Fans focus on Shin's 'wild card' selection choices

Son Heung-min

By Nam Hyun-woo

After South Korea qualified for the Olympics for an eighth consecutive time last Tuesday, when the squad finished second in the Asian Football Confederation U-23 Championships, there has been increasing speculation among fans about who will fill a possible three “wild card” spots allowed for players over a set age requirement.

The Olympic football tournament requires participating players to be a 23 years old or younger, but the ages of three players in each team may exceed this limit. Each team must also have a smaller roster of 18 men. Given that two spots will be filled by goalkeepers, only 16 field players can fly to Rio and coaches have to make prudent choices when naming players born after Jan. 1, 1993, so as not to hamper the team’s chemistry.

With head coaches extremely cautious about their possible wild card choices, a closer look at Korea’s campaign in Qatar provides a likely list of names from which head coach Shin Tae-yong will select to bolster his 18-man squad.

Throughout their Qatar campaign, Shin mainly deployed a “diamond formation,” consisting of four midfielders between two forwards and four defenders.

This type of formation was a signature choice of Italian great Carlo Ancelotti, when he led AC Milan in the early 2000s. Rather than relying on wingers to make breakthroughs near the sidelines, he deployed hardworking box-to-box midfielders such as Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and Massimo Ambrosini, to control the center and placed Kaka or Rui Costa to create more chances, as well as a number of aggressive fullbacks.

This tactic was a natural choice for Shin too, given that his squad was filled with quality midfielders, such as Kwon Chang-hoon, Moon Chang-jin, Kim Seung-jun and Ryu Seung-woo. Indeed, they achieved Korea’s eighth consecutive Olympic football, producing the majority of goals for Korea in midfield or striker positions.

However, Shin’s pool was filled with too many attack-minded midfielders.

The diamond formation usually has one defensive midfielder that stands before the back line and another three midfielders who go into the opposition’s half when they have control of the ball. Thus, the pitch coverage by the three midfielders is the key to not to being outnumbered.

The problem posed threats to the Koreans throughout their campaign. In the second half of almost every game, the attack-minded midfielders were often drained and this forced Park Yong-woo in the defensive midfield to become outnumbered during possession battles.

This was clearly seen in the final against Japan. After building up a comfortable 2-0 lead, by playing overwhelming attacking football, the fatigued midfielders briefly lost their balance in the second half and allowed the Japanese to score three goals in just 20 minutes.

In the semifinals against Qatar, Shin placed three center backs to fend off Qatar’s sharp attacks in the first half, but changed this formation to the diamond in order to break the 0-0 stalemate. Thanks to Ryu Seung-woo’s early opener, the Koreans could sit on a lead but often saw their backlines collapsing and spent a nervous 45 minutes until Kwon Chang-hoon’s goal.

This will likely lead Shin to ponder upon a defensively richer midfielder selection for the Rio Olympics. An option Shin consider is Han Kook-young, currently playing for Qatar SC. The 25-year-old missed the previous Olympics four years ago due to an injury, but became a mainstay in Korea’s Brazil World Cup campaign. The fearless defensive midfielder is capable in shutting down attack strategies by opposing teams.

FC Seoul’s Joo Se-jong is another option. The 25-year-old earned his first cap last year after a stint for Busan IPark. Though he could not prevent the club from relegation, his solid performance was recognized by the K-League titan FC Seoul and he moved on Jan. 8.

Al Ain midfielder Lee Myung-joo also has considerable ability. The former K-League rookie of the year is known for attacking skills, but he also can play well in midfield.

Stars anyway?

Nonetheless, the undisputable No. 1 wild card contender is Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min, who will turn 24 in July.

Local media is already concluding that Son will make it to Rio and there is already public sentiment that Shin could face harsh criticism if he omits Son

Regardless of tactical necessities, Son, who is also the ace of A team, is a player worth resetting the squad for maximizing his ability. Since Son can play wing forward, attacking midfielder and even goal poacher positions, there is a high likelihood that Shin will name Son to add more bite to the squad.

But the question remains as to whether Tottenham Hotspur will allow Son to be free for his international duties. The Olympic matches are not on FIFA’s international match calendar, meaning that clubs are not obliged to release their players. Given the Spurs are heavily reliant on Harry Kane and regard Son as Kane’s substitute in striker position, the London club may not agree to send Son. Also the new Premier League season will begin in August, as will the Olympics.

Shin may choose to rely on FC Porto striker Suk Hyun-jun. Though the lanky 24-year-old is not as versatile as Son, he is mostly confined to the center forward position, Suk is decisive and he can possess the ball at the heavily contested forefront until his peers arrive to support him ― a talent that Shin needs. Of course, Suk needs FC Porto’s assent.

Military service exemption

Another factor that Shin should take into consideration is whether he will be exempted from military service. Winning an Olympic medal exempts Korean male athletes from mandatory military duties. At the London Games, the Koreans benefitted for the first time benefited by winning a bronze medal.

This is not only an incentive for players but also for clubs, especially foreign clubs to let their players participate. However, this also means that for those in other countries already exempted from military service, they will not be released from their clubs.

This increases the probability of Son and Suk ― who are both subject to conscription ― joining the Rio squad. Guangzhou Evergrande center back Kim Young-gwon is a member of the London Games squad; Guangzhou R&F center back Jang Hyun-soo and Dortmund full back Park Joo-ho helped Korea’s 2014 Incheon Asian Games gold medal. Hong Jeong-ho of FC Augusburg is already exempted because of an injury.

An option for Shin is his former underling Yun Young-sun. The 27-year-old Seongnam FC center back made his first A match debut in November last year thanks to a solid performance in his 35 games in 2015. Moreover, towering center back Lim Jong-eun is also a candidate. The 192-centimeter defender moved from the Jeonnam Dragons to K-League’s reigning champions of Jeongbuk Hyundai this year after being acknowledged for his defensive command.

In the 2012 London Games, then under-23 coach Hong Myung-bo named former Arsenal forward Park Chu-young, full back Kim Chang-soo and goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong as his wild card choices. And they all fulfilled Hong’s belief in them, after Park scored the winning goal in his side’s bronze medal 2-0 victory over Japan.