Park Ji-sung has made it clear that he wants another foreign coach to head the national soccer team:
Following the abrupt departure of Pim Verbeek (51) as manager of the national team the national soccer council has been unsure of whom to choose as the next manager. From Hiddink (January 1, 2001) to Verbeek (July 29, 2007) the baton has been passed among five foreigners for a total of six years and eight months, and contentions that a Korean patriot should be chosen are reaching their peak.
As to his preference regarding foreign managers, it’s because Korean soccer still hasn’t adequately absorbed advanced soccer. He said, “we’re still not following the advanced European system and we can’t just graft it onto Korea like a tree. So I don’t think it’s better to have a foreign manager right now.”
Asked what Korean soccer must do to improve, he said, “Korean soccer still doesn’t follow the example of the European club system,” and pointed out that “from the time players are kids they’re controlled by the system and their education is important so that part is insufficient. It’s because overall the national team just doesn’t have the power.”
I would think that hiring a qualified coach would be more important than finding a "Korean patriot", which is exactly how Park Ji-sung seems to view this issue.
Kim is back in Arizona and not a whole lot has changed:
Making his first start since rejoining his former Arizona Diamondbacks team last week, Kim gave up five runs on seven hits in just 2 1/3 innings at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the worst team in the National League. […]
He left the game with the bases loaded and Arizona fans booed Kim as he trotted off the mound.
How come I have this feeling that this won’t be the last time he is booed off the mound in Arizona?
Courtesy TFM comes news that Korean golfer K.J. Choi wants to win for charity:
K.J. Choi can think of 10 million reasons why he wants to win the FedEx Cup, and it adds up to one reason why he might be a sentimental favorite.
"If I’m able to win it, I want to give it all to charity, 100 percent," Choi said.
The cynic in me wonders if he is just saying this because if he knows he probably will not win. It seems if he was serious about charity wouldn’t he give any money he earns even if he places third for example to charity? It will be interesting to see how this turns out.
UPDATE: Coach Verbeek has quit as coach of team Korea. I can’t say I’m really surprised because Verbeek has threaten to quit for weeks and just appears to be tired of dealing with the unrealistic expectations put on the Korean team.
____________
This is really an amazing story with Iraq defeating Saudi Arabia 1-0 to win the Asian Cup. Someone should make a movie of this. Meanwhile Korea place third by defeating Japan in penalty kicks.
It looks like Michelle Wie may no longer be the best Korean-American teenage golfer out there:
Kimberly Kim shot 10-under 62 Monday in the first round of stroke play at the U.S. Girls’ Junior to etch her name in the USGA record books once again.
Kim’s score tied Christina Kim for the lowest 18-hole score in a USGA girls’ or women’s championship. Last year, Kimberly Kim became the youngest winner in U.S. Women’s Amateur history at 14 years old.
Kimberly Kim had 10 birdies and no bogeys Monday at the par-72, 6,391-yard Tacoma Country & Golf Club in Lakewood, Wash.
Kimberly Kim is known as K2 and is playing better golf now than Michelle Wie is. However, I doubt K2 will ever be as famous as Wie just due to the glam factor that Wie has and K2 is lacking. It will be interesing to watch and see when the Korean press picks up on the latest "Korean golf phenomenon".
Team Korea has moved on to the semi-finals of the Asian cup with a 4-2 victory over Iran. Korea plays Iraq next in what should prove to be quite an interesting match up.
The Red Devils are on to the Asia Cup quarterfinals with 1-0 win over Indonesia. Indonesia was the co-hosts of the tournament with Thailand and thus had a wild home crowd of 90,000 people cheering them on. The crowd was maybe to wild:
With so much at stake it was always going to be a ferocious contest. The 90,000 fans inside the cavernous stadium in the Indonesian capital let their feeling show too, tearing down a banner reading "Korea Indonesia Friendship".
Despite the hostile environment the Red Devils escaped with a win and moved on in the tournament. Korean coach Pim Verbeek is probably breathing a sigh of relief after the win after he had to tell outspoken player Lee Dong-guk to shut up after Lee criticized Verbeek’s coaching after the 2-1 loss to Bahrain. Verbeek also was hit with more criticism from former national coach Park Hang-seo as well as speculation he was going to lose his job.
Being the Korean soccer coach is almost an impossible job because everyone in Korea expects the team be like the 2002 team in every tournament and the head coach to be like former coach Guus Hiddink.
