2010 was a year to remember for Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. The team from just south of Seoul not only won the Asian Champions League but went on to finish third place at the FIFA Club World Cup after meeting European champions Inter Milan. It was even better for Sasa Ognenovski, a man looking forward to his third K-League season. The big Australian was the man handed the Asian trophy in Tokyo in November. He was also named the MVP for the entire tournament and then the awarded the prize as the 2010 Asian Player of the Year. It was a dream season. Even better, the 31 year-old made his debut for the Australian national team in November and went on to star in the Asian Cup in January when the Socceroos made the final before losing to Japan. That is all history now. The new season has just kicked-off for Seongnam and the 15 other teams in the K-League. The question I put to him was: how do you follow a season that was almost as perfect as it could be? “Well, it is impossible if only because we are not in the Asian Champions League,” Ognenovski said. “However, it gives us a chance to focus on domestic issues such as the K-league and the FA Cup and doing our best to win those.” Not being in the Asian Champions League is a blow for the club. Seongnam’s exploits last season came at a cost at home and they failed to qualify for the 2011 version by finishing high enough in the K-League rankings. In the past, winners were given an automatic place in the tournament for the following year. That is no longer the case. “I think we should be allowed to defend the title,” said Ognenovski. “Any team that wins a major tournament should be able to defend that title but I don’t make the rules, we just have to not worry about Asia this year and all the travelling and just deal with the soccer in Korea.” There is another consequence of not having to deal with the Asian Champions League and it is not as positive. As the competition, featuring 32 teams from all over the continent, grows in prestige and profile, players want to be in it, especially those that have experienced it. Mauricio Molina was one. He could have been named the Player of the Tournament in Ognenovski’s stead and nobody would have batted an eyelid. Coming from Colombia, the wideman couldn’t, of course, have been named Asian Player of the Year but he was one of the best to play on the continent in 2010. So much so that FC Seoul paid out over $1 million to secure his services. He will be badly missed. I asked Ognenovski if Seoul being in the Champions League and Seongnam not was the reason for Molina’s departure. “Maybe,” he replied. “Obviously when you are playing on that stage, the whole of Asia is watching you and much of the world watches the final and then there is of course the FIFA Club World Cup. Players want to keep playing at the level and Seoul came in for him and they are in the champions League and we are not so he left. “He brought goals in all competitions that he played in. Overall, he scored 27 or 28 goals. It is hard to replace that and talent like that is not always easy to find and he wasn’t even playing as a striker so it was even more valuable. His set pieces were excellent and his assists too. Whoever comes in has big shoes to fill.” South Korean national team goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryeong has left for Suwon, another team in the Asian Champions League, and he was followed by Choi Sung-kuk. Ognenovski’s central defensive partner Cho Byung-kuk has left for Japan. So despite not having the distraction of Asia, some of the team’s biggest stars have left. Winning an eighth K-league title will not be easy. “It is never positive to lose good players, especially ones who are in the national team but the replacement goalkeeper we have is quality. We have been in pre-season now for a while and I have had chance to watch him in action and I can say he is good.” Ha Kang-jin certainly was in the opening weekend of the K-League season as he saved a last-minute penalty kick at Pohang Steelers to secure a 1-1 tie and has been named in the squad to face Honduras on March 25. Seongnam coach Shin Tae-yong, one of the most highly-rated young tacticians in Asia, has promised fans two new players from Brazil that he hopes will replace the likes of Molina. Ognenovski hopes so: “In the K-League, if you get good foreigners then they can make a big difference. Hopefully the ones we bring in are better than the ones who left.” Whatever happens, the big man from down under will not feel lonely in 2011. Three more imports have followed in his footsteps from Australia’s A-League. Iain Fyfe and Dutchman Bas Van der Brink have joined Busan I’Park while Luke Devere is now a Gyeongnam player. “They talk to me and ask me about the lifestyle and the league. I usually answer in a positive fashion. I talked to Luke Devere and told him that he will improve as a player because he will be marking better players as a defender and will also be playing with better players. “It is a great experience. I haven’t talked to the other guys but am sure that we will get a chance at some point. But we are here to play football in the end and that is our job. The other things are not so important. We are not here to look around and go sightseeing.” Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

2010 just keeps getting better and better for South Korean football and it could end on a real high if Seongnam Ilwha Chunma defeat European champions Inter Milan in the Club World Cup semi-final in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. It is a rare chance for a team from the K-League to mix it with the best in the world and fans back in East Asia will be eagerly tuning in to see if the seven-time champions can shock one of the biggest names in the world of football. If it happens, then a final is on the cards against either TP Mazembe of Congo and Brazil’s Internacional, no relation to the Italians. Seongnam’s coach Shin Tae-yong thinks that the final is possible. Shin, just 40, led the team to the Asian Champions League title in November with a 3-1 win over Zob Ahan of Iran in Tokyo. That also granted access to the intercontinental competition behind held in United Arab Emirates. On Saturday, Seongnam blew away local team Al Wahda with a 4-1 win. It was a fine display of clinical attacking soccer and served notice to the Italians, who won the European title with a victory over Bayern Munich back in May, that it will be a tough game in the fast-growing sporting city. Mauricio Molina, Sasa Ognenovski, Choi Sung-kuk and Cho Dong-keon were all on target for the K-League team. “Inter are the top team in the world so it won’t be an easy game, but our players are here to do our very best and I’m sure we’ll play well against them," Shin said .“As an Asian team if we do get to the finals it will be an honour to Asia, to me and the players it will be a great honour. “Inter are a very good team, but to challenge them at least once is a goal for all Asian teams. In Korea there is a proverb that goes something like ‘better than death is to challenge’ and we’ll apply that in the match. If we can show them that we can be in the same game as them, it will be great for us." Inter boasts world stars such as the Netherlands’ Wesley Sneijder, one of the best players of 2010, Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito of Argentina and Sweden’s star Zlatan Ibrahamovic. It quite a line-up but the Nerazzurri, the blue-and-blacks, have not been in the best of form this season. New coach Rafa Benitez, the Spaniard who took Liverpool to the 2005 European title, has found it tough to match the achievement of Jose Mourinho. The former Porto and Chelsea coach left to take control of Real Madrid in the summer. It has even been suggested that failure in this competition could cost Benitez his job. Three losses in the last four games in Italy have left the team in the unfamiliar position of sixth in the Serie A standings. Benitez is aware of the rumours and reports. “There is talk about many possible replacements for me, but I am the Inter coach, I want to win this Club World Cup and I am sure that if I do so, I will be here for a long time yet." Shin has been called the “Asian Mourinho” for his confident comments but knows that the odds are against his team. “In the media they’re talking a lot about Inter’s conflicts at home, but I’m not really concerned about that. The coach and players if they have a purpose and goal they’ll have a great game. “If they show their unity they can beat us, but if we challenge them I’m sure there is a weakness because of their conflicts at home.” “In the locker room I will tell them it’s worth a try because they will never have an opportunity like that, and now that we have an opportunity we should definitely make the most of it.” Whatever happens, it will be a night to remember for Seongnam’s players. The eleven who swatted aside Al Wahda, supported by a passionate Abu Dhabi crowd of 35,000, will be desperate to take on the Italians. It has been some year for the club on and increasingly off the field. The Asian success put around $2.5 million in the coffers and, so far, the Club World Cup has added another $2million. A win over Inter would add an extra $3million. But now is not the time to think about money. Seongnam has a game against one of the biggest teams in the world. Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

The K-League championship play-offs have reached that stage when it becomes a little easier to explain to non-followers what is going on. And Wednesday’s clash between Jeonbuk Motors and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma at Jeonju World Cup Stadium should be one to excite even the vaguest of soccer supporters. It is a big game in its own right but there are a number of side plots that add to the drama. The basic background is that both teams came through their first play-off tests with flying colours. Jeonbuk, who finished third at the end of the regular season, defeated sixth-place Gyeongnam FC 2-0 on Saturday afternoon. The win was a fairly comfortably one for the men in green. Cho Sung-hwan headed home the first, a rare goal from the defender. The second goal came from a more familiar source but Eninho’s was a fine strike. The Brazilian had been tweeting all week that he was raring to go and his run and low shot from the edge of the penalty area in the second half showed that he is a man of action as well as words. He is the team’s playmaker and if he hasn’t been quite as impressive as last season then the same can be said of Jeonbuk, though the two are not unrelated. The Motors lifted the K-League trophy in 2009 for the first time. The team it defeated in the final of that championship season was Seongnam. The Yellows have a score to settle against the Greens after losing 3-1 at the same stadium in the final game of last season. There is more. Whichever team wins on Wednesday will not only continue in the play-offs to face Jeju United on Sunday -the winner of which progresses to the final championship decider against FC Seoul- it will also receive a place in the 2011 Asian Champions League. Seongnam won the 2010 version on November 13. Jeonbuk won the same competition back in 2006. Back then, the champions were granted automatic entry to the following year’s edition but this is no longer the case. If Seongnam loses on Wednesday it will not be able to defend its title next year. Unsurprisingly, the club enjoyed its taste of continental glory and is hungry for more. “We want to play in the Asian Champions League again next season,” said Seongnam coach Shin Tae-yong. “Jeonbuk coach Choi Kang-hee is an excellent coach so we will have to prepare well for the game. We lost in the final to Jeonbuk last year and this is a game we really want to win.” Choi is looking to lead his team to a second successive K-League title; the last team to win back-to-back trophies was Seongnam back in 2003. The coach saw his team dispatch Gyeongnam on Saturday and then turned his thoughts to Wednesday’s big game. "It was a harder game than we expected but in front of our own fans, we showed a strong will to win. It wasn't a great performance but we got the right result. There is no time to relax as the next game takes place on Wednesday and we have to prepare for that,” said Choi. They will have to prepare for Seongnam’s three foreign players who all scored against Ulsan. Sasa Ognenovski got the first from the penalty spot, Dzenan Radoncic fired home a rocket of a second and Mauricio Molina sealed the win. Radoncic missed the Asian final through suspension and is hungry to make amends domestically. “It was tough not to play in Tokyo,” said the Montenegrin striker. “So I made coach Shin a promise that I would show what I could do against Ulsan. We defeated jeonbuk this season at home and we are confident we can do so again and qualify for Asia.” Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

Asian football history will be made this Wednesday with South Korea at the heart of it all. The Land of the Morning Calm is supplying 50% of the eight teams still involved in the Asian Champions League as the continental competition resumes at the quarterfinal stage after a break of four months. Much has happened since the second round came to a close in May, not least the 2010 World Cup. Nothing like this, one nation supplying the maximum four teams possible, has happened before however. East and South-East Asia supplied 16 of the 32 teams that started out in the competition back in February. The four teams each from Japan and China have fallen by the wayside as have representatives from Australia, Indonesia and Singapore. Only Korea remains as the K-League looks for a ninth championship and East Asia for a fifth in succession. Now, with the final in sight, the continent is no longer split into east and west. After the group stage and the one-off match of the second round, the quarter and semi-finals are two-legged affairs. Defending Asian champions Pohang Steelers and defending Korean champions Jeonbuk Motors will face long trips to West Asia over the next week. Not Seongnam Ilhwa or Suwon Bluewings though. Most eyes in Korea will be on the clash between the Gyeonggi giants who become the first all-Korean participants of an Asian tie since Jeonbuk and Ulsan met at the semi-final stage of the 2006 tournament. It promises to be quite a clash, both at Seongnam’s Tancheon Stadium on Wednesday and in the second leg at Suwon World Cup Stadium a week later. A few months ago, Seongnam, would have been the overwhelming favorites to progress to the last four for the third time in seven years but much has changed over the summer. To be more accurate, Suwon have changed. The team now bears little resemblance to the soporific and sluggish side that sank to the bottom of the K-League in the first half of the season. With loss after loss in the domestic game, coach Cha Bum-keun, regarded as the greatest Asian soccer player of the 20th century, called it a day in June. His replacement Yoon Sung-hyo has, so far, been a revelation. Seven wins and two ties, a record marred only by last weekend’s loss at the hands of leaders Jeju United, have seen the Bluewings soar from bottom to seventh place in the league. New signing Naohiro Takahara is starting to score and the former Japanese international in joined in attacked by the returning Shin Young-rok. With Kim Doo-hyun and Baek Ji-hoon looking like their former selves in midfield, Suwon fans are confident of upsetting Seongnam. In Asian terms that would be something of a shock. Seongnam were much more impressive in the Champions League earlier this season and is still going well in the league with six wins from its last ten matches. Coach Shin Tae-yong is looking to become the first man to win the Asian Champions League as both coach and player after lifting the trophy with the same club back in 1996. "Suwon has a strong forward and midfield line-up …and the team condition of Suwon looks very good and it is also playing well. But we don’t need to worry about this. We will prepare well and win.” said Shin to the official homepage of the Asian Football Confederation. “Every K-League club has a keen desire to play in the Champions League. They want to win the prize money and they want to play in the FIFA Club World Cup. So they prepare a lot for the competition. I think this is the main reason why four K-League clubs could reach the last eight this year.” Pohang Steelers won the competition last year for a record third time and despite the team’s poor form at home; they have made it into the last eight once again. The first leg is a long trek to the home of Iran’s league leaders Zob Ahan. It is the first time that the hosts have made it this far but after the Iranian national team won 1-0 in Seoul last week in an international friendly, Pohang will be taking nothing for granted. The third Korean match sees Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia travel to Jeonju to face Jeonbuk Motors. It is the first West Asian opposition for the Greens since the final of the 2006 tournament in which they defeated Al Karama of Syria. Jeonbuk will be favorites to progress to the last four despite a poor showing last Friday as they lost 3-1 at home to Gangwon FC. Last, and for Koreans, least, is the all West Asian clash between Saudi Arabian powerhouse AL Hilal and Qatar's Al Gharafa. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters World Cup football

You can’t do much better than 100 percent. South Korea’s quartet of teams that started the 2010 Asian Champions League back in February have all survived the first round intact. China have lost at least three of theirs and it could be all four while Japan will see at least one and probably two fall by the wayside. But in the Land of the Morning Calm, it has been a comfortable, stress-free progression. Pohang Steelers, Suwon Bluewings, Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma and Jeonbuk Motors are all through to the round of sixteen having played just five of the six group games. It is an impressive achievement to see all four progress unscathed but actually, it could have been better. The top two teams from each of the eight groups progress to the knockout stage but not all are equal. Finishing in first place ensures that the one-off game in the next round is played at home. Finishing second means a journey elsewhere. Seongnam is the best-placed and is already certain of a home tie. The Yellows can sit back and see who will finish first or second in Group G. At the moment, that is Suwon Bluewings. It remains to be seen if either team will welcome meeting such a familiar foe on the continental stage. The local media certainly will. Suwon’s players are kicking themselves that they are not currently occupying top spot instead of Gamba Osaka. In last week’s match in Japan, Suwon was level at 1-1 with seconds remaining until the defenders somehow let Gamba’s 17 year-old striker Takashi Usami score the decisive goal. The 2-1 win puts the J-League team in pole position. "I thought we were heading home with one point in our hand,” lamented Suwon coach Cha Bum-keun who is lamenting often these days. “But our players seemed to have lost their concentration in the last part of the game. We gave up their first goal so easily and so soon after our first goal, and that hurt us. We want to play at home in the round of 16 but … that possibility seems to have become smaller.” Suwon is a team that has been struggling of late with Asia being the only bright spot of what is becoming another dismal season at home. Three successive defeats in the K-League, including a painful 3-0 loss at the home of bitter rivals FC Seoul and a 2-1 defeat at home to Seongnam, preceded the Osaka disappointmen and then one followed. Unless the Japanese lose in China next week and Suwon defeat Singapore Armed Forces, Suwon will be making the short trip across Gyeonggi Province. Jeonbuk Motors is another team that is likely to finish second after conceding a last-minute goal to a Japanese team. Kashima Antlers won 2-1 in Jeonju in March and the K-League champions have been playing catch-up ever since. Both are through to the last 16 but if Jeonbuk, who won the competition in 2006, want to play at home in the next round, it has to win at the home of the Japanese champion. “We want to avenge the defeat in Kashima,” said Jeonbuk coach Choi Kang-hee after the match and added. “I know that is going to be a difficult away game but we will use the best of what we have to get a victory. I have plans for that.” If Jeonbuk don’t manage to get the result in Ibaraki next week then a long trip to South Australia to take on Adelaide United is on the cards. But if things go differently, a game against Pohang Steelers and a Jeolla and Gyeongsang Province match-up is a distinct possibility. All four Korean teams playing each other in the round of sixteen would be something to see. Copyright: Soccerphile.com & John Duerden Tags World Cup Pens World Cup football

It turns out that ‘Koreaphobia’ is a condition not easily cured. For South Korea and China, this week is the ‘decider’. The two neighbours have crossed swords twice this year already with the score resting at 1-1. Events over the next 48 hours will determine which nation emerges as the winner. The Koreans have long had the upper hand when it comes to the beautiful game. In 32 meetings between the two national teams, China had never won. Such a woeful record gave rise to the pseudo-psychological condition that described the fear of playing Korea. It was a term coined in the Middle Kingdom but taken up with gusto in the Land of the Morning Calm. That all changed on a February evening in Tokyo when China shocked the Asian Tigers with a 3-0 win. The result wasn’t flattering in the least and it could easily have been more. The victory was the best moment for Chinese football since they reached the 2004 Asian Cup final. It was greeted with a hail of happy headlines on the west side of the Yellow Sea and provoked gloom, doom and much soul-searching over on the east. Only a 2-0 win over Ivory Coast a month later lightened the mood ahead of the World Cup - that and last week’s results. The Asian Champions League reached the halfway stage and as it did so, Korea’s four representatives in the competition met China’s quartet. Each of the eight groups contains four teams with the top two progressing to the second round. It was a clean sweep for Korea as all four K-League teams triumphed against Chinese Super league opposition. Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma started the week coming back from a goal down at home against the Chinese champion. Beijing Guoan took the lead in the first half due to former Scotland international Maurice Ross but the Yellows hit back with three goals in the final twelve minutes to win 3-1 and stay on course for the second round. Two hours later, Suwon Bluewings recorded a vital 2-0 victory in the Chinese province of Henan to cement its place at the top of Group G. A similar result in Wednesday’s return match at Suwon World Cup Stadium will likely see Cha Bum-keun’s team reach the knockout stage. If Korean players think the winter is dragging on at home then Jeonbuk Motors faced freezing conditions in northern China at the home of Changchun Yatai. Jeonbuk coach Choi Kang-hee wondered aloud if the host watered the freezing pitch overnight in order to turn it into an ‘ice rink’. The charge was denied. It didn’t matter in the end as though Changchun took the lead midway through the second half, late goals from ‘The Prince’ Choi Tae-wook and ‘The Lion King' Lee Dong-gook gave the Motors an impressive win in a tough environment. Changchun visit Jeonju on Tuesday. The fantastic fourth win came on a bitterly cold night in Pohang. The Pohang Steelers were not at their best but still squeezed past the challenge of Shandong Luneng to win 1-0. The visitor missed a late penalty to end a bad week for Chinese soccer. Naturally, it was mentioned by more than one media source in Korea though there was a good deal of restraint showed. The Beijing media was a little depressed but there was at least some sense of perspective from leading newspaper Titan. “Our four teams shouldn’t give up,” said Titan. In the ‘Korea vs. China Asian Championship Series’, we lost 4-0 although the national team won 3-0 last month. We know we couldn't catch up with Japanese and Korean football in one night time but there is a long way to run. Our clubs shouldn’t give up their Asian Champions League hopes. That would be a much bigger shame.” “All four Chinese clubs lost their match in ACL in single matchday, it is the first time this has happened.” Said ‘Soccer’. “And they were all defeated by Korean rivals. We may have cured Koreaphobia in international matches for the first time in 32 years but the shameful results returned.” Such sentiments could easily change over the next 48 hours. Tags Soccer News football

It wouldn’t be the K-League without a strong Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. The Yellows have won seven league titles and possess the biggest trophy cabinet in the southern half of the peninsula. It was 2006 however when the golden trophy last resided just south of Seoul. Since then, Pohang, Suwon and, most recently, Jeonbuk have claimed the mantle. The second half of 2008 and the first half of 2009 was a tough time for the club’s fans. Kim Hak-bom had led Seongnam playing attractive and successful football but the gruff tactician’s powers seemed to fade after four years at the helm. At the end of 2008, the former powerhouse looked a little slow and predictable and it was no surprise when Kim was out of the door. The identity of the new man was something of a surprise. Shin Tae-yong may have been called ‘Mr Seongnam’ due to the fact that he spent 12 seasons with the club as a player but when he was appointed as coach, he had little experience to suggest that he could lead the club back to the summit. As his playing career started to come to an end, Shin headed to Australia and the new A-League. The midfielder barely got a chance to show Queensland Roar fans what he was made of before injury intervened. Shin stayed on with the Brisbane-based club as an assistant coach. Still, few expected the 39 year-old to be announced as Seongnam coach for the 2009 season. It didn’t start well. Australian football is regarded as one where power is more prized than technique. Shin seemed to confirm that stereotype by introducing a more direct style to a Seongnam team that had long been known for a fluid passing game. In came giant Montenegrin marksman Dzenan Radoncic – a striker not known for his subtlety - and from Australia came a defender that was just as big, Sasa Ognenovski. The first half few months were disappointing. The team looked disjointed and toothless. Over time though, results and performances started to improve and in the second half of the season, Seongnam was the team in the best form. That was partly due to the arrival of Mauricio Molina. The former Colombian international quickly established himself as the leading foreign player in the league. His goals, his passing, his creativity and set piece ability have all played their parts. Seongnam made it to the final of the championship play-off series at the end of the season, only to lose out to Jeonbuk Motors. Even with the undoubted class of Molina, not much was expected in 2010 as Seongnam lost its midfield heartbeat. Star player Kim Jung-woo answered the call of the military and started his two-year stint with Gwangju Sangmu while partner Lee Ho answered the call of his wallet by accepting a big-money move to UAE club Al Ain. So far at least, they haven’t been missed. Last Friday, Jeonbuk became the first team to score a goal against this Seongnam team in 2010. Prior to that, Shin’s men had won two Asian Champions League matches, defeating the highly-rated Kawasaki Frontale of Japan 2-0 before heading to Australia to win by the same scoreline at the home of Melbourne Victory. Earlier this week came the visit of Beijing Guoan. The Chinese champions, like Seongnam, had won both games so far and took the lead through former Scottish international Maurice Ross. Three goals in the last 12 minutes from the Korean team means that Seongnam are looking very good indeed for a place in the second round. Domestically, the start to the K-League was just as good. An opening weekend 3-0 against Gangwon FC was followed by a demolition of Incheon United. The usually solid west coast team was thrashed 6-0 by a rampant Seongnam. Then the Yellows went to the home of the Jeonbuk and came within a whisker of winning. Only a 94th minute free-kick from Eninho gave the host a 1-1 tie and stopped Seongnam moving to the top of the K-League standings. Jeonbuk coach Choi Kang-hee was relieved after the final whistle. “Seongnam is a very good and balanced team,” said Choi. “It was a really tough game for us and we are just happy that we managed to get a goal at the end.” It is a measure of how well Seongnam is doing that coach Shin was disappointed with a 1-1 tie at the home of the champions. “We missed lots of chances and that is why we didn’t win the game,” he said. “it is always hard to concede such a late goal but overall we played well. We are going well and feeling confident but we know that the season is just beginning.” Tags Soccer News football

2009 was a very good year for football in South Korea. The major target, qualifying for a seventh successive World Cup, was met with surprising smoothness. A K-League club winning the Asian Champions League was a major bonus as was the fact that the teams playing the best soccer got the best results in the domestic league. Whether 2010 will be viewed a success will depend largely on what happens in South Africa in June. The Taeguk Warriors in a good position in their 2010 World Cup qualification group. The 1-0 win over North Korea in Seoul in April strengthened that grip on the top spot. It wasn’t without controversy however. DPRK striker Jong Tae-se felt that his header, early in the second half, had crossed the line before goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae pawed it clear. Coach Kim Jong-hun definitely thought so as he explained in the post-match press conference. He also declared that his players had been poisoned at their Seoul hotel before the match before storming out past stunned reporters. Kim Chi-woo’s winning goal was overshadowed but it put clear daylight between South Korea and its rivals. That meant that a win in Dubai in June at the home of group whipping boys UAE would be enough for a South African spot. Goals from Park Chu-young and Ki Sung-yong, two young and fast-improving stars, did just that and for a night at least, a little corner of Dubai echoed to the sound of Korean celebrations. There were still two qualifiers left and South Korea tied both against Saudi Arabia and Iran which also allowed North Korea to finish second in the group and follow its southern neighbour to Africa. Next June marks the first time that the Korean peninsula will send both representatives to the World Cup. Unsurprisingly, there have been discussions on just how good a ‘Korea United’ would be. That is for the future because history was made in November just across the East Sea in Japan, Pohang Steelers became the first in Asia to become continental champions three times. It was a thrilling march to the final of the Asian Champions League. The group stage was safely negotiated and then the knockout rounds brought goals and dramas. Australia’s Newcastle Jets left the Land of the Morning Calm after a 6-0 thrashing. Then the continent’s wealthiest team Bunyodkor was dispatched over two legs of the quarterfinal. Luiz Scolari led Brazil to the 2002 World Cup but couldn’t lead the Uzbeks past Pohang. The Steelers lost 3-1 in Tashkent but recovered in fine style at home in the Steelyard to win the second leg 4-1 and thus the tie 5-4 on aggregate. Umm Salal of Qatar ended dreams of an all-Korean semi-final by eliminating FC Seoul but the West Asians met their match in the red-and-black shape of the Steelers in the last four. Pohang was the underdog in the final, going up against Saudi Arabian powerhouse Al Ittihad. The setting was Tokyo National Stadium and the Koreans rose to the occasion with a 2-1 win, to earn a place in FIFA’s Club World Cup. There Pohang finished third, defeating the champions of Africa and North and Central America. It was a great year for the Steelers, tempered by the fact that it ended with coach Sergio Farias waving goodbye and signing a lucrative contract with Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia. On the domestic front, Pohang finished second in the K-League in an exciting race for the title that was eventually, and deservedly, won by Jeonbuk Motors. The team from Jeonju had never been champion before, indeed the whole of the south-west has been a title-free zone since the start of the K-League back in 1983. Not any more as ‘Lion King’ Lee Dong-gook grabbed 21 goals and was ably supported by Brazilians Eninho and Luiz Henrique as well as a revitalized Choi Tae-wook. Jeonbuk finished top of the standings at the end of the regular season and then defeated Seongnam Ilhwa in the championship play-off final. FC Seoul fought it out with Jeonbuk at the top for most of the season but just faded a little right at the death. The capital club didn’t only lose out on another title but also lost star players Ki Sung-yong and Lee Chung-yong to clubs in the UK. That was long expected as was the departure of coach Senol Gunes. The man who took Turkey to the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup spent three seasons in the capital and became known for giving youngsters opportunities with the first-team. Defending champions Suwon Bluewings endured a very disappointing campaign and spent most of it languishing near the wrong end of the standings and the team was accompanied by another unfamiliar struggler in the shape of Ulsan Horang-i. Seongnam Ilhwa started slowly but rallied in the second half of the season to finish fourth and then made it to the final off the play-offs before losing to Jeonbuk. In the end, it was all about Jeonbuk and the boys in Green end the year at the top of the tree. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile Tags Soccer News football

The 2009 K-League season was a special one for a certain southwestern region as Jeolla Province welcomed the golden championship trophy for the first time ever. No longer can Jeonbuk Motors claim to be the only team on the continent to have won the Asian title without ever winning the domestic prize. The car metaphor can be driven too far but the Motors were well-oiled from March to December. The team from Jeonju accelerated into top gear quickly, maintained top speed for most of the journey and despite a couple of bumps in the road and slippery patches, the engine was in just as good a condition at the end of the journey as it was at the beginning. A late goal from Lim Sang-hyub gave Jeonbuk a draw at Gyeongnam on the first day of the season back in March and from then, the team never looked back. Six wins came from the next seven games with the only ‘failure’ a 1-1 tie at the home of Asian champions Pohang Steelers. Seven-time champions Seongnam were thrashed 4-1 and Jeju lost 5-0 at home while the favourites for the title, FC Seoul also came off second best. Battling it out with Seoul and Pohang for first spot, Jeonbuk ended in identical fashion, collecting 19 points out of a possible 21 in the run-in. Such form enabled the team in green to finish top of the standings at the end of regular season. That didn’t mean the title however as in Korea, there are still championship play-offs to negotiate. They proved no problem as Jeonbuk defeated Seongnam Ilhwa in the final in early December –recording a 3-1 win that kept 37,000 fans warm in chilly temperatures. There is no doubt as to which player grabbed the headlines. Lee Dong-gook did not have the best of times from 2006 to the start of 2009. ‘The Lion King’ missed the 2006 World Cup through injury, and then moved to England at the start of 2007. Those 18 months in the English Premier League with Middlesbrough didn’t go well and Lee returned to Korea in the second half of 2008. His subsequent short spell with Seongnam did not go well either and he headed to Jeonbuk before the start of the new season. The 30 year-old may have failed in England’s northeast but he has been a big success in Korea’s southwest with 20 goals coming from Lee’s feet or head in 27 games. It is great to be here and scoring goals,” he said just before the season ended. “I am enjoying my football and playing with some very good players.” His words were as accurate as his feet in this case. Lee has the headlines but the supporting cast was impressive. Just like Jeonju’s famous dish of Bi Bim Bap, Jeonbuk’s offence has contained a healthy mix of different ingredients with Lee’s goals providing the kochujang , the hot pepper sauce that gives the dish the kick it needs. A glance of the list of the players who recorded the most assists during the season reveals that Jeonbuk players occupy the top three spots. Choi Tae-wook and Brazilians Luiz Henrique and Eninho have contributed greatly to Jeonbuk’s success as well as the club’s easy-on-the-eye style of play. At the back, Kim Sang-sik, jettisoned by Seongnam at the end of last season, was impressive for his new club while goalkeeper Kwon Soon-tae and fellow defender Choi Chul-soon were the model of consistency despite rarely grabbing the headlines Jeonbuk has never grabbed the league title until now. Things are changing in Korean football and Jeolla Province now has its seat at the top table of soccer powers in the Land of the Morning Calm. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com Tags Soccer News football

With the benefit of hindsight it was written in the stars that FC Seoul’s season would end last Saturday after losing to Chunnam Dragons in the first round of the K-league’s championship play-offs. Seoul thought they shouldn’t have needed to play the match at all. The capital club spent the whole season slugging it out with Jeonbuk Motors at the top of the K-League and expected to go straight to the final, or at least, the semi-final. That all changed on the last day of the season as Seoul conceded a last-minute goal at home to Chunnam Dragons. That 1-1 tie saw Seoul slip into third. That finish meant Seoul had to negotiate the entire play-off series. As luck would have it, the first play-off opponent was Chunnam. And Chunnam was the last. For Seoul, it is very much a case of what might have been. For much of the season, the red-and-blacks looked the likeliest champion but when the push came to the shove, the team didn’t quite have the indefinable quality that champions need – the ability to dig in and fight for everything. The game again finished 1-1 after 90 minutes. Seoul’s penalty area was the least crowded place in the whole city after 12 minutes and Chunnam striker Lee Gyu-ro took advantage to fire a fierce shot low into the home net. Three minutes later however, Seoul drew level. A delightfully measured slide-rule pass from Ki Sung-yong gave Jung Jo-gook an easy chance from close range. The excitement didn’t last and the game drifted towards penalties. Two Seoul players missed the target completely – Kim Sung-yung and, dismally, Lee Jong-min. Ki Sung-yong saw his kick well-saved. It was the last action for Ki in the Seoul shirt. He has already signed for Scottish giants Celtic in a $4 million deal and heads to Glasgow at the end of the year. Kwak Tae-whi scored the winning penalty. The international defender has spent much of the season battling injury but was fresh as a daisy as he shot home emphatically against his old club. "The players were confident about defeating FC Seoul before the game,'' Chunnam coach Park Hang-seo said."They figured out their opponents and were more confident. We will focus on regaining our fitness level for the second round match on Wednesday.” The match was the last in the three season tenure of Senol Gunes. It was a widely expected that the man who took Turkey to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup would be off home at the end of the season. Hometown club Trabzonspor had come knocking earlier in the year but now the Korean contract has ended, Gunes is free to head home back to the Black Sea and that is where he will probably be seen very soon. “I am leaving but I will never forget the fans in Seoul and my time here,” Gunes told Seoul's official site. “We have come a long way together and I am sure that next year the club will keep improving and Seoul will become champions.” That didn't happen under FIFA's coach of 2002 and the team also exited this year's Asian Champions League at the quarter-final stage. “Though I had a very happy three years here, I am sorry and frustrated that we didn’t win. This year was especially disappointing and I am sad as anyone.” While Seoul missed out on a first title, Gunes did enough to give the capital club a reputation for playing decent football and giving young footballers a chance. The likes of Park Chu-young, Lee Chung-yong and Ki Sung-yong become well-respected players around Asia and have all earned big money deals in Europe. The challenge for the new coach is to help the many young players at the club reach the same level. Gunes will not be in the Land of the Morning Calm to see which of the three teams remaining lift the K-League trophy. Seongnam conquered Incheon United after a penalty shootout despite having two defenders and their coach sent off. A subsequent and narrow win over Chunnam Dragons has earned a semi-final match against Asian champions Pohang Steelers. The rested Steelers are strong favourites against a weakened and tired Seongnam side and should win through to the final where Jeonbuk Motors are waiting. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com Tags Soccer News football