N.Korean football star says team is ready for 2010 FIFA World Cup

Posted on : 2010-05-04 12:18 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Jong Tae-se says N.Korea is aiming for a top 2 finish with Brazil in Group G or the “Group of Death”
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What does the World Cup mean to Jong Tae-se, the 26-year-old striker with Kawasaki Frontale? The words that sprang from his lips without a moment’s hesitation were “stairway to heaven.” It was nearly deflating for a journalist who was expecting an answer with a mixture of words like “home country” and “the people.” To this fashionable young man in his clinging white T-shirt, jeans and short, upswept hair, the World Cup is a festival he wants to enjoy to the fullest.

I headed out to meet him at the Kawasaki training grounds on April 26, fifty days ahead of North Korean national football team’s (Korea DPR national football team) first final draw match in the 2010 World Cup taking place in South Africa. It was not easy to secure a one-on-one interview, with a huge amount of interview requests pouring in from media outlets all over the world ahead of the competition. Hwang Geum-sil, from the Evolution agency responsible for his management, advised, “individual news organization interviews will be difficult as of May due to his conditioning schedule.”

Training ended just before noon, but Jong remained alone on the field doing individual practice. After practicing headers for over 30 minutes, he headed for the locker room, but the fans would not let him go. Only after signing each of the notebooks thrust at him did he manage to slip off the pitch.

After finishing his shower in the locker room, Jong Tae-se came out with a spirited expression on his face. Smiling broadly as he said, “Thank you for coming so far to see me,” he seemed different from the bulldozer image I witnessed tearing up the grounds. As soon as we sat down in the club office for the interview, I spied a look of tension that contrasted with the brightness from before. I first asked what he thought about the North Korean team’s chances of reaching the final sixteen after entering the main draw for the first time in 44 years.

“That is definitely a tough one. Our group is what it is... We really do not have a strategy for beating Brazil and Portugal.” He laughed. “Still, there is no country that plays to lose from the start, so we have just got to play our style of football to the end. We definitely have to give it all we’ve got and race for the final sixteen. Right now, the goal is to reach the top two in our group along with Brazil.” At the 2010 World Cup, North Korea is in the Group G, or the “Group of Death,” along with Brazil, Portugal and Cote D’Ivoire. William Hill, a British football betting business, gave North Korea its lowest odds of victory at 2,000:1.

“After all, we did come up through the final Asian qualifying by beating distinguished countries that we weren’t expected to beat. I believe that some hidden, unknowable force will definitely be manifested within us in the main draw as well. We’re looking at Cote d’Ivoire as our first victim.”

Jong had reason enough for saying this. “I saw the entire video of the match Cote d’Ivoire played at the Africa Cup of Nations in January. I did my own analysis, and I saw that in the ninety minutes of the first and second halves, their defense focus dropped sharply with about ten minutes left in the second half. We basically make a rule of defense, so we want to raise our defense focus for eighty minutes and protect the net, and then look for the victory in the last ten minutes.”

Jong is also known in the Japanese pro league as a quick-thinking player. His reputation is as someone who reads the other team’s movements rather than simply playing football with his body, and who enters the match after making calculations with his head. His strategy against Cote d’Ivoire emerged from just this type of calculation.

“On the current national team, I work best with Mun In-guk. You can look forward to seeing fantastic teamwork with Mun In-guk in the last ten minutes.” Mun is trusted by North Korean national coach Kim Jong-hun, leading the trip to the final draw as part of North Korea’s attack triangle along with Jong and Hong Yong-jo. When asked if any ceremony has been prepared for the first goal, Jong smiled shyly and said, “It’s no fun if I say beforehand.”

Fiery mental strength is another weapon Jong points to with the North Korean team. “What we have to present as a strength is concentration that could be called top class in the world. And our love for our teammates and our teamwork are awesome. With our concentration and teamwork, we won’t lose even to Brazil. Park Du-ik, the one who led us to the quarterfinal miracle at the England World Cup forty-four years ago, always tells us that we have nothing to fear if we arm ourselves with mental strength. Of course, we are rather behind tactically and technically, but...”

Jong has been unable to participate in the North Korean team’s training, with the exception of some training in Turkey early this year. As such, they have not had time to get their feet working together. When asked when he is joining the team, he said, “I know some time around late May, but I still do not know the exact schedule. I also want to join the team’s training and get working together with them as soon as possible. Training in Zimbabwe is scheduled for two weeks starting on May 25, so we might be able to join up then.”

When asked who he saw reaching the final sixteen from the Group B to which South Korea belongs, Jong selected South Korea and Argentina without a moment’s hesitation. “Whenever we play South Korea, we each give our all to win, but afterwards we shake hands and feel a sense of closeness as members of the same people, and we feel a growing desire for unification. During the 2002 World Cup, I was attending Tokyo’s Korea University, and we would gather in the auditorium to cheer South Korea on.”

Some rumors suggested meetings with South Korean pro teams after Jong signed a contract with a South Korean management company last year. “I have no thought of playing in South Korea. In Japan, every time there’s a pro match, a crowd of more than 20 thousand people shows up in the stadium. But it is not the case if you look at South Korean pro matches. It seems like interest is dropping.”

Jong has continuously expressed a desire to play on the European stage. What choice will he make after the World Cup? “I would like to go somewhere where I can play with Drogba (Chelsea) and Park Ji-sung. I don’t know yet, but whatever choice I make, I will prepare thoroughly so that I can enact my decision right away.”

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

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