Korean football needs good news at the Asian Games
Korean men's national football team players gather in circle before practice at Korea Football Park in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, Sept. 1. Yonhap
Korean football needs some good news after this year's terrible World Cup. The Asian Games start next week in Japan and it remains to be seen if this is going to be a repeat of what happened in Mexico or something much better.
For the men's team, this is not that far behind the World Cup in terms of importance. The multisport event is second only to the Olympics in terms of size and offers a similar perk for the players — success can bring an exemption from Korea's mandatory military service.
Win any medal at the Olympics or gold at the Asian Games and you are freed from the 18 to 21 months of military service, apart from a few weeks of basic military training. It is a big deal, especially for football players.
No military service means more chances of being picked up by a European football club. For those already in Europe, it means getting better at the game and being offered better contracts. In terms of career, prestige, fame and earnings, not having to return home and play for the army team in the K-League by the time you are 28 makes a big difference.
That is why Korea takes the tournament more seriously than most and has won gold at the last three games, resulting in dozens of player exemptions.
It is an Under-23 competition with each coach allowed to select three overage players. Most nations treat it at a developmental tournament, especially Japan, with the host nation choosing an entire roster of players 21 or younger. That helps Japan’s development, but Korea does not have that luxury.
Korea’s older trio are Yang Hyun-jun of Scottish giants Celtic, Eom Ji-sung of Welsh club Swansea City and Lee Gi-hyuk of Gangwon FC. If they take gold Yang and Eom can return to Europe free to focus on extending their careers.
First the good news: There are only 15 teams in the running. Korea in Group D, the only one containing three teams. The top two from each go through to the quarter-finals. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are tough opposition but the Taeguk Warriors have enough to get through to the last eight, and once there, they will have the advantage of having played just two games instead of the three that the other teams have faced.
The bad news is that the team’s form is not great. It still looks like the build-up to the World Cup, but this time it is head coach Lee Min-sung under the microscope, not Hong Myung-bo.
Under Lee, the U-23 team did not impress at the Asian Cup in January, losing to Japan's U-21 players in the semi final.
"We have not yet played a game with our full squad with all the players available," Lee said. "I believe the players who have gone through that period will have learned valuable lessons."
There is no room for mistakes.
"We just have to play our own game, and not worry so much about our opponents," Lee said. "We have prepared ourselves against both Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and we will try to play well right from the start."