“Let’s Make Korean Soccer as Beautiful as the Autumn Foliage”

“Let’s Make Korean Soccer as Beautiful as the Autumn Foliage”. November. 04, 2004 23:10. by Soon-Il Kwon Jong-Koo Yang stt77@donga.com yjongk@donga.com.

“The mountains are great this time of year, aren’t they?”

“Yes. They’re very beautiful.”

“Let’s deck Korean soccer in such beautiful colors as well.”

“I will do my best.”

On November 4, president Chung Mong-joon of the Korea Football Association (KFA) and coach Johannes Bonfrere of the Korean national team climbed Mt. Bukhan together and opened their hearts to nature and each other. The purpose of the hike was to reinvigorate the national team’s failing morale and reaffirm their dedication to replicating the “semifinals phenomenon” of 2002 at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Chung and Bonfrere departed from Gugi-dong in Jongro-gu, Seoul and followed a two-and-a-half-hour course, walking through a natural tunnel of fall foliage past Mt. Buhkan’s Daenam Gate and down to Pyeongchang-dong. On the way, the two men spoke candidly about the current state of Korean soccer. They were accompanied by some 60 people: head assistant coach Huh Jung-moo, assistant coach Lee Chun-seok, and goalkeeper coach Chung Gi-dong, along with several KFA staff members, including vice president Cho Chung-yun, Technical Committee chairman Lee Hwoi-taek, and general secretary Noh Heung-sub, and various members of the press.

Chung: “In Korea, we often visit the mountains at the start of a new challenge in order to renew our resolve.”

Bonfrere: “Climbing the mountains like this is really refreshing, as if my heart were being cleared of all obstructions. I promise not to disappoint the fans.”

Chung: “The national team members don’t seem to be the same these days in terms of mental resolve.”

Bonfrere: “It’s because they attained so much at the 2002 World Cup. They’ve fallen somewhat into arrogance. Things will soon improve if they return to their original mindset, of starting once more from scratch.”

“This is my first time climbing a mountain,” said Coach Bonfrere. “I didn’t know it was so high—it’s quite hard now that I’m trying it.” Confessing that he “climbed the Alps in a cable car,” he marveled that Mt. Bukhan, which looks from afar like it’s formed out of one huge lump of rock, in fact consists of a scattering of intricate stone formations. When other hikers they came across greeted the party with shouts of “Go, Korean soccer!” Bonfrere shook hands with each of them and reassured them of the team’s dedication to success.

President Chung had also climbed Mt. Bukhan with Gus Hiddink back in January 2002. At the time, the public had been in an uproar regarding Coach Hiddink’s “month-long vacation,” and the KFA had arranged the hike as an attempt to clear the air. In June of that same year, the Korean team achieved its legendary rise to the World Cup semifinals.

On November 17, Korea will go up against the Maldive team in the final match of the second preliminary round for the 2006 World Cup. This visit to Mt. Bukhan was aimed at revitalizing the national team’s atmosphere following its loss to Iran at the Asian Cup and a draw with Lebanon in the World Cup preliminaries—a less-than-stellar run uncharacteristic of one of the most prominent powers in Asian soccer.

What kind of harvest will this year’s “Mt. Buhkan pledge” between Chung and Bonfrere reap for Korean soccer?