france v. korea

while sitting under some steps next to the cheonggye stream that meanders through the jongno district of seoul in hopes of catching a glimpse of the meaning of the universe from under a short skirt, here are some thoughts on last night’s this morning’s one and only match of consequence here on the peninsula:

in complete fairness, the france-korea match was, for the majority of the time, a pitiful bore. for the first ten or fifteen minutes, france were the better team and were well-deserved to be ahead in the 9th minute on thierry henry’s goal–france’s first world cup goal of the 21st century. from shortly thereafter until about fifteen minutes from time, the game was a yawner, which isn’t good when kickoff is only an hour before sunrise.

there is no use crying about france’s “goal” that wasn’t because if the two teams can play like shit, then so can the ref have a crap day. france didn’t not win because of that non-goal, but it is fair to say that had the goal been rightly counted, the entire complexion of the game would have gone from pimply and pock-marked to glamourous and photogenic because the koreans would have had to up their game to get back in it. as it was, france were content after that to sit back and play conservatively and, until a quarter hour remained in the match, korea looked as likely to score as a lesbian on a naval carrier lost at sea.

*a comment or two on the “goal” that wasn’t: goalkeeper woon-jae lee’s entire body was behind the goal line when he scooped the ball out of the goal mouth, so it was clearly a goal, available replay angle or not.

it is clear that FIFA have got to do something to remedy these sorts of situations. it’s bad enough that neither the ref nor the linesman had position enough to witness the ball’s clear crossing of the goal line (and for all you korea-backers out there, clam it; just once, i’d like to hear koreans admit that there was a blown call that went in their favour instead of their being yellow and hiding behind the mantra of, “the referee didn’t see it.” i guaran-damn-tee you that were the reverse ever to happen to korea, the amount of sound from all the whingeing in this country about it would be enough to alter the earth’s revolutionary orbit around the sun), but how bad is it going to be when this such a thing (and it is a case of when, not if) happens in a knockout stage game or, even worse, in a semifinal or final (spain’s bad luck with the refs in ’02’s quarterfinal match with korea notwithstanding)?

be that as it may, that lack of call didn’t lose the match. refs make mistakes, just as players do. france seemed to tuck their tails between their legs and saunter back on defense after that.
i don’t know about “sir” advocaat’s genius, but korea certainly pressed the issue late in the match. just before ji-sung park’s goal levelled the match, comments at our table in the pub were along the lines of, “france are holding on, but it looks to be a matter of time before korea level, given how the match is going currently.”

and, then, as in the togo match, park was monumentally instrumental in getting korea level.

park’s goal was one the ugliest the talented midfielder will ever score, but all goals look the same in the match report and many koreans (jung-hwan ahn, in particular, as well as members of the england squad–frank lampard, i hope you’re paying attention via ESP) would be well-served to recognise that sheer blasting of the ball when presented an opportunity is not always the most effective, though it can be the most glamourous, way to score a goal. a well-place sidefooted shot or diligent persistence in front of the goal mouth or merely tapping in a rebound all count the same.

and i would be remiss not to shout kudos regarding park’s goal to (i think) jae-jin cho, who’s header toward the front of the goal mouth while pedalling backward to get to a tad long cross resulted in panic amongst the french defenders and allowed park to poke at the ball. cho deserves as much credit for the goal for his diligence to get a head on the ball as does park for his diligence to bundle the ball over the line in seemingly slow motion.

i have some thoughts on this group G of korea’s, but i think they’re better served to simmer until at least the finish of tonight’s switzerland-togo, provided there is a match.

for god’s sakes, this togo saga is as bad as a reality TV show back in britain or america–or any drama here in korea. the togo football federation is beginning to make the korea football association–one of the main reasons i detest korean football at the moment–look like an association of innocuous nuns who always keep their word, feed the hungry, clothe the poor, and are truly benevolent every minute of their lives.

god, i hope togo don’t boycott tonight’s match. what a blight on togo’s football federation, on this world cup, and on football in general were that to happen.