clubs taking their pick of some of the best talent in the South Korean K-League. It started with Dejan Damjanovic in 2013, and it certainly did not end with a second-tier club signing Brazilian striker Edu from Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in July. Three of the 23 named on the roster for the tournament play for Chinese clubs, including captain Kim Young-gwon.
For fans, a win over the Chinese national team would make them feel a little better about the steady exit to the west. It would also bring a familiar and warm feeling of football superiority. In 29 games between the two teams, China has won just once, a long-awaited victory in a game in this tournament in 2010.
Such a one-sided rivalry would usually not be worthy of the label, but the relationship is changing and, besides, fans have enjoyed the regular conquests. The Beijing media coined the phrase “Koreaphobia” to describe this football fear of the Taeguk Warriors, and it was one eagerly adopted by their counterparts in Seoul.
Sunday promises to be tougher than most. One reason is that China is at home. There should be a good crowd in Wuhan roaring the host on. Another is that China is at full strength and has been in decent form in 2015. The team reached the final eight of the Asian Cup in January after two successive first-round exits. Under French coach Alain Perrin, the team has been improving. With just one player in the big leagues of Europe, Perrin has pretty much a full roster at his disposal.
Stielike does not have the same luxury. This is not Korea's strongest team. The tournament is not officially recognized by global governing body FIFA, so Bayer Leverkusen does not have to release Son Heung-min, Swansea City does not have to release Ki Sung-yueng, Crystal Palace does not have to release Lee Chung-yong, FC Mainz does not have to release Koo Ja-cheol and so on.
This leaves Korea in something of a weakened state. While this may mean that a defeat by China is more likely in the short term, it also means that in the long term the tournament marks a great opportunity to give some younger players a chance to show what they can do. Only six of the 23 have played more than 10 times. Players like Kwon Chang-hoon of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Lee Chan-dong of Gwangju FC and Kim Seung-dae of the Pohang Steelers are looking to make their first appearance, as are Goo Seung-yun, Kim Min-hyeok, Rim Chang-woo and Lee Jong-ho.
Perhaps one or two of them will do enough to show the German boss that they should get a call-up before the real deal, the Sept. 3 World Cup qualifier against Laos in the city of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. For South Korea, at least, that is more important than the East Asian Cup, but coach Stielike would still be well advised not to lose all three games.