“I’ll Take Charge of Pressure Soccer”- Song Jong-Kuk

`Hiddink-division’s crown price` Song Jong-Kuk (23. Pusan Icons. Picture). As he came along the elite course from the national youth team to the national team, he has established himself as one of the stars, who are leading the Korean soccer into another level. However, Song’s success is not to be taken for granted.

▽Helpers = It is said that there are three individuals who greatly influenced Song Jong-Kuk’s soccer life.

The first one is Baejae Middle and High School’s senior-mate Park Jin-Sup (Ulsan Hyundai). When Park suggested, “Why don’t you try serious soccer?”, to Song who was playing soccer during an extracurricular class in the first grade at Baejae Middle School, it became the beginning of his soccer life. Since then, Song and Park become close friends. It was Park’s influence once again that Song became a right-wing back. Park was such an active right-winger that he even created a new term, `left Young-Pyo, right Jin-Sup`, while he was enlisted in the national Olympic team, and Song directly inherited that.

Former Yonsei University coach and present Pusan Icons manager Kim Ho-Kon is Song’s benefactor, who strengthened him in times of hardship. Song was admitted at Yonsei after leading Baejae High School’s dominance. He, however, had to stay in bench more than on the ground due to ankle injury and other reasons. It was Kim, then, who became a role-father to keep him in hope.

Next is the national team’s manager Guus Hiddink. He is the one who gave Song the `wings`. Hiddink specialized him in `total soccer`. He just likes the only `pupil` who could take in all his fastidious orders across the offense and defense with strong stamina. Hiddink has never excluded Song’s name since the first encounter during the Hong Kong Carlsberg Tournament, and made him the core of the pressure-soccer.

▽Training Addict = Baejae’s manager Baek Hyun-Young says that ‘coaching would be so much easier if all the players are like Jong-Kuk’. Song puts enormous effort in training that he even stays back after training to practice by himself.

He is the same in the national team. He strives to stay in shape even during vacations at his alma mater Yonsei University or sport centers near home. He works on his ankle with a rubber band on a chair at home as well.

Hiddink sometimes make fun of Song by calling him `Model Student`, but is definitely proud of him on one side.

Jong-Koo Yang yjongk@donga.com