it's because we're not a homogeneous society, despite continuing to tell that to ourselves to make us feel better.
With Japan. Japanese players seems to be more in european leagues rather than koreans, i don't think it has to do with low quality of korean players.
Depends on what you mean by "same shite" because there's too much of it. From a development perspective, now that we know the end product is that there should be 8 teams, we also need to decrease the number of inputs (youth players) that end up in the league, for quality control. College ball needs to be scrapped but since the KFA cannot control what these colleges do, there needs to be a minimum salary requirement for players good enough to play in a 8-team premier league. This will hopefully entice players to opt for professional ball, instead of college. There also needs to be a roster cap on how many players these teams can have to operate their first teams. Highschools and middle-schools also need overhaul; without the money they're making off these national tournaments (which also needs scrapping) there will be numerous higschools that will abandon their programs. Quality players will end up at schools that remain. For these schools, the KFA can mandate/require that they operate it in accordance with certain policies. For example, instead of running a combined age group of 16-18, they neeed to run it by specific age bracket of U16, U17, U18. Again, the problem is that there's too many players playing for too many teams; this requires consolidation. By law, the country cannot fully deploy European-style youth academies where players are contracted; this requires amendments to current labor laws for minors. Hence, instead of having highschools run their own programs, these small but core group of schools will need to be funded by the KFA. There also needs to be strict requirements on how new schools and programs are on-boarded. From a business perspective, the league needs to think about its customer base. My first choice would be to get rid of supporters as they are not very profitable. They buy the cheapest tickets and despite merchandise sales, they are repeat customers that doesn't need much management. They are a major deterrent and annoyance to new customers (which is what we need), who simply do not relate and accept a South American/legacy European ultras culture. But fortunately, we have the KBO who have all the answers laid out for us - they know what sells and the KBO is becoming a sort of a cultural export where even tourists pay a visit to watch their favorite K-Pop idols. Koreans love to eat, sing, dance and drink - this is what is culturally Korean and the KBO plays to that. Why not the K-League?
That's not true - well, it might be true but whether the customer base "like" or "dislike" the sport is irrelevant. Nobody watched the KBO in the 90's - now it's a "thing". But the KBO managed to create a positive experience for everybody that visits the stadium, regardless of whether they like the sport or not. I'm by no means a sexist but I've met plenty of American women who simply do not like American football. But they are peer-pressured to enjoy it because it is a cultural activity, no more, no less. The K-League does not compete with foreign leagues. The K-League competes with other cultural activities, such as drams, movies and other things that people can do versus watching a ball-game. Americans love sports simply because they don't have anything better to do but in Korea, this is not the case. K-League matches aren't aired at 3 in the morning to compete with foreign leagues.
Exactly - there's no responsibility for poor management. Legally, there is no difference between an individual or a corporation. Corporations are treated as individuals; hence, if Mansur really wanted to, he can always by FC Seoul if he wishes. Agreed but differences in culture; a better analogy would be - why can't we have Kim Gu-ra or Kim Hueng-gook commentating the game through "My Little Television"? via Afreeca (assuming Afreeca wants to pay).
This is true anywhere - the better the team does, more people will watch. This is a testament to how poor we've been.
This was a concern since the inception of the J-League in 92. I'd say player for player, Japan has better individual skill although its negligible at this point. The J-League has its own problems and I don't think they will outperform Korea in the world stage in the near future.
Since there's a tendency to compare to other teams in the region, I wonder how the view would have have been on the state of Korean football if Japan had a good showing at the World Cup. People would probably be complaining about how much they've fallen compared to Japan. But I'm not sure if the whole "trying to do better than the other" at World Cups is just a myth.
Man we should just let Amoeba take over the K-league. Do you think there should be a single entity league like the mls or individuals owning separate teams?
I'm not a fan of any American sporting model, especially when it comes to soccer. The KFA should simply re-distribute (evenly) the revenue raised (i.e., through TV deals) and let each team manage their own, however they want. But - there needs to be some regulation and accountability to teams that do not remain profitable.
For the general public, yes - that probably would've been the consensus. But i think we know Japanese football too well (and vice versa) to truly believe that Japan is substantially superior to Korean football. It's neck and neck, and both countries produce sub-par players. Yes, the J-League consistently exports players to Europe, but so have Korea, until the KFA shot itself in the foot by implementing a draft system. What a waste of time that was.
Weighing in real quick - some good points being raised. The petition seems like a worthwhile endeavor. To the cynics, look there's always the chance a petition could fall on deaf ears, but you never really know until it's tried. Something like this, especially in this lightning fast viral netwerked world today could get attention & traction, for at least the audacity of raising critical issues that the KFA / K League has to come to grips with sooner or later. Echoing others on BSK, the youth as a whole aren't getting critical pro minutes. Studies show, kids that start getting pro minutes in whatever variety from age 16-18 get a BIG head start -and is one (of many) ingredient to a player becoming world class. Random selection of players here, Messi, PJS, Thierre Henry, LCY, KSY, Ronaldo (and yes they are not all on same caliber) but you get the point, they all in different ways in different clubs got 1st pro minutes as late teenagers. A In a nutshell (probably been repeated on BSK so apologies in advance if you've heard this before), K-League's problems is similar to the MLS in that youth aren't given first team opportunities, that as the NCAA muddies the waters somewhat similar to many young Korean players not getting pro minutes but for universities tied to kleague clubs - getting amateur minutes rather than pro minutes. Korea like in the US, typical young player might get their first pro minutes after graduating univ at age 21 -Way too late for player development. The icing on this shit cake is then players get to cut short their career at age 28 with an inflexible military conscription at what should be the peak of their career. There's so much to unpack, so much that needs reform, that really should've started yesterday. That Korea has punched above it's weight in light of these system wide problems is remarkable and a testament to some parts of the Korean football program doing something right -but how long can that last before those major underlying systemic fault lines down Korea's overall nat'l program. If Korea traditionally hovers somewhere in the fairly respectable 'above average' range internationally and usually representing top 3 among Asian nations, it's not so much that it's in danger of falling below that -which it could in 15 years playing behind China (oh the humanity...), but more disappointing is that the potential for breaking into a consistent top 20 tier footballing nation was (and perhaps still is) possible -but we may never know. Bad movie title analogy: crouching tiger, hidden dragon. moving on At the heart of reform is the domestic league, perennial ACL contenders, usually marred by pathetic attendance despite past continental success. Again, so much to unpack here, maybe the league is so intractable that it does need to be blown up and rebooted, change ownership rules, build authentic organic local town/city/province support. If Japan could start up as late as '93 and today fill their stadiums with supporters + charge lucrative TV rights, the K-League and Korean football along with it is demonstrably falling further and further behind. Funding / ownership complications / citizen clubs inability to compete with chaebol clubs, the chicken or egg problem facing TV rights -hell, w/ those super low $ TV deals it's almost like the K-League practically has to beg/pay TV networks to air their games (again echoing others on BSK who commented earlier - it's complicated by Naver showing EPL/Bundesliga games for free). If ACL title wins is a sort of bellweather, recent fails by K-league clubs to win the title could be indicative of a slow -not immediate - but gradual decline. It will reflect on the nat'l team and their ability to compete internationally - you can make a strong case that with the Olympics (I'm looking at you Shim Sang-min) it has already. It's not monolithic - Korea did get the results they needed with Mexico & Germany, but the on-paper advantage w/ Honduras didn't pan out. Bad luck in not scoring - sure. Ok, I also respect those who aren't going to over-react to a quarterfinal tournament loss. It happens to good teams. But you can also make a argument that the depth in talent wasn't as fortified as it should. The pro minutes Germany's u23 squad members collectively outstrip the pro minutes Korea's u23 have together. Looking down the road long after Rio, these players will have a better trajectory than ours will. I could be wrong- but I'm just putting that empirically out there. The long term damage I fear is ultimately of interest in the youth, to go out, to play and compete. Why would Korean youth bother to play (other than recreationally)what with the K League's spectacularly low wages and zero atmosphere at stadiums other than supermatch days? Why would youth give a damn when you can be a rock star as a pudgy 'dunk dunk ay' baseball player. Ok, now I'm starting to wander into left field to use a yagu turn of phrase... Point is, if a man could land on the moon, turning around K-League (or rebooting it completely) to get a domestic league that's supported and watched and loved (with all the drama and storyline narratives that virtually writes itself) is absolutely possible. Difficult as ******** - yes - but possible. A petition is not a bad way to start a conversation in Korea. I could think of worse ways to spend time (like watching a slow as ******** baseball game, that's what).
No, a petition will not work. A petition signed by Bigsoccer Korea is just as effective as petitioning for a rematch against the Suisse on Daum Agora back in 2006. (and honestly, what is it about Koreans and their candle-light petitions, anyway? LOL) Spot on - agreed. We need more minutes for our youth players, both professionally and on the national team level. And if they're not getting playing time on the professional level, then they definitely need minutes by playing more on the national team level. We do not have the luxury of squad depth to wait and see who can prove themselves at their clubs. I disagree on the local town support. Korea isn't Europe where each town has history on its own. Korean cities lack identity and probably no older than 40-50 years. Also, local town support has nothing to do with a franchise. People watch the Lakers without being from Los Angeles; people follow Barcelona because of their style, etc. Local support is a fallacy, some unspoken rule, and a largely unproven theory. There is no evidence that teams perform better, book higher revenue or get larger sponsorships by being in a larger city with bigger home town support. Next time you're in town, I urge you to go to a KBO game. It has a fantastic atmosphere (actually, I'd dare say the best atmosphere in the world, out of any sport), and you can have a good time. And I don't even enjoy baseball.
I mean, everyone knows what the problems are and what the answers are. It's just that nobody can execute. That in itself is probably a problem. If anyone here is super rich, as in like, you are wealthy and can supply at least 20 million dollars a year, please PM me as I think I can create a very detailed plan. With a 20 million dollar budget, we can address a lot of issues.
There is a correlation (not causation) that more diverse an ethnicity is, more athletic they are because of diverse genetics. So he can say that all he wants but he's hurting himself because we are not homogeneous of a society as he likes, or racially pure.
Really I think Japan and China should be more frustrated with their national teams. With Japan's youth and league development and China's huge spending in academies they can't even perform better than Korea with all of the KFA's problems.
Biggest problem: Youths are playing for college, not for pro debut. In addition, they do only what they are told to do by their coaches, as Stielike pointed out several times.. They need to "enjoy" football more..
Preciswly. I haven't addressed the second part yet, but it is true we need a wholesale mentality change in our players, which I suspect is up to the youth system