Republic of Korea

Team Overview

The first international appearance of the Korean National Team or the Reds – as the fans like to call it – only happened in 1948 but since then the team has grown to be one of the most powerful football squads in the Asian continent. The Tigers have already appear in seven World Cups and in all of the editions since 1986.

The teams also won the Asian Cup twice and currently is the 50th best football nation in the world according the most recent FIFA Ranking.

History

Early Years

Korean Football Association was created in 1928 to replace the Joseon Football Association, the first football governing body in the country. Since its creation the KFA was determined to develop and disseminate the sport among Koreans.

In 1948, with the establishment of the Republic of Korea, the KFA joined FIFA and the Korean Team played its first international match. The game was against Mexico in London, England and the Tigers started with the right foot beating the Aztec squad 5-3.

World Cup History

In 1954 the Republic of Korea joined the Asian Football Confederation and that same year they beat Japan in a two legged match to secure their spot in the FIFA World Cup in Switzerland.

The Reds were placed as the unseeded team in Group 2. The format of the competition spared the seeded and unseeded teams to play each so the weaker one would have a better chance to qualify. That didn’t help Korea very much as they were place in possibly the toughest group of the tournament along with West Germany, Turkey and Olympic Champions Hungary.

The first Asian team to play in a FIFA World Cup were spared from playing West Germany but not from being humiliated by the other two opponents. 9-0 to Hungary and 7-0 to Turkey showed that the Koreans still had a lot to improve before being able to face the best national teams in the world.

And they did. But it took 32 years for Republic of Korea to make their second appearance in a World Cup. In 1986, in Mexico, the team was determined to leave a better impression. Park Chang-Seon became the first Korean to score a goal in the tournament when the team was beat by Argentina 3-1. South Korea won their first World Cup point in a 1-1 tie against Bulgaria and with a 3-2 defeat to Italy, the Tigers returned home as the last of Group A but knowing that they were in the right path.

In the 1990 World Cup South Korea couldn’t perform well at all and the three defeats to Belgium, Spain and Uruguay felt like a step back in the team’s evolution.

Four years later in the United States, South Korea gave Spain a hard time tying their group encounter with 2 goals. The Koreans also tied against Bolivia 0-0 and scared Germany with two goals in the second half after being down by 3. The results were good but not enough to take the team to the next round of the competition.

In 1998 South Korea qualified to the World Cup in France and was placed in group E along with Belgium, Mexico and the Netherlands. After losing 3-1 to Mexico and 5-0 to the Dutch, the Koreans got their consolation point in a 1-1 tie with Belgium. The team was young and that tournament was part of a big preparation as South Korea had been chosen to host, with Japan, the next edition of the FIFA World Cup.

As co-hosts of the 2002 World Cup Republic of Korea was seeded in Group D and received the company of Portugal, Poland and the United States. From the start the Korean crowd showed that they would support the team all the way. The red sea in the Asiad Main Stadium in Busan pushed the Tigers to victory against Poland (2-0) in the opening match of the competition.

A 1-1 tie in the second game against the USA caused some worry. The team would have to face its toughest challenge, Portugal, and would need at least a tie to move on in the competition. The then 21-year old Park Ji-Sung drove the Korean crowd wild when he scored the winning goal against Portugal at minute 70. South Korea would not only qualify to the next round but also take the first place in Group D.

The round-of-16 match against Italy was extremely controversial. The Italians felt the referee was clearly in favour of the local team and in the end the 2-1 Korean victory in the extra time would send the Asians to the play their first ever quarter-final.

More controversy marked the quarter-final match against Spain. Korea had already beat two European teams in a row (Portugal and Italy) and Spain was the next in line. After a goalless first half the Spaniards had an inexplicable disallowed goal in the beginning of the second half. And after 120 minutes of football the match would be decided in the penalty shootout. With the help of more than 50,000 wild fans the Koreans won 5-3 and for the first time ever an Asian team was among the best four football nations in the planet.

The Korean team fell in the semi final 1-0 to Germany and also lost the third place match to Turkey (3-2) but the whole country was proud of the incredible achievement their national team got.

In Germany in 2006 the Koreans tried to repeat the good performance from the previous World Cup and after a good 2-1 win over Togo the team lost momentum and a 1-1 tie with France and a 2-0 defeat to Switzerland sent the Reds back home after the first Group stage.

Asian Cups

Following its 1954 World Cup debut, South Korea won the AFC Nations Cup back to back in 1956 and in 1960. The team also finished as runners-up three other times – 1972, 1980 and 1988.

Present

Republic of Korea now occupies the position number 50 in the FIFA ranking and the team, which is coached by former 1986 World Cup player Huh Jung-Moo, is on top of group 3 in the 3rd round of the AFC Qualifying for the 2010 World Cup with 4 points after two games.

Next month The Tigers will face Jordan to continue the path to reach their 8th World Cup appearance.

Stars of the Current Squad

Park Ji-Sung

• Date of Birth: February 25, 1981
• Position: Attacking Midfielder
• Height: 175cm
• With the support of Dutch coach Guus Hiddink Park has become one of the most successful Koreans players in history. The fast and technical midfielder was transferred to Manchester United in 2005 after a great period with PSV Eindhoven of Holland. Park is a certain name to help the qualify for another World Cup.

Kim Nam-Il

• Date of Birth: March 14, 1977
• Position: Goalkeeper
• Height: 182cm
• Nicknamed “The Vaccum Cleaner” due to his amazing performance in the 2002 World Cup, Kim also made the squad that didn’t do so well in Germany in 2006. Now the experienced keeper that plays for J-League side of Vissel Kobe is ready to take the Reds to another FIFA World Cup and repeat the success of 2002.

Park Chu-Young

• Date of Birth: July 10, 1985
• Position: Forward
• Height: 184cm
• After being named AFC Young Player of the Year in 2004 when he was only 17 years old, Park Chu Young joined the main National Team the following year and played the 2006 World Cup. The number 10 of FC Seoul has already scored 22 goals for his team and 7 for the National Squad. He wants to score a lot more and help Korea Republic get to another World Cup.

Team Legends

Choi Young-Il

• Full Name: Choi Young-Il
• Date of Birth: April 25, 1966 (1972-08-30)
• Position: Defender
• Caps: 55
• Goals: 0

Hong Myung-Bo

• Full Name: Hong Myung-Bo
• Date of Birth: February 12, 1969 (1945-11-03)
• Position: Defender
• Caps: 135
• Goals: 9

Choi Soon-Ho

• Full Name: Choi Soon-Ho
• Date of Birth: January 10, 1962
• Position: Striker
• Caps: 95
• Goals: 30

Cha Bum-Kun

• Full Name: Cha Bum-Kun
• Date of Birth: May 22, 1953
• Position: Striker
• Caps: 121
• Goals: 55

Most International Matches Played

Most Appearances

Most Goals

Player Recognition & Awards

Team Honours

Asian Cup Champions: 1956, 1960

Management

Head Coach: Huh Jung-Moo

Huh had an important role as a player when he scored a goal against Japan in 2nd leg of final Asian qualifying group stage for 1986 Mexico World Cup. Now, for the third time, he has in his had the direction of the National Team and the responsibility to lead the team to another successful World Cup.

Uniforms

Home: red shirt and white shorts

Away: white shirt and red shorts

Important Links

• http://www.kfa.or.kr/

References

• http://www.kfa.or.kr/
• http://www.the-afc.com/eng/competitions/fixtures/index.jsp_WC-2007.html
• http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea_Republic_national_football_team
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea_Football_Association