Wednesday is the biggest day in terms of the 2010 World Cup since the draw for the tournament was made on December 4 in Cape Town. 26 of the 32 teams that will do battle in South Africa in June are involved with preparation matches, many of which face each other. South Korea are no exception and take on fellow qualifiers Ivory Coast in London. The English capital is becoming a second home for the Taeguk Warriors. Not only is it a convenient base for coach Huh Jung-moo’s European stars, the big-name European and African teams are happier to play South Korea in London than make the long journey to East Asia. Ivory Coast is considered to be the strongest of the African contingent at the World Cup which starts in June – the so-called ‘six-pack’. Didier Drogba is considered to be the best African striker and one of the best in the world. That is another benefit of playing in London. Such stars are less likely to pick up mysterious injuries and pull out of exhibition games in far-flung locales. This is often to the relief, or, if you are cynical, due to the suggestion of club coaches who don’t want their best players travelling around the world at a crucial stage of the domestic season. For Drogba, it won’t be a problem. He plays his club football for West London club Chelsea. Ivory Coast meets Korea just down the road from Chelsea’s stadium at the compact Loftus Road home of Queens Park Rangers. Much attention in Seoul will be focused on how Korea’s delicate defense copes with the powerful Ivorian. A 3-0 defeat at the hands of China last month saw coach Huh Jung-moo blasted by fans after a chaotic performance at the back. Huh has selected largely the same defenders for the much tougher test on offer on Wednesday and the likes of Cho Yong-hyong and Kwak Tae-hwi have much to prove. Kang Min-soo is spared the test as he is injured. A good performance against Drogba will go a long way to silencing their critics but it may not silence the rest of the ‘Elephants’. Drogba’s Chelsea team-mate Salomon Kalou needs to be watched though the tricky Gervinho is injured. Elsewhere in the ranks, the African team boasts players who play for the likes of Arsenal, Sevilla, Manchester City, Stuttgart and world and European champions Barcelona. Korea is not without European stars. Park Ji-sung of Manchester United will captain the team and will line up with Bolton Wanderers winger Lee Chung-yong and Celtic’s Ki Sung-yong. AS Monaco striker Park Chu-young, who has been in fine form this season and has established himself as one of the leading attackers in the French league, is injured. As expected, Huh called 2002 and 2006 hero Ahn Jung-hwan . The striker, now 34, hasn’t featured for the national team since June 2008 but is now back in the national team set-up. “Ahn Jung-hwan has the experience and ability we need and performed well in the past two World Cups,” Huh said as the squad was announced last week. “I think he’s capable of making an impact for the team even if he plays for a short period of time on the pitch.” “With the World Cup in South Africa around the corner, I chose the players in their best form at the moment,” Huh explained. “Although there are other factors like injury and in some positions, I picked most competitive players ahead of the Finals.” For both teams, the attractions of playing each other are obvious. Ivory Coast has been placed in ‘The Group of Death’ in South Africa. This may mean tough tests against Brazil and Portugal but it also means a game against North Korea that must be won if a place is to be had in the second round. The African team assumes, not unreasonably, that the best way to practice playing against North Korea is to play against South Korea. For coach Huh, it is all about Nigeria. South Korea has tended to struggle against powerful and skilful African teams in the past and none fits that description better than Ivory Coast. Nigeria is the last team that South Korea faces after Greece and Argentina. It could be a crucial game in Durban and it is one that could be influenced by what happens in London on Wednesday evening. Tags Soccer News football

It has started. Nobody is quite sure exactly when and where but the debate about whether Ahn Jung-hwan should play at the 2010 World Cup is well and truly underway. The striker, now 34, was the hero of the 2002 competition when South Korea made it to the semifinals, scored the winning goal in 2006 to give his country a first-ever overseas victory at the world’s biggest tournament and, now, he could be on course for a third consecutive appearance. He is about to return to the national team set-up for the first time in 20 months for March's friendly with Ivory Coast in London. Ahn's name featured in headlines around the world in that golden summer almost eight years ago. Just hours after scoring the goal that sent South Korea into the last eight of the World Cup and eliminated the much-fancied Italian national team, Ahn was fired from his Italian club team of Perugia. His header had greatly upset his club’s owner Luciano Gaucci. “He was a phenomenon only when he played against Italy. I am a nationalist and I regard such behavior not only as an affront to Italian pride but also an offense to a country which two years ago opened its doors to him," Gaucci told the Italian media. "I have no intention of paying a salary to someone who has ruined Italian soccer.” Unsurprisingly, Ahn left Italy in the summer of 2002. Since then, he has been something of a journeyman. He headed to Japan and Shimizu S-Pulse and Yokohama F Marinos. After those two successful spells, he has struggled to find the net. First he tried in France and FC Metz, Germany and MSV Duisberg and eventually returned home to Suwon Bluewings and then Busan I’Park. The ‘Lord of the Ring’ (nicknamed so for his goalscoring celebration that involved kissing his wedding ring) went to China last year to play for Dalian Shide. After a tough start in the chilly northern port city, he enjoyed a reasonable season. He is now being talked about in the terms of a World Cup ‘joker’, a player who could be introduced late into a game with the intention of making a big impact in a short time. Ahn’s winning goal against Togo in 2006 was his third World Cup goal, more than any of his compatriots have ever managed on the world stage. Those memories linger long. The thought of the wavy-haired striker doing so one more time against Argentina, Nigeria and Greece, has his fans excited. The player is keeping his feet on the ground. "Until now, I haven't thought about it," he told Ilgan Sports earlier this month. "But it will be an honour if I am selected. I am happy if the coach thinks that I am a player that the national team needs. "All football players want to play at the World Cup but the results of the national team have been good and I have hardly thought about going to the World Cup. There are many better players than me. I will just keep doing my best." The excitement was ratcheted up a notch late last week as he scored a goal in a friendly game between Dalian and K-League club Gangwon FC. The header was witnessed by South Korea’s assistant coach Jung Hae-sung. He had been dispatched by head coach Huh Jung-moo to check on the Chinese-based hitman. “I was very impressed with his attitude,” Jung was quoted as saying. “He appears to be ready to sacrifice himself for the good of the national team, even though he is a veteran. “He was not 100 per cent fit but still managed to play the full match and score a goal. His movement around the box could improve but overall he put on a good performance.” Huh said in January that he was keeping his, or at least Jung’s, eyes on Ahn and that the door is always open. The big test comes when the squad is named for the Ivory Coast match and according to the Korean media, the KFA have requested to Dalian that Ahn be made available. The Lord of the Ring looks like he may have the chance to complete his World Cup trilogy. Tags Soccer News football

In Korean football, you are nothing without a nickname. You don’t have to be called to the national team to get one but it helps. This season, we have seen the return to form of a number of old heads and the appearance of some long-unused aliases headlines in the huge portals.

It had to happen sooner or later. It was only a matter of time before one of the 2002 World Cup heroes took the reins of a K-League team. It is perhaps fitting that the man who scored the first goal in South Korea’s unforgettable run to the semi-finals of the world’s biggest sporting event is the first one to try his luck in the domestic league. Perhaps it is also fitting that the goal, which came against Poland in front of 55,000 delirious fans, was scored at Busan’s Asiad World Cup Stadium. For it is in that same cavernous arena where Hwang will start his coaching career with local team Busan I’Park. The 39 year-old has a tough challenge ahead. Large attendances are a rarity at the stadium these days as the club has struggled in recent years. Four-time champions Busan may be but the latest came in 1997 and the top has been slipping increasingly out of sight. 2007 saw the south coast team finish next to bottom. It is a long way back to the summit but Hwang, who played over 100 international appearances in a career that spanned 14 years, was the top scorer in Japan’s league in 1999 and played 18 months under Guus Hiddink, has a background that at least provides a well-placed base camp. On a snowy Seoul morning, I took the bullet train to the meet Hwang at Busan's clubouse in the north of the sprawling south coast city. You had a successful time in Japan. What did you learn from the J-League? Korean and Japan are rivals but their football styles have many differences. In the J-League, I remember feeling it was more technical and nice to watch. It’s hard to say which is better. Technically, the K-League needs to improve. In the end, good football is winning football. J-League teams are more likely to give the fans the kind of football they want. Japanese players don’t waste energy and can attack quickly with fast passing. Korean players’ strong point is speed and aggression and if they can match these qualities with the J-Leagues strengths then Korean football will develop more. How has the K-League changed since you retired? When I played there was almost no team using four at the back. It was all man-to-man marking and very rough. Now players are trying to play more advanced and European-style football. There are many teams that use man-to-man and zonal. Also, the stadium facilities improved a lot after the Word Cup; It looks like we are moving towards more technically developed football. Is it more difficult to score goals in Korea than Japan? I think it’s more difficult. When I played in Japan, J-League teams used three and four at the back. Defenders were less active than Korea and used less man-to-man marking so for me, the J-league was easier than the K-League. I don’t mean that the standard was lower, it was just the perfect situation for me as a striker. What was the biggest thing that Hiddink changed? I think it was ball possession. In the past we wasted our energy with unnecessary passes and chasing around after defenders. Hiddink stressed that we should keep the ball safely and try to gain control of the game. Even after five years, I still am influenced by that. Some people overseas say that Korea only reached the semi-finals with home advantage and favourable refereeing. What do you think about that? Of course, playing at home is an advantage but I don’t think the referees were biased. We got results through trying our best and lots of effort. We trained hard and worked hard. Compared to before, there was much more competition for places. We grew more confident that we could win and did so fairly and squarely. When the competition started did you really believe you could reach the semi-finals? No. Our first target was to win our first World Cup game. Our second target was to reach the second round. When we did so, that was success for us. I didn’t expect to reach the semi-final. How did you feel when you scored against Poland? I can’t explain. It was a goal I had waited so long for. It was a goal that had deep meaning for Korea. I can’t express the feeling. I was so happy. How did the 2002 World Cup change Korean football? First, with Hiddink in charge, we could get many games against top class opposition like Czech Republic, England and France. Through these tests, we learned that if we play a little more coolly and ruthlessly against the big teams that we would be OK.. That was a big benefit. What lessons do you feel Korean football has forgotten since then? That of team balance. Through training, we learned how to save our energy and reduce unnecessary effort. We learned how to play much more efficiently and effectively and how to achieve more with less energy. You scored goals everywhere you went. What was the secret to your success? I had a goalscoring instinct but I also studied a lot. Training is very important but even when I was taking it easy, I was always thinking about how to score goals. When I, or somebody else, scored, I would often watch the video and think about what had happened and why it had happened. Thinking about the game is the way to be a success. These days, players sometimes lack that. Can the goalscoring instinct be taught? Strikers are born with the difficult art of scoring goals but by trying hard, it can be developed. Of course, constant effort is needed. With study, thinking and awareness, you can’t suddenly have an instinct for goal but you can reduce the failure rate. With thorough preparation, you can increase your goalscoring rate. Why do Korean strikers struggle to score goals? Of course, it is a striker’s job to score goals but it is also a problem for the whole team. It is not the problem of one player but means that there are many things that need to be changed. For example, if long passes or crosses don’t improve in quality then it will become increasingly difficult to score. You spent a year in England recently –where? Reading. English teams don’t open their training to the public. Reading then had Seol Ki-hyeon and were generous to Koreans. As you know, the Premier League is very energetic and has lots of appeal for fans. Do Korean fans overrate the Premier League? Perhaps that is true. Objectively, the Premier league is the leader of world football but it doesn’t match the Korean situation well. Our fans also need to lose their prejudice that English football is the best and Korean football is nothing. What kind of coach will you be? Strict…? I don’t want to be that kind of coach. I want to be a rational coach. A family atmosphere is very important. As the coach has no experience, I don’t know if my methods are correct. But I want to make a team with one mind and one voice. More than having a team that is a high-pressure team, I would like a spontaneous team. If Busan players enjoyed late-night drinking sessions similar to some Korean players at the 2007 Asian Cup, how would you handle the situation? To maintain team discipline, I would carefully judge the situation and impose a heavy punishment. Of course, there is time for all of us to have a drink. But timing is important –during the season or the day before a game, then that situation would be a big problem. Did that happen during the 2002 World Cup? No, never. Why did you join Busan? Busan was a great team but recently results have been good. There hasn’t been much talent and the situation was tough. However, the club is trying to try for a new start and there have been many changes. I also feel that that it is a worthy challenge. What's the target for Busan in 2008? Last season Busan was 13th and found it tough to score. First of all, we need to increase our scoring capability. I especially have in mind our home form. If we can move up to the middle-ranking K-League teams then that will be a success. However, I don’t want to make too many plans at the moment. Is there money for new players? The club handles that side of things so I don’t know. At the moment, the level of players is satisfactory so there is no problem. How can you get more fans to come to the stadium? The most important things is through our performances. We need to strengthen our weak points. The fans are far from the pitch so we have a plan to install some seating right next to the pitch so they will be able to enjoy the action much more. So now we are ready to make a favourable situation for the fans and know we have play better and attract the fans to the stadium. Would you like to move? To Gudeok Stadium for example? I really hope that we could have our own stadium. It is my fervent desire that Busan will be able to play games in front of more fans in the future. We will try little by little. First, we installed seats by the pitch so at the moment it’s unreasonable to move to Gudeok. Actually we looked into moving back to Gudeok but as it’s such a complicated problem, we decided to keep using Asiad Stadium. What advice have you received from your fellow coaches? They all advised me not too hurry. I am a new coach so there will be times when your plans and the reality is different, so don’t put pressure on yourself. When you are under pressure, many kinds of problems can occur and you need to think wisely. I heard that many times. Is trading Ahn Yong-hak for Ahn Jung-hwan a fair one? Ahn Yong-hak is a good player and I don’t need to tell you about Ahn Jung-hwan. Last season, Busan conceded 39 goals and scored just 20. So we have to increase our firepower. I am very positive about the transfer of Ahn Jung-hwan. Can Ahn score goals here? He didn’t at Suwon. Busan is much better for Ahn than Suwon. There is less mental pressure on Ahn at Busan. From now, the important thing is the players desire. I totally believe in the whole of the team, not only Ahn Jung-hwan. If he returns to peak condition then he can score more goals here than he did at Suwon. As you are a former striker, can you help Ahn? That’s right. But Busan is not just for Ahn Jung-hwan so it’s hard to focus on him but after training, I will help him if I can. As his senior, we can talk and I can advise him about technique. I have played with Ahn Jung-hwan and I know what his game lacks and his weak point. There has been a lot of press attention focused on you and Ahn. Are you worried about that? It has not been easy. If there are big expectations then isn’t there a big chance of disappointment? Excessive expectations can put pressure on me, Ahn and the other players. But we are professionals. It is not just about Ahn and me, the whole team team needs to know how to react positively to pressure and tension. 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