Five Goal-Getters on a Simultaneous Assault

Match master Johannes Bonfrere (58) has drawn his sword out of its scabbard.

With Korea’s face-off against Vietnam in the second regional qualifying rounds of the 2006 World Cup set to take place at 7:00 p.m. (Korean time) on September 8 at Vietnam’s Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, Coach Bonfrere of the Korean national soccer team promised victory by an overwhelming margin.

Vietnam, which shares a spot in Group 7 alongside Korea, is ranked 94th in FIFA’s September rankings—some 71 steps behind their soon-to-be opponent (23rd). Korea also stands decidedly superior in our record against Vietnam in past national team-level matches (international “A” matches), with 14 wins, six draws, and two losses. The upcoming game will be an opportunity to redeem our performance at the Asian Cup preliminaries on October 19 of last year, when Korea suffered a 0-1 loss against Vietnam for the first time in 44 years.

All Our “Killers” Mobilized in a Four-Back System—

Bonfrere has listed all of our most prominent strikers—our two top players Ahn Jung-hwan (Yokohama) and Lee Dong-guk (Gwangju), along with Seol Ki-hyeon (Wolverhampton), Lee Chun-soo (Numancia), and Cha Doo-ri (Frankfurt)—in the starting lineup.

This will mark the first time that our five “killers” will take the field simultaneously. At the Asian Cup, Ahn Jung-hwan and Cha Doo-ri took turns in starting positions, while Lee Chun-soo has just boarded the “SS Bonfrere” for the first time.

Coach Bonfrere also plans to reactivate Lee Young-pyo (Eindhoven) and Song Jong-guk (Feyenoord) in the “left Young-pyo, right Jong-guk” set-up, as well as to switch from a three-back to a four-back formation. Korea used the three-back system at the Asian Cup, but with Song joining the lineup, Bonfrere is tapping the potentials of the four-back formation in order to make the most of Lee Yong-pyo’s and Song Jong-guk’s abilities to take active part in the offense.

Three Obstacles to Victory—

The first challenge in our quest for a decisive victory over Vietnam is the repeated injuries to our starting lineup. Defensive “young blood” Cho Byung-kuk (Suwon) is out with an injury, as well as “pillar” Yoo Sang-chul (Yokohama) and “knackster” Park Ji-sung (Eindhoven), which adds up to a significant difference in our fighting power.

Other variables will include: our players’ ability to adapt to the deep-rooted, large-leafed grass of the Thong Nhat Stadium, which will force them to make adjustments in their passing and tackling senses; how they will handle the official Vietnam-made ball for this match-up.

“We’ve been doing adjustment training for both the grass and the ball, so I’m not overly worried about it. Although we’re missing a few starters, there’s no real problem in assembling a lineup. I want us to win by a large margin of goals,” Bonfrere remarked.

Soon-Il Kwon stt77@donga.com