well, iam just happy he is out of japan....he really wasn't progressing as a player....he seemed like he wasn't happy playing in japan.. I think he just like the money over there and thats it...NOw, i am sure he is willing to work hard to prove that his second coming is very different than his first one....I think he will do just fine....however, i really don't think that there are many koreans residing in france...I know there are some kroeans in germany but in france i hardly doubt it....good luck ahn and do soemthing please.... tae
Do you know a country in the world where there is no korean ? There are many koreans in France. Most of them are students or korean who get married with French, but companies like LG bring a lot of Korean expat in Paris. Don't worry, he will find korean people in Metz and around. And Metz is not far from Germany where there are more koreans.
That ********** is inaccurate. Landon has the the highest salary in MLS with 900K. Nobody in MLS makes a mill but Landon's salary is close to it. But yeah, not too many MLSers make the 100K range.
a new AJH profile: source Player Profile: Ahn Jung Hwan 7/11/2005 9:44:00 AM South Korean star striker Ahn Jung-hwan has joined French club Metz on a year-long contract and Goal.com's John Duerden profiles one of Asia’s most recognisable stars. Ahn was born in 1976 in the city of Paju, north of Seoul and within shooting distance of the De-Militarised Zone, the poorly-named most militarized patch of land in the world. However, it was on the other side of the country that he came to fame in Korea. The then pony-tailed hitman made his mark on the south coast with Daewoo Royals (now Busan I’Park), scoring an impressive 44 goals in 87 games from 1998 to 2000 and with his good looks and fine skills quickly became the star of Korean football. Such form earned him a move to Europe and Perugia, one that was encouraged by the press in his homeland, which hoped that the youngster could become South Korea’s answer to Japan’s Hidetoshi Nakata. It wasn’t to be for Ahn who spent much of his time sitting on the bench in Italy, playing only 29 games in two seasons with a return of five goals. If he was Italy’s ‘forgotten man’, he soon reminded the southern Europeans of his presence when he rose above Paolo Maldini in June 2002 to send South Korea into the last eight and Italy flying home. The golden goal made the front pages and back, as Ahn was famously sacked by Luciano Guacci, the President of Perugia, saying, “Ahn was only phenomenal against Italy and I have no intention of paying the salary of someone who ruined Italian soccer.” The move provoked outrage around the footballing world as well as questions in the House of Commons but the player wasn’t overly concerned as it looked as if he could take his pick from Europe’s top leagues with a host of clubs seemingly interested. Strangely though, nothing concrete materialised although Blackburn Rovers came close to securing the signature of ‘Asia’s Beckham’ but work permit problems put paid to any hopes that he would be moving to England. The striker moved instead to Japan, enjoying a fruitful season with mid-table outfit Shimuzu S-Pulse, earning himself a move to J-League powerhouses Yokohama F. Marinos in January 2004. Ahn helped the champions defend their title in his first season by the bay and scored a number of vital goals along the way and although he extended his contract to July 2005, he never made any secret of the fact that he wanted to return to Europe. His decision to join FC Metz may have surprised some in his homeland, especially as his suitors included with Athletico Madrid, Alaves, Paris St.Germain, FC Koln, Lazio and Livorno but guaranteed first-team opportunities in north-eastern France are the reason why the ‘Lord of the Ring’ has chosen to go there. Despite the fact that the 29 year-old is one of his country’s most skilful players, he isn’t guaranteed a place in national team’s starting line-up. Coach Jo Bonfrere doesn’t seem to share Guus Hiddink’s faith in the striker. Hiddink believed that Ahn’s languid, insouciant style betrayed a fierce will to win and determination but he needed to be handled in the correct way. "When I first saw Ahn Jung-hwan he was really terrible", said the PSV coach. "I think he was conceited because he was playing in Italy. I thought I had to shake him up a bit. I teased, ’Who knows you in Italy?’ Probably the people of Perugia know that Ahn Jung-hwan washes the benches." Ahn listened to the canny Dutchman and worked hard to earn a place in his team, becoming one of the stars of the 2002 World Cup but it seems that he has to prove himself all over again. An ankle injury picked up while playing in a November World Cup Qualifier kept him out of the reckoning for six months and in the meantime Lee Dong-guk impressed the coach with a sustained scoring spree and wonder kid Park Chu-young emerged onto the scene. Ahn joins fellow 2002 heroes Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo, Seol Ki-hyeon and Cha Du-ri in Europe and he hopes that his year in France will lead him to another World Cup and a last big move to England or Spain. by John Duerden
Funny enough, I was there last summer. I walked around the whole principality in three full hours. Though, technically, and temporarily, there was a Korean in Lichtenstein (me), I myself didn't run into any Koreans while strolling through the whole itty bitty country.