The Official Korea NT Thread Part 5 [R]

Radoncic < Kim Shin-Wook at this point in time. However, I do agree that we don't know how his form will be.... also KSW is much younger. I'd actually much rather play JDW up top as the back up striker but if both JDW and PJY aren't the kind of players that Choi Kang Hee likes....

edit: sorry, meant to say Radoncic > KSW.... so sleepy

Pohang won the ACL in 2009 not Seongnam. They won it the very next year.

Dejan came to Korea the same year that Rah-don-chi-chi started his continuous residency... but too bad he can't speak Korean.

The fact that Choi Gang-hee's system requires a lanky CF may work to his advantage, but he's far from a game changer and is clearly inferior to some of K-League's best forwards including Lee Dong-guk who is a limited player himself. I rate Radoncic as an average K-League forward who can be a serviceable back-up at best for the national team if used properly.

But to be fair to Radoncic, comparing him to Kim Shin-wook is unfair as they're two different players. Radoncic is a ball winner in the air and is at his best when playing with his back to goal whilst utilizing his physique. Kim Shin-wook, as shown in the K-League playoffs last season, excels in transition despite his size and is better when facing the goal.

Well he's already capped several times for Montenegro so it wouldn't mean much if he could.

While we're on the topic of discussing foreign players in the K-League, I have to say that Eninho is by far the best player and perhaps even the greatest player in Korea in the last decade. I truly think he's better than all of our national team players including the ones based in Europe.

Eninho isn't better than Park Jisung. There is a difference between getting it done at the top of the football chain and getting it done in the K-League and ACL. Also, how many times has Park gotten it done for us at the international stage? You should know better than to suggest Eninho's superiority over Park.

Comparing Eninho with Park Chuyoung and Lee Chungyong is also pushing it. Eninho's performance in the K-League may outshine their performances by some margin, but Park CY and Lee proved that they can be strong enough and quick enough for the English and the French football--two of the most physical and speediest game in Europe. Gu Jachul looked like Xavi in Korea, and look what's happened to him. Eninho can stand still against Korean defence, but he's far from a strong guy; there's no telling how Eninho will look like playing under the distress, pace, and physicality of European football. When it comes to anyone other than three mentioned, though, I'd say Eninho is better. So if he was to be part of the national team right now, he'd be the third or fourth most important player.

I said "national team players" which doesn't include Park Ji-sung.

I would say Eninho is better than Park Ju-young and Lee Chung-yong. All three are finesse players, but I would say Eninho's passing and shooting abilities are better and unlike the other two, Eninho can play in the middle and out wide effectively. There's no reason for me to think that Eninho's impact in Ligue 1 would be any less than quality attacking midfielders that are currently playing there (e.g. Pedretti).

But, once again, the pace and the defensive coverage in Korea doesn't compare to Europe. Gu Jachul was no Ronaldinho, or even 'Eninho', in the K-League, but he was without a doubt one of the very best players in his last year here. He dictated nearly every match during the second half last season, and was even comfortable enough to display some eye-catching technique inside the box and by the sideline. It's been a year since he went to Germany and he hasn't done jack so far. On a similar note, Ki Sungyong, another player who enjoyed some success in the K-League, hasn't done jack shit either. It takes a great player to adjust to the European game, and Eninho hasn't done that. Give Park and Lee their due.

Eninho was probably a late bloomer, yes, and probably faced unbelievable lack of luck during his career, yes, but even still, there's a reason why he wound up at a Dagu FC a couple of years ago, and there is a reason why he's still at Korea right now likely making less than a million US dollar per year. If he was really better than a key starter playing in a mid-tier Premiership club, then, he would be playing at the Brazilian Serie A right now, if not in Europe, and not in Korea. At the very least, he would be valued a lot higher than 10억 or whatever it is he's earning right now. Supply, and demand.

You are welcome to make your own observations, and I will happily agree to disagree. However, under my standards, until Eninho, Park, and Lee play together in a same club, or the national team, and prove that Eninho can be the leader of the pact, whoever succeeded at the higher level of football is the better player.

i personally feel Eninho's success has a lot to do with the system under CKH. out of creative midfielders i would say he can be up there with our NT players but i wouldnt rate him above PJY, PJS, KSY, LCY, or KJC. who all dont play his type of role.

Telling me that Eninho is inferior to Park Ju-young and Lee Chung-yong because he gets paid less (and that he never played in Europe) is not a logical argument for me. There's no denying that the K-League is lower in quality, but neither Park Ju-young nor Lee Chung-yong played better than Eninho when they played in Korea.

It's true that Park Ju-young and Lee Chung-yong have established themselves in Europe which is something Eninho has never done, but they've never been dominant players anywhere they've played and the fact that they played at a higher level alone isn't enough to dismiss the skill level displayed by Eninho which is far and away better than anything I've seen from the other two. Neither of the two can take set pieces, pass, shoot and play with versatility like Eninho can. Plus, Eninho would've gone to Europe 2-3 years ago if he was Korean.

Put it this way. If you replace Eninho with either Park Ju-young or Lee Chung-yong in Jeonbuk's line-up, would they have won two K-League titles in the past three seasons? Not in your dreams.

That's just not true. Eninho made a name for himself playing for Daegu which is a team that had no system especially when he played there. He was the reason behind Lee Geun-ho becoming relevant in Korean football.

Wait, better FK than PJY? Eninho is Brazilian right? How is it that a Korean is more attractive than a Brazilian in Europe. Their NT may have lost some of it's cache but the average Brazilian has got a lot more shine on him than your average or above average K leaguer.

Yes, he's a better set piece taker than Park Ju-young.

When European clubs are scouting the K-League, they do it to keep tabs on young Korean players who have been spotted by their scouts long before they start looking at them closely. They won't even consider Brazilians in their late 20s when scouting K-League matches.

Wait didn't Edu move from Suwon to Schalke 04?

He did. So did Marcel who went from Suwon to Portugal (eventually to Benfica).

But that's besides the point. Edu already played in Bundesliga for many years before moving to Suwon and it was only a matter of time until he went back to Europe. Marcel was also only 23 when he left Suwon. When Eninho signed for Daegu, he was already into his late 20s.

I'm not just talking about one possible scenario. I'm talking about a whole bunch of what-if's. If Eninho really was better than two of the best at a top 25 nation, his career path should have been completely different and he shouldn't have went through like ten different clubs before finally making his mark in the world of football at a bottom feeder club in a second-to-third tier league.

Park and Lee may have been lucky [some may say unlucky] for being born in Korea instead of Brazil, but they didn't need a pile of clubs to settle like Eninho did. Both adjusted comfortably at the first professional club they signed with, as well as the first European club they signed with.

Part of me says Eninho looks to be as great as he is because Jeonbuk's 닥공 is built around him. He's a central figure in a team that knows nothing else but attack: of course he's going to look great. It wasn't so long ago when Seongnam made Molina look like Arjen Robben and Pohang made Denilson look like Raul. They dominated the league in a similar fashion that Eninho is doing right now; please don't suggest to me that they are all better than our best players.

Koreans are hard working people and while we may struggle to cooperate, we are easily motivated. When we get behind someone, we will make them shine. Imagine Park in Jeonbuk right now instead of Eninho; he would thrive under Jeonbuk's current system. Can you picture all the beautiful passes he would deliver during transitions? What about his finishes and spot kicks? He would be a lethal figure in an already stacked team.

I like Eninho, and I would probably enjoy watching him at the national team, but to me, he's just a player who looks more special than he actually is because he's different from his surroundings. Given his style and his position, he'd naturally be the more influential player during a match, but is he a better footballer and the better athlete? It's difficult to say. That's why I'm giving the node to the two guys who has succeeded at the highest level of football.

Put it simply, if three teams consisting one of Park, Lee, and Eninho each went head to head against the very best team in the world, I am saying it would be Park and Lee showing the more than Eninho. If and when Eninho is ever put in this situation and he does better than the other two [I'm not denying the possibility, I just don't want to assume things *ehem Gu Jachul* until I have seen it with my own eyes], I will admit that he's the better player.

Anyways, all this is meaningless talk. Only reason I started this discussion was because I wanted to point out the proper recognition you were seemingly refusing to give to our best players. But given that you are Korean, and knowing you, I should you have known that you meant no disrespect. We will just agree to disagree, I guess.

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