Hoping for Sweet Soccer Victory Tonight: S.Korea v. N.Korea

Hoping for Sweet Soccer Victory Tonight: S.Korea v. N.Korea. February. 20, 2008 08:09. bluesky@donga.com.

Park Ju-young and Jeong Dae Sae are the two star soccer players each representing South and North Korea, respectively.

The two Korean national soccer teams will take each other on in the second round of the 2008 East Asian Football Championship this evening (9:45 p.m., Korean time) at the Olympic Sports Centre in Chongqing, China.

With confidence, Park promised the team would win the match, yesterday, saying, “This is special to me. It’s against North Korea. I will make bold moves whenever I have an opportunity. I will also do my best with free and corner kicks.” He added, “I believe we need to score the first goal to maintain the initiative. When the North Korean team loses that first goal, it will press deep into our defense, but that will leave more room for our attackers.”

Park compared himself to the leading North Korean striker Jeong Dae Sae. He noted, “Jeong reportedly said that I’m better. It’s hard to say that, though. We have different styles. Jeong is a powerful player with his own merits. I’m more of a guy who moves a lot, and, thus, shows unique moves with the ball.”

Jeong appeared cautious. He said, “I should’ve scored more goals in the match with Japan. I should learn more, I guess.” As the main striker dashing deep into the opponent’s defensive line immediately following a counterattack, Jeong dodged Japanese defenders to score the first goal within the first 5 minutes of the match. He recalled, “Japan was not that strong. I guess the South will be about the same. I will use our coach’s strategies.”

South Korean national team coach Huh Jung-mu will reportedly put four players on the defense line. His idea seems to counter Jeong’s dashing attack by pressing him with two defenders in the middle.

North Korean coach Kim Jung Hoon usually concentrates on the midfield and the defense lines. But he may employ different strategies in the upcoming match.

After today’s game, the two Koreas will meet again on Mar. 26 in Pyongyang for the qualifiers of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Today’s game will be a prelude to the Pyongyang match.

The last time the two teams competed with each other was two and a half years ago in the second round of the 2nd East Asian Football Championship. To date, the South has won five matches against the North with 3 draws and 1 loss.