FRANCE 98 – Match preview n°25
FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s demand that skilful players be given maximum protection by referees in the showpiece World Cup will be tested to the limit on Saturday when gifted Dutch forwards Dennis Bergkamp and Marc Overmars are man-marked by two Korean hard men.
Arsenal’s Bergkamp, starting a game for the first time in six weeks, will be policed by Lee Min-Sung, who was lucky to escape with a yellow card for a crude tackle on Mexico’s Cuauhtemoc Blanco last Saturday.
Winger Marc Overmars, a crucial element in Arsenal’s league and cup double last season, will be marked by former Korean captain Choi Young-Il dubbed ‘the man of steel’.
Choi was sent off against fierce rivals Japan in the World Cup qualifying tournament for continuously fouling striker Kazu Miura.
The Koreans are not known as a dirty team but coach Cha Bum-Kun has called for a more aggressive approach in the hope of snatching a draw and quelling the furore at home over their 3-1 loss to Mexico. South Korea are playing in their fourth consecutive World Cup finals and their hope of winning a match for the first time were wrecked when goalscorer Ha Seok-Ju was sent off after 30 minutes.
“It is my job to prepare the team physically and psychologically and I am doing everything I can to achieve that. We will play more defensively against Holland as I believe we need a draw before going for a win against Belgium,” said Cha, who won two UEFA Cup medals while playing in the German Bundesliga.
“We cannot match the Dutch for skill but we have a lot of speed in the team and we will try and catch them on the break in the second half.” Dutch coach Guus Hiddink is looking for an improved performance from the 0-0 draw with Belgium but said that it would not be a one-sided affair in the Stade Velodrome.
“In Holland everyone is talking about playing 11 forwards on Saturday but in the squad we know it will be more difficult,” he said. “It is easy to think it could be a walkover, but against Mexico the Koreans dominated for the first half an hour and only lost control of the match when they had a man sent off. We will be very wary of them on the counter-attack where they can be very dangerous, but we must be more effective in attack from all areas of the pitch. “
With the influential Patrick Kluivert suspended for the game Bergkamp, sidelined for six weeks with a hamstring injury, is certain to start but Hiddink was coy about naming the side on Thursday. He held a training session behind closed doors amongst speculation that he was planning a surprise inclusion in his team.
He has indicated that Nottingham Forest striker Pierre Van Hooijdonk will be used as a super-sub which means that Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who was replaced by Bergkamp against Belgium, will start the match alongside the Arsenal player with midfielder Ronald de Boer playing a more forward role.
The in-fighting which has wrecked Holland’s hopes in previous World Cups and European Championships seems to be behind them and the fans are waiting for Berkgamp, Overmars and Real Madrid’s Clarence Seedorf to click in unison.
Despite Hiddink’s warning there is a real chance that Holland will take Korea lightly and hit-man Choi Yong-Soo and France-based midfielder Seo Jung-Won could make them pay for a lax approach.
Choi scored nine goals in the qualifying tournament and is eager to prove himself after being left out of the opening match against Mexico and Seo knows the route to goal in the World Cup. His strike against Spain gave Korea a 2-2 draw four years ago and he also starred in the 3-2 defeat by Germany.