It was apt. On the day that Park Ji-sung announced his retirement from the South Korean national team, leaving the way open for even more young players, then 21 year-old midfielder Koo Ja-cheol was bidding farewell to Jeju United and heading to Europe to join 2009 German champions VfL Wolfsburg. Park’s goodbye was more emotional and marks the end of an era. After making his 100th appearance in the semi-final of the 2011 Asian Cup that ended in a penalty shootout defeat at the hands of eventual champion Japan, Park confirmed that he wouldn’t be seen in the famous red shirt of his nation again in order to prolong his career in another red shirt, that of Manchester United. Even at the far-from-ancient age of 29, Park feels that the lengthy journeys from Manchester to Seoul don’t do his body any favours and it can be safely assumed that his English employers are not against this decision. "I think I could have continued my international career without health issues," Park said, blinking in front of hundreds of flashlights at KFA House in Seoul. "But I will accept the situation as it is and I have no regrets. Because of our geographic location, I've had to travel long ways from Europe to play (in South Korea). But to be competitive in the world, we have to travel around the world and players from now on should take care of themselves." Try as he might, he couldn’t convince the assembled press pack that he doesn’t plan to make a dramatic comeback at the 2014 World Cup when he will be 33. “If we make it to the World Cup in Brazil, then players who worked hard during the qualification should get the chance to play," Park said. "They will improve as players through World Cup experience. I don't think I will ever be back with the national team." Park knows the Korean media well enough to know that it won’t be that simple. He will be fine for the next 12 months as there are few important duties for the national team but as Brazil 2014 starts to move into view that will change. There will be calls, demands and then pleas for his return especially if he is still playing well with Manchester United. Indeed, the name of Zinedine Zidane, who famously returned to the French national team ahead of the 2006 World Cup, has been in the headlines in the Korean media with a frequency not seen since that infamous headbutt in the final against Italy. Koo Ja-cheol has his European experience ahead of him. Last year was when the mild-mannered midfielder really started to rise to prominence in the Land of the Morning Calm. From the centre, his five goals and 12 assists not only helped his club Jeju United, into second place in the K-league and within touching distance of a first title, but confirmed his place as one of the nation’s top prospects. It didn’t quite happen in 2010. A trial with English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers early in the year didn’t quite work out and while he was named in the preliminary squad for the World Cup in South Africa, Koo was cut from the final 23. The recently finished Asian Cup was a different story however. Even before it started, the player had come close to joining Swiss team Young Boys of Berne but after finishing as the tournament’s top scorer with five goals, other suitors threw their hats into the ring. One came from VfL Wolfsburg. The German team, backed by Volkswagen, won the 2009 title but is struggling this season at the wrong end of the standings. And have now just sacked former head coach of the English national team Steve McClaren. But Koo, who will join up with Japanese national team captain Makoto Hasebe, is ready for the challenge. “Now I am at the starting line again. The facilities and team atmosphere was great. I feel very happy now as I was trying so hard to play in Europe.” “Now I will concentrate on playing well out there. Lee Young-pyo and many national team mates advised me to play in Europe. Though my original position is defensive midfielder, I am ready to play in any position the coach asks.” It just remains to be seen who that coach is but such is life in Europe. Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

South Korean clubs teams don’t change coaches at the drop of a hat and usually wait until the season ends before taking a look at how their man in the hotseat has done. Sackings are rare, coaches tend to leave as contracts end or better offers come along. This off-season period is a little unusual however as three of the four clubs that were under overseas stewardship last season will have a new coach when the 2010 K-League season kicks off at the end of February. Only Incheon United will have the same foreign face in 2010. Serbian Ilja Petkovic was rewarded for taking the West Coast club into the championship play-off series in 2009, his first season in Korea, by being offered a new one-year contract. FC Seoul, Pohang Steelers and Jeju United have all seen their coaches head out of South Korea. The biggest story and the biggest shock has been the convoluted departure of Sergio Farias from Pohang. The Brazilian led the team to the 2007 K-League title and then, famously, the 2009 Asian crown. Such success naturally attracts covetous eyes. In December, reports started to surface that suggested he was talking to Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli. “It is ridiculous that they publish something which is not true,” Farias replied when asked about the rumours. "Teams from West Asia tend to say things before checking all the facts just to show off. This kind of behavior should be avoided." Pohang CEO Kim Tae-man also dimissed the reports. “Farias is now famous so these kinds of rumours are common,” said Kim. “I know him personally and I don’t need to even ask him about it because it is not an issue.” It soon became one as Farias signed an 18-month deal with the Jeddah club worth a reported $2.5 million. That dwarfed his Pohang pay and despite the manner of his leaving, his five years and success in Korea meant that Farias left with good wishes. Pohang openly talked of their desire for another Brazilian coach and hired Waldemar Lemos de Oliveira, a 55 year-old with experience coaching in Japan and Saudi Arabia as well as his native Brazil. He has signed a one-year deal at his new club and will join them with immediate effect. "He has lots of experience with big clubs in Brazil and he has also worked in the Asian region, and he is able to get the players working together well as a unit," Kim Tae-Min said. "Most of all, however, he showed a good understanding of Pohang Steelers and what we are about. He likes to play fast and attractive football that excites the fans and wants to win respect from other teams through beautiful and clean football." Oliviera will be able to communicate easily with the new boss at FC Seoul. Nelo Vingada hails from Portugal but has coached all over the world. He replaces Senol Gunes who returned to Turkey in December as his three-year contract with Seoul expired. It is not the most inspiring choice for Seoul fans. Gunes was named FIFA’s coach of the year in 2002 as he took an unheralded Turkey team into third place at the World Cup. Vingada’s list of jobs may be lengthier but doesn’t carry the same weight. His last national team position was with Jordan. "I'm very happy to be here. My feelings are very optimistic," Vingada told local media as he arrived. "I believe that by training hard, as a team, as a family, we will achieve what everybody wants." The 56 year-old, who won the Egyptian title with Zamalek, aims to do the same for FC Seoul. "My challenge, the challenge of the team, the challenge I want to bring to the players, is to make first (place)," he said. "It's a new year, a new time, so when we start our training, we will have my new ideas and the support of the staff. I want to see FC Seoul on the list of winners of the K-League. I am here for this challenge." Jeju United parted company with Brazil’s Artur Bernandes after a fairly unspectacular two seasons and the club has decided not to follow the example set by Seoul and Pohang. A Korean has been appointed in the shape of former national team Under-17 and Under-23 Park Kyung-Hoon.There is less pressure on Park. Pohang and Seoul are expected to battle for the title. For Jeju, a mid-table ranking will suffice. For the new boys, now is the time for some pre-season training in warmer climes, not there are many of those around at the moment, but the real heat comes with the kick-off of the 2010 K-League season. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com Tags Soccer News football

In a league that is famed through Asia for its physicality and aggression, K-League clubs can be fairly gentle off the pitch when it comes to firing coaches. China and Japan have almost-European style practices in that regard while in West Asia - rare is the head coach that lasts over a season. Not in South Korea. Perhaps it is a legacy of corporate culture where the likes of Samsung and Hyundai prefer to ease older people towards and then out the door over time rather than kick them out in one fell swoop. In 2006 for example, former Chelsea boss Ian Porterfield took Busan I’Park on a winless streak of 21 games. He still wasn’t forcibly relieved of his duties but took it upon himself to leave the south coast club.

With the temperatures and humidity levels rising all over the Korean peninsula, the nation’s players will be happy that the K-league is taking a five-week break. Recent games have seen most of the 22 on the pitch collapse on the turf in exhaustion as the referee blows his whistle to signal the end. Not all players will be resting, 18 of them will be heading to China to play in the Beijing Olympics- more about that next week. For those left behind, and especially the coaches, there will be a lot of thinking going on over the next month. Suwon, Seongnam and Seoul may be lording it at the top of the pile but there are plenty of others not so well off. The one with the most to consider is Hwang Sun-hong. The hero of the 2002 World Cup is one of South Korea’s best ever strikers but his first coaching job is not going so well. Busan I’Park started the season with a win on the opening day against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. 14 games later and Hwang is still looking for victory number two following four ties and ten defeats. Busan has been unlucky at times; playing well against some of the big boys and losing to last-minute strikes. The south coast team, which contains Ahn Jung-hwan, had never been handed a heavy defeat - until last Saturday that is. That was when free-scoring Daegu FC won 4-0 at Busan’s World Cup Stadium. Three of the goals came in the final minutes as Busan desperately tried to get something out of the game. Still, it was a sobering result and the defending was enough to drive long-suffering Busan fans, and perhaps coach Hwang, to drink. Ahead of Busan in the standings, but only just, are the three Jeolla clubs. Gwangju Sangmu is a perennial struggler and it is no surprise to see the military-run team, reliant on conscripts to the army and unable to sign players, struggle in the nether regions but more was expected of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. The Jeonju team is improving slightly but has won just four games in a season when the 2006 Asian champions was at least expected to finish in the top six with such players as Kim Hyeung-bom, Chung Kyung-ho and Cho Jae-jin on its books. Further south, Chunnam Dragons are also struggling. The Gwangyang club has never been one of the league’s big boys but three wins all season is a poor return. Jeju United spent much of this season languishing near the bottom. Four straight wins in June and July changed all that as Brazilian boss Arthur Bernardes has the team playing some good football and the islanders are outside bets for a top six finish and a place in the play-offs. Incheon United is in the opposite situation. The west coast port city started the season on fire and won its opening three games. Only two more have followed and some of the football on display at the Munhak Stadium has not been especially exciting with an over-reliance on big Serbian striker Dzenan Radonic partly at fault. Daejeon Citizen is a team usually tough to defeat. The Purple boys squeezed into the play-offs last season but have yet to find the same sort of form this time round. Goals are very hard to come by for Kim Ho’s team with a measly 11 netted in 15 games. A 1-0 win over Suwon the round before last was well-received but the veteran silver-haired Kim has to find some magic from somewhere over the next few weeks. Gyeongnam FC has been in reasonable form and currently lies in sixth –the last play-off spot. The Changwon-based club has coped well after the coach and its two best players left at the end of last season and new Brazilian signing Indio is starting to impress along with young midfielder Seo Sang-min. Up the road, Daegu is having a real roller-coaster of a season. The team has scored 31 goals, one more than leaders Suwon but the problem is the fact it has conceded 37.Games involving Daegu are usually high scoring with the Korean duo of Lee Keun-ho and Jang Nam-seok doing the damage only to look on in dismay as the defense is breached once again. If Daegu can tighten that backline without sacrificing its potency in attack, a place in the play-offs awaits. The two South-eastern coastal cities Pohang Steelers and Ulsan Hyundai are in their usual positions of fourth and fifth. Neither team has impressed on a consistent basis but have enough good players to get the results that will put them in the play-offs. Once you book that ticket, as Pohang knows only two well, anything can happen. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

“It is very strange to me.” So says Busan I’Park’s Coach Andy Egli a number of times as he relaxes overlooking Haeundae Beach, one of South Korea’s most popular tourist spots. The well-dressed Swiss boss has been on the south coast since July 2006 and while he has settled into life in Korea’s second city with the minimum of fuss, there are still a number of aspects that make him shake his head, laugh or both.