Olympic Coach Mulls Life Without Ji-sung
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Rarely in football can a single player impose his will on a team and dictate its fate. But that said, could there be any individual more critical to his team's success than Park Ji-sung?
Granted, this is not to discuss the midfielder's role with reigning European champions Manchester United, where despite garnering praise for his industrious play, he benefits from the diversionary brilliance of otherworldly talents such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
However, for the planet's other self-proclaimed Red Devils, or the South Korean national squad, Park is practically their name card.
The 27-year-old winger was clearly the country's most gifted player for the past decade and his brilliance on the pitch has resulted him logging heavy minutes in a grueling double duty for club and country.
The upcoming Olympic tournament in Beijing was penciled as Park's next major assignment for the Taeguk Warriors, carrying the nation's hope for its first Olympic football medal on his scrawny shoulders.
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) restricts entry to the Olympic tournament to players born after Jan. 1, 1985, but each squad is allowed to carry three over-aged players as ``wild card" picks.
And South Korea's under-23 coach Park Sung-hwa had declared a spot saved for the Manchester Untied midfielder, naming him in the provisional 40-man roster announced in April.
However, with Park's strengthened status with his club, moving up in manager Alex Ferguson's pecking order down the stretch of United's title run, as well as concerns about overuse, the coach is now forced to consider a Plan B that doesn't involve the country's most transcendent sports personality.
``Ji-sung is not as established as a Cristiano Ronaldo and not in a position where he has a strong opinion about a move that could stand against the club's interest," said coach Park.
`` The Olympic tournament overlaps with the opening of the new Premier League season, and joining the team in Beijing would require a lot of sacrifices on his part. We also need to consider his participation in the month-long World Cup qualifiers and the Manchester United training camp."
The coach would love to have Park at his disposal in Beijing, where South Korea is drawn in a tough Group D with Italy, Cameroon and Honduras.
Park's versatility, which allows him to excel as a wide midfielder from both sides of the flank and also as a support striker, combined with his wealth of international experience and reputation as a big game player, would provide a clear value to a team of youngsters.
It remains to be seen how the coach could replace Park in the lineup if he is not available for Beijing. The under-23 team has capable wing players in Daegu FC's Lee Keun-ho and Gwangju Sangmoo's Kim Seung-yong and may use a wild card spot on a central midfielder, which makes the Suwon BlueWings' Cho Won-hee and Seongnam Chunma's Kim Jung-woo logical candidates.
Coach Park had insisted he would use two spots for a left-footed midfielder or defender and a striker. Zenit St. Petersburg defender Kim Dong-jin had been discussed for the job, but with the fullback currently hobbled with an injury to his left calf, Chunnam Dragons' Kim Chi-woo is emerging as a likely replacement.
Jeonbuk Motors striker Cho Jae-jin was considered to have secured his ticket for Beijing, but the recent emergence of the BlueWings' striker duo of Seo Dong-hyun and Shin Young-rok, both under the age limit, may prompt coach Park to spend the veteran spot at another position.
As Park's Position and importance is getting higher, the club and nation's expectation also high. So because of the gain and loss about him between club and nation, Park 's availability about the olympic is uncertain.
20200041 kwon hyuck sung(late)
