Asian Cup squad warms up with win in friendly

Asian Cup squad warms up with win in friendly

South Korean midfielder Park Ji-sung, right, dribbles the ball in a match against Al Jazira of the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi, Tuesday. The national team won 2-0 in its last warmup ahead of the Asian Cup, which starts Friday. / Yonhap By Yi Whan-woo South Korea showed potential for success in the Asian Cup with a 2-0 win over Al-Jazira of the United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, the team’s last match before the tournament. The experimental tactics of putting defensive midfielder Ku Ja-cheol in the center proved to be effective, while midfielders Lee Chung-yong and Ki Sung-yueng carried out their jobs well by each scoring a goal. The squad focused on dominating the pitch through the midfielders with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Forward Ji Dong-won who nudged home the winning goal in the 1-0 victory over Syria on Dec. 29, 2010 as a midfielder was the lone striker this time. Team manager Cho Kwang-rae had Ku in the center, while midfielder Park Ji-sung was on the left wing, where he normally plays. Such tactics came from the failed attempt to play Park out of position as a central midfielder in the Syria match. Ku fulfilled Cho’s plan as the 21-year-old showed sharp moves in attack including a long-range shot in the first half, as well as finding his targets accurately. The sharp passing eventually created a chance for the team’s first goal in the 35th with right winger Lee Chung-yong connecting to defender Lee Young-pyo’s cross. The Bolton Wanderers midfielder almost had another goal after receiving the ball from Ku three minutes later. Instead he won a penalty kick after the goalkeeper held him back. Ki stepping up and showed why his club, Celtic FC, rate him by doubling the lead. While the win was partly attributed to attackers from overseas leagues, defenders from international clubs also played their part. Cho gave up on defender Cho Yong-hyung as a central midfielder as he made a number of mistakes that allowed the opponents too much space in the last friendly. The manager instead selected Lee Young-pyo of Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, Lee Jung-soo of Qatar’s Al Sadd, Kwak Tae-hwi of Japan’s Kyoto Sanga FC, and Cho Yong-hyung, also playing in the Qatar league with Al Rayyan. They formed a solid defense against Al Jazira, who had trouble penetrating into the box. The team will move to Doha today and begin training for the Asian Cup group opener against Bahrain next Monday. South Korea is seeking its first success in 51 years, the last coming in 1960 when the tournament was held on home soil. While the squad is noted in Asia with seven consecutive World Cup appearances, its regional tournament campaign has been relatively modest. The squad won the inaugural event in 1956 and the following one, but has fallen short of the title since then. The team finished runner-up three times in 1972, 1980, and 1988, and came in third in the last Asian Cup in 2007.

yistory@koreatimes.co.kr