Al-Ahram Weekly | Sports | Out of nowhere

		4 - 10 July 2002 Issue No. 593 Sports	Current issue Previous issue Site map
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Recommend this page

Out of nowhere
From oblivion to the third and fourth place in a World Cup, Turkey and South Korea reached a level of football few could have predicted By

The match for third and fourth place in the 2002 World Cup provided the perfect hors d'oeuvre for Sunday's final in Yokohama. Both Turkey and South Korea were in the last four for the first time. Turkey was playing in only its second World Cup finals and first in 48 years. Meanwhile, the co-hosts came within one game of the final after five previous World Cup appearances without winning a match.
Turkey thoroughly deserved Saturday's 3-2 victory after quieting another passionate South Korean capacity crowd in an exciting match full of attacking play -- unusual in an anti-climactic fixture which is often treated as a friendly.
Hakan Sukur hit the fastest goal in World Cup finals history after 11 seconds and Ilhan Mansiz added two. A forward ball from Ilhan sent Sukur clear. He then spun his veteran marker Hong Myung-bo and beat goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae with a left-foot shot from 16 metres straight from the kick-off.
South Korea were quick to level Sukur's record goal, equalising eight minutes later when midfielder Lee Eul-yong curled a 25- metre free kick into the back of the net.

The Turkish, holding their flag, celebrate their unpredictable third-place victory in the 2002 World Cup
(photos: AP, AFP and Reuters)

But in his first game as a starter, Mansiz put Turkey back in the lead in the 13th minute by converting a return pass from Sukur on the six-metre line, then made it 3-1 in the 32nd with a seven-metre chip over keeper Lee after another one-two with Sukur.
The second half produced more of the pace which both sides brought to the finals as Korea worked hard to make up the deficit, although neat one-touch passing allowed Turkey to probe the Korean defence. Song Chong-gug scored in the second minute of injury time with a powerful low drive.
The performance put the seal on a wonderful tournament for Mansiz who scored the golden goal winner in Turkey's quarter-final 1-0 victory over Senegal and emerged as one of the attacking finds of the World Cup. In Saturday's match, he particularly linked up well with Sukur, one of Turkey's few disappointments during the finals, while usual first choice Hasan Sas sat out the match injured.
Turkey keeper Rustu was rarely tested -- before Song's late consolation -- behind a solid back four which often played the ball out of defence or watched Korean players hit wide.
Turkey only lost twice in the tournament, both times to finalists Brazil in its opening match (2-1) and a tightly contested semi-final (1-0).
Thirty-year-old Sukur had not scored in Turkey's previous six matches but he said it was a case of better late than never. "The goal was late in coming. I had to wait until today. We got a good win and we showed that if we had been in the final, we would have won," he said in a voice cracking with emotion.
Sukur's historic goal was the 36th for his country in 80 appearances -- both are Turkish national team records.
Nicknamed "The Bull of the Bosphorus", Sukur's goal beat the previous mark held by Vaclav Masek of the former Czechoslovakia. On 7 June, 1962 in Chile, Masek netted the opener against Mexico in just 15 seconds. England's Bryan Robson registered the next fastest World Cup goal. On 16 June, 1982 in Spain, the midfielder took only 27 seconds to score against France.
Third place was by far Turkey's best-ever finals showing, ahead of the ninth spot the only other time it played, back in 1954.
South Korea's fourth place also came as a boost to local pride as it came to the tournament with the stated goal of reaching the second round. But it swept aside Portugal, Italy and Spain on its way to the semi-finals. By making it into the last four of the World Cup, South Korea put itself -- and Asia -- on the football map because no Asian country had ever gone so far in a World Cup.
"It's not a miracle. It's just a big, big achievement," said Guus Hiddink, the Dutch head coach. "The Korean players impressed the world with their style, the way they played spontaneous football ...the way they always try to make a goal as soon as possible." Hiddink said he expected South Korea's success to have a big influence on the rest of Asia. "I hope other nations will follow the Korean example," he said. "It's not just by accident that the Korean team has improved so fast; it was structured. I think many countries can do that."
On paper, the gulf between the South Koreans and some of their illustrious opponents was huge. The combined salaries of the 23 South Korean squad members fell short of the income earned by some individuals at top European clubs.
But the squad dogged opponents with unrelenting attacks and whippet-like speed. Hiddink said South Koreans' eagerness to succeed and learn fast was the key. "I demanded that they be tough and they responded very well and they learned fast," he said.
Hiddink's rigorous workouts started paying off just weeks ahead of the World Cup finals. The squad outlasted most opponents, making the defense tighter and the offense sharper.
South Korea's extraordinary campaign sparked unprecedented support from their countrymen. The number of fans flooding streets, parks and plazas across the nation soared from one million for the 4 June opener to seven million for South Korea's semi-final match against Germany.
For Saturday's playoff, about four million turned out in streets across the nation, according to police estimates. The 65,000-seat stadium at Daegu was a sellout.
"The Korean public did a tremendous job helping me and the team achieve what we have achieved," Hiddink said.
The Dutchman became the first coach to guide two different nations to the semi-finals -- the Netherlands in 1998 and South Korea in 2002. Just a "foreigner" when he arrived in South Korea 18 months ago, he is now a Korean hero. "Korea has stolen my heart in a very short time," he said. "Korea is in my heart. I never leave Korea in that sense."
But South Korea's extraordinary World Cup run ended on a sad note as the hosts prepared to say good-bye to their coach and top striker. Hiddink is expected to move to a club in Europe -- he has already been in touch with his former Dutch club PSV Eindhoven.
"I like to be on the pitch. I like to work on a daily basis with players," Hiddink told reporters.
Striker Hwang Sun-hong will also be leaving the team, telling reporters on Saturday that he intended to bow out of international football. "I've said before that I'll retire. I am resolved to do so, but it still hurts," said Hwang, who missed Saturday's playoff match with a thigh injury.
The 33-year-old, South Korea's most dangerous forward for more than a decade, retires with 50 goals as Ahn Jung-hwan and others vie to fill his boots. "The good thing is we've had good results. I'm not sad," Hwang said. "The best part was making the round of 16." Veteran defender Hong Myung-bo, short- listed for FIFA's World Cup all-star team, said he also faced a decision on retirement. "I will retire from the national team eventually but whether I do it immediately, that I'll have to decide later," the 33-year-old Hong told reporters. "It has been a great honour to serve in the national team for so long."

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