For A Day We Are Golden
Seol Ki-hyeon Shows True Class
In the months leading up to the World Cup, a common sight at South Korean training sessions was head coach Guus Hiddink bellowing at Seol Ki-hyeon to get his act together.
``Faster! Faster, come on!" The coach made no secret of his exasperation as a player expected to be one of his key weapons at the finals dawdled over releasing the ball during pass-and-move drills.
One wonders if Hiddink's mind briefly flicked back to this as the big 23-year-old reacted instantly to Christian Panucci's mistake and swept the ball home for a glorious late equalizer against Italy.
With just a couple of weeks to go to the World Cup, Seol looked to have kissed his chances of a starting place goodbye with a series of lackluster performances in which his laidback style made him look clumsy and ponderous.
The Anderlecht striker has, however, been a revelation over the past four matches, improving with every outing. Not a natural goal-poacher, Seol had concentrated on taking on defenders down the flanks and pumping in crosses but finished with the confidence of a Gerd Mueller or a Marco Van Basten when the chance came his way on Tuesday night.
It has been a satisfying redemption for a player who spent most of last season on the subs' bench in Belgium after showing great promise early on.
Seol joined Royal Antwerp straight from Kwangwoon University in 2000, and impressed enough in his first season to be offered a three-year contract with champions Anderlecht, despite the earnest efforts of head coach Regi Van Acker to bring him to Lierse.
Coming on as a substitute in the 2001 Belgian Super Cup after coming back from injury, Seol hit a hat-trick in 12 minutes, and shortly after became the first Asian to score in the UEFA Champions' League with a goal against Swedish side Halmstads.
despite the departure of Jan Koller and Tomasz Radzinski, however, Seol was unable to nail down a starting spot and was in poor fitness when he joined the South Korean World Cup squad in late spring.
A goal in the final warm-up match, a 3-2 loss to France, put him back in contention, however, and with the responsibility of doing much of the spadework up front thrust upon him, Seol has not disappointed.
Like Ahn Jung-hwan, his World Cup performances may force his regular employers to re-evaluate his talents.
Ahn Jung-hwan's Star Still Rising
Just a few months before the World Cup, Ahn Jung-hwan's status as South Korea's most popular footballer looked like it may be in danger.
The 26-year-old attacker's achievements over the past two weeks, however, mean that the posters, videos and dolls will be flying off the shelves like never before. Rescuing his team from the ignominy of defeat by the U.S.A. with a late header in the group stage was one thing; the golden goal winner against Italy's superstars has made him a national treasure.
K-League player of the year in 1999, Ahn's looks as much as his footballing skills made him one of the country's most sought-after figures for product endorsements, and he even appeared in a pop video.
Nicknamed ``Terious'' for his resemblance to a long-haired Japanese cartoon character, he looked down from billboards right across the country, advertising everything from sportswear to male cosmetics.
A move to Italian side Perugia in 2000 suggested he may follow in the footsteps of Japan's Hidetoshi Nakata, who soared to international stardom with the same club before joining AS Roma. Ahn, however, struggled to win a first-team place, but four goals in four games at the end of the 2000-2001 season earned him an extension of his loan from Pusan I.cons.
Again relegated to the bench for most of last season, he was also dropped from the South Korean national side by Guus Hiddink, who told him he was not fit enough to cope with the demands of top-level international football.
A grueling training regimen appears to have paid off, with Ahn still having enough energy after 117 minutes against Italy to make the run and leap that brought him the winning goal.
One of the shyest members of the squad, he has left his most outspoken statements for goal celebrations, mimicking a speed skater following his equalizer against the U.S. in a reference to the disqualification of a South Korean at the Salt Lake City W.nter Olympics. Ahn also makes a point of kissing his wedding ring after scoring, presumably to the delight of former beauty queen Lee Hye-won, whom he married last year, and the dismay of his hordes of adoring female fans.
Ahn's latest feat will have won him many new fans, although probably not in Italy, and it may be a good idea to start looking for a new club.
eos2002@football.com |
