Monday, March 23, 2015

Recap ahead of International Break

International break.  A bit of turbulence with Kim Jin Su being the subject of some sniping through the media between Gisdol (who was complaining of immense load of Asian Games, Asian Cup, friendlies plus club duty) and Stielike (defending his right to call up players).  And perhaps coincidentally (or not), Kim Jin Su had to go to hospital with "illness" after traveling home from weekend match.

So outside the possibility of Kim Jin Su missing due to illness, most of the playing KPAs have been called up for March friendlies.  Thus those not called up are: Hong Jeong Ho, Lee Chung Yong and Suk Hyun Jun.

Hong Jeong Ho's recovery continued with a bench appearance.

Ji Dong Won first started off in one of the two central attacking midfield roles in 4-1-4-1 where he did  ok.  At halftime, Ji was shifted into striker where he did better than previous weeks but got crunched on a hard tackle at 70' and was taken off soon after.  He did get called up to KNT which is in desperate need for a CF.

Kim Jin Su - I only watched last 30 but he looked really confident and strong showing his excellent technical skills in a draw.

Lee Chung Yong - Hopefully we start hearing of a return to training soon.

Ki Sung Yueng - One of his better days on the side of the diamond though still far from his top.  When Ki did get the ball, he was very instrumental in building possession, driving the ball forward and even creating chances such as releasing Gomis on the left for a wasted opportunity.  Once Swansea shifted back into a more regular 4-2-3-1 shape, Ki moved back and looked a lot more natural in his role, though he also looked to tire at the same time, offsetting the improvement somewhat.

Kim Bo Kyung looks to have continued to create some good chances over 90 minutes for Wigan who could only get a draw in the derby dropping them further back in the relegation fight.

Son Heung Min continued his poor run of form.  He looked invisible and was pulled at the half for probably a combination of rest ahead of international friendlies and invisible play.

Koo Ja Cheol looked sharp again although still a way from his best.  While perhaps not a true winger, he's done really well there since returning to more regular play.

Park Joo Ho looked really good against Wolfsburg attack and had a number of contributions on the other end including a really smooth run around multiple Wolfsburg defenders.

Yun Suk Young again got burned by lack of support by teammates on the goals.  The second he may have had more fault in (he should have tracked the rebound better) but it was some tough luck there. He also had a few good tackles and blocked crosses and really helped push the ball forward as QPR looked for a goal.  But his form right now would probably put him as 3rd choice LB behind Park Joo Ho and Kim Jin Su.

Suk Hyun Jun plays later today.