Korea‘s finesse attacking mindset needed extra time to get the result it needed, but nonetheless was able to edge out Iran‘s stingy defending in a battle of two contrasting ideologies. Iran managed to trouble Korea more than any other side so far at the Asian Cup with their rugged midfield operation and constant pressing high up the pitch. However,...

As soon as the ball left Sunil Chhetri’s boot and arrowed past a stock-still Jung Sung-ryong, an inveterate destiny had been secured, Korea had been unwittingly condemned into a fifth replay of arguably one of the greatest Asian Cup rivalries to date. One could almost hear the collective groans in Tehran and Seoul as, having played against each other in the...

Suwon Samsung Bluewings have been arguably the most active in the transfer market since the window opened at the start of the year with a number of high profile changes having been made to the squad already ahead of the 2011 season. The capture of Choi Sung-guk from Seongnam for a fee of around $1m looks to be the biggest signing of the window so far, with the...

It was an unconvincing performance by Korea for the most part amid the 1-1 draw, but a bit more resiliency after the go-ahead goal could have helped them see out the match. Instead, Australia fought back and deservedly pulled level by exposing Korea’s obvious flaws. Korea’s weaknesses exposed in this match were more or less a confirmation of what...

Click here to read the tournament preview A few unanswered questions still remain, but it was nonetheless a bright start to the tournament by Korea as they defeated Bahrain 2-1 and grabbed all three points from their opening match in the Asian Cup for the first time in 23 years. Well thought out tactics by Cho Kwang-rae was brilliantly interpreted on the pitch...

After the recent 2-1 victory against Bahrain in the 2011 Asian Cup, Korean national team left back Lee Young-pyo (34/Al-Hilal) became the third most capped player for the Korean National Team. On the 11th, Lee Young-pyo earned his 122nd cap for the national team. Before the game, the defender was on level with Cha Bum-kun with 121 caps. With the recent match,...

It wasn’t exactly a compliment when Iran manager Afshin Ghotbi, who had been part of Korea Republic‘s coaching staff for a good part of the last decade, said that the Koreans need to take pride in the way they’ve played football in the past. Whether by design or accident, the underlying message in Ghotbi’s comment, which came at the...

The foreign-based duo of Manchester United’s Park Ji-sung and AS Monaco’s Park Chu-young capped off an impressive year for Korean football with an equally impressive double haul of consecutive Player of the Month awards for their respective teams. Both Parks won the Player of the Month award for the months of November and December with Park Ji-sung...