Some thoughts to wrap up the tournament.
Despite the win today, still somewhat disappointed. Hopefully this won't save Coach Shit's job and he will get the axe.
As with every WC, you get to see who some players really are. A few Korean players had some redemption, but several showed that they are not up to the task.
Breakout players:
Cho Hyun-Woo. Not just one of the breakout players for Korea, but one of the breakout players for the tournament. Had outstanding saves in every match, and showed great decision making coming forward for the ball. Had very sure hands and caught a ton of balls. Can't say his distribution is good, but in terms of play around his box he was great.
On the redemption list:
Lee Yong. I have been a huge detractor of his for a long time, but I'll be goddamned if he didn't defend really well in every match. Still doesn't offer much going forward, but played his role really well.
Kim Young Kwon. I heard for so many years that was the future of Korean football, that he was the modern defender that we needed to move forward as a team. For years and years he played so poorly and made mistakes at every big tournament...
He was outstanding again today. His positional awareness, tackling, interventions, everything has been outstanding this tournament. If you could guarantee that he could play like this consistently he would be worth 30m+. Best I have seen a Korean defender play since the early 2000's.
Failure players:
Some players (like Jung) you know will fail, others you at least have hope for...
Koo Ja-Cheol. It's over for him. He was a nice player for many years, but it's over. He looks slow, he's injured every other week, his ball skills have gone down a lot...it's over. Was hoping he still had this WC to go, but I think he's done. Still may make a few more NT appearances, but time to phase him out.
Ki Seung-Young. Over for him as well. He's still pretty good on the ball, but his absolute lack of mobility and poor defensive awareness are killing us. He will still appear for the NT for a few years, but I hope his role starts to diminish as he needs so much protection that we can't provide.
Park Joo-Hoo. Another done player. I know he got injured early in the first match, but there was hope he could get a little juice back in his career after spending three seasons on the bench at Dortmund. LOL no. Time to find someone new.
Lee Jae-Sung. Yea dude, you're not going to Bundesliga. Pretty solid defensively, but just nothing with the ball at his feet. Not enough dribbling ability, no final ball. Enjoy your K-League career, it's all you're getting.
Moon Seon-Min. How did you become a professional footballer??
Jang Hyun-Soo. Please just never appear again. Seriously. How have three NT managers in a row now thought he was good enough to start? I guess maybe he's a training ground superstar or something. Panics nonstop out there and makes so many mistakes...Out of the three goals given up was responsible for two of them. Terrible with the ball as well, loves to pass to the other team. I guess I had some hope deep down that this was the tournament he would figure it out and play up to his potential, but his weak mentality will always break him.
Lee Seung-Woo. Barcelona boy with a total failure of a tournament. Have a sinking feeling he's going to be playing K-league soon. Just not enough skill there. Undersized but doesn't have the skill or pace to really beat defenders, not strong enough and his shooting is trash. Plays hard and has heart, but I just don't see what his route is to continue to play at the highest level.
Hwang Hee-Chan. Showed what we already knew about him. Very athletic, has some good skill one on one, aggressive and a great presser...The other skills just aren't there. Touch is poor, awareness is bad, shooting bad for a striker. Got in good positions, but didn't do enough with it. Hoped he could show something that would give hope for his future, but I don't think he will ever succeed in a top five league.