If the Super Eagles
are hoping to pick maximum points against South Korea as part of the
strategy to progress into the next round of the FIFA World Cup in South
Africa, it could turn out to be a mere dream, according to Coach Huh
Jung-Moo.
Huh, a former
national team midfielder, will be leading South Korea to the first
World Cup to be hosted on the African continent and is determined to
make it another memorable experience for his country after Dutchman,
Guus Hiddink, guided them to the semi finals of the 2002 edition, which
they co-hosted with Japan.
“This will be the
last chapter in my football life. I will put in all my energy to
achieve good results in the World Cup,” Huh had said last year shortly
after guiding his side through the 2010 qualifiers.
That could sound
like mere platitudes for our Super Eagles who are still struggling to
put up a solid pre-World Cup arrangement barely 43 days to the
kick-off, but the former PSV Eindhoven of Holland star has reiterated
the Taeguk Warriors are ready to cause their group B opponents trouble
as he looks forward to the tantalising fixtures against Nigeria,
Argentina and Greece.
Hard time
The 1986 World Cup
veteran admits Korea may not enjoy the same level of acclaim with their
opponents but his team will play a major role in how the group will be
decided.
By the time the
World Cup starts in South Africa, the Asian team who will come up
against our Eagles in Durban on June 22 would have played about 10
build-up games against the likes of Cote D’Ivoire, Spain, Ecuador and
Latvia to put them in shape. However, the Nigeria Football Federation
is yet to add to the already confirmed May 30 Colombia friendly for the
Eagles.
“No team is weak.
Greece, Argentina and Nigeria in Group B are not easy opponents.
Objectively, our capacity lags beyond those of our rivals but we are
trying our best to give our opponent a hard time. Our players are ready
to make a stir,” warned the Korea handler yesterday.
Though about half
of the players Korea expect to parade in South Africa are playing in
the country’s domestic league, Huh still worries about the bonding of
his squad before the Mundial.
“The biggest
practical problem is communication between players. Since players are
concentrating on playing in their respective leagues, they lack the
ability to communicate,” he said.
“Trust between the
coaching staff and players is important, but trust between players
themselves is also important. When players trust each other while
playing, they can generate true teamwork. Our coaching staff’s top
priority is to ensure players build their teamwork”, Huh added.
Meanwhile Guus
Hiddink who led Korea to the World Cup semi finals in 2002 has told the
Taeguk Warriors they must win their first group game against Greece or
forget about a second round ticket.
The former widely
travelled tactician insists Korea will find it difficult against
Nigeria and Argentina, adding that anything short of victory over
Greece could spell doom for the team in South Africa.
“I think it’s
Greece on the first game, I think this is a key game to win, if not you
might have a few problems against Nigeria and Argentina, so this first
game is really a key game for Korea,” Hiddink said during a press
conference held on Monday, in South Korea, to promote Holland’s bid to
co-host the 2018 World Cup with Belgium.
The new Turkey
national team coach however expressed confidence in the composition of
the Korea squad ahead of their World Cup campaign. “If you see the
selection of the Korean team, then I think there is a good mix between
young promising players who are playing here or even one or two are
playing in Europe,” he said.
“But also there are some remains from the successful team in 2002;
players are around 30, 32 or 33, which means they have gathered a lot
of experience. At the time when we started they were inexperienced, but
now these players they have gone all over the world and that is a huge
contribution,” added Hiddink.
