Re: ESPN match preview - Freiburg vs. Werder Bremen ah if you don't mind upload them to mediafire? http://www.mediafire.com
Re: ESPN match preview - Freiburg vs. Werder Bremen megaupload is the best..i can download a 500 mb file within 10 minutes.
Is anyone aware whether DR Cha is pretty much confirmed for SA? I do hope so as I thought that DR handled his being left off in 06' in a classy way (supporting the team as an analyst and getting excited for Korea at good moments). I'm sure he'll be a great asset to the team, as well as it being deserved.
Considering the fact that there isn't much competition for the RB position, as well as how well he played against Cote d'Ivoire, I'd say he's a shoe in for the final squad, although I personally prefer Oh Bum-seok to start.
He showed good performances against African opposition so I would expect him to play against Nigeria at the very least. However, his performance against Senegal was confounded by the fact that it was also his return to the NT for some time and he was likely to be up for it. The performance against Cote d'Ivoire was good though -- he's a no-nonsense kind of defender.
Yes, but against Greece in particular, I want to see Oh Bum-seok in the starting line-up. I'm going to go out on a limb and guarantee that we'll overwhelmingly out-possess Greece, but struggle to create too many clear cut chances. So we need players with intelligence and precision. Dr. Cha, unfortunately, has neither.
Hm. I could see Huh Jung-moo trying to fight fire with fire and have Cha's speed and power to try and stifle their forward line and wingers, a guy like Samaras for example, who is tricky with the ball and allays his dribbling with his size. Cha may not have the IQ that Oh Bum-Seok has but the latter tends to be worryingly cute in and around our penalty area. The good doctor usually just boots it into Row Z.
This makes perfect sense as Dr. Cha is far more explosive and aggressive with his runs down the sideline, but his final ball almost always leaves a lot to be desired. In that sense, I'd like to see Oh Bum-seok because he's considerably better at slotting in through-balls and whipping dangerous crosses in to the penalty area.
True. We didn't get the kind of width on the right hand side we usually get when we played against Cote d'Ivoire and I think Cha's lack of overlap probably had something to do with that. In that case, then, it puts more onus on Ki Sung-Yong who is usually the player that switches the play to opposite flanks during an attack. We got plenty of width on the left though from Park Ji-Sung and Lee Young-Pyo. My trepidation is that if we try to play in crosses, regardless of who's playing them in, the height of the Greek backline will end up cutting them out and then transitioning to counter-attack. I'm not sure which is the way to go. I suppose the friendlies will help elucidate the situation.
I also think giving some time to Lee Chung-yong and Oh Bum-seok on the right hand side to form a partnership will create a potent weapon come WC time. The thought of them playing one-two's to exploit the right flank is a pleasant one to say the least.
Yeah, Oh Bum-Seok is quite good at making threatening runs inside into the penalty area. You could say he's best described as 'being dangerous in both penalty areas'. I like more and more the idea of a strikerless formation, whether by choice or necessity, and I would like that think that's what Huh Jung-Moo was alluding to in the second half against Cote d'Ivoire. Against teams that defend deep, I think this might be the way to go but we need to be confident in position and maybe not so quick to start the counter-attack after winning possession.
The idea of going 4-5-0 isn't bad at all, but it'll only work if our passing flows well and the wingers perform up to their abilities. I like what Lee Dong-guk has been doing in K-League and ACL this season, so I'll hold my final thoughts on the formation until the last friendly against Spain in Austria.
I think the analogy here works well especially since I see some similarities between Totti and Park Joo-Young's style of play.
Re: ESPN match preview - Freiburg vs. Werder Bremen Enjoying their break so they will be full-strength when the WC kicks off jk
Yes, but only the style. It ends there Only if Park Ju-young had the same level of body strength as Totti... I've seen the Roman captain hold off the likes of Ferdinand to retain possession and etc. It's amazing to see a player have that kind of body strength in his arsenal to go along with his top class intelligence, techniques and ball artistry. But to be fair, Park Ju-young has gotten a lot better at shielding the ball over the last couple of years.
They're about the same height if I recall. Park Joo-Young is all about speed though for the most part. And a crazy vertical.
With our dwindling options at forward, I am thinking that one option would be to use DR up front. Someone with his size and speed could do well up there. And I think people underestimate his soccer intelligence.
Freiburg win 1-0 at home vs. Wolfsburg. That drags them out of the drop zone. No sign of DR Cha though.
DR Cha not even on the line-up. Correct me if I'm wrong, he hasn't been included in the line up as a starter nor substitute since last March 6th.
Cha has played in practically every match leading up to the friendly vs. IC. The two matches before IC he played a combined 16 minutes which was unusual. He hasn't featured at all since IC. Supposedly he's injured.