PROFILE Veteran Hong the great survivor
Monday 24th June 2002
by Duncan White
When South Korea's veteran sweeper Hong Myung-bo made his World Cup bow 12 years ago at Italy 1990, no less than five of this tournament's coaches were still playing for their respective national sides.
Srecko Katanec (Slovenia) and Mirko Jozic (Croatia) were team-mates with Yugoslavia, Alexandre Guimaraes was a substitute for Costa Rica, Mick McCarthy was shoring up the defence for the Republic of Ireland, while Rudi Voller had already started scoring the goals that would win Germany their third World Cup.
More than a decade later, Voller and Hong meet again (Voller was on the bench when Hong scored in Germany's 3-2 win over Korea in 1994), with a place in the World Cup final at stake.
It all seems so unlikely, for Korea and Hong.
Indeed, if one had been asked before the tournament which veteran defender of four World Cups would break records left, right and centre in 2002, the answer would surely have been obvious - and it wouldn't have been Hong.
After all, Paolo Maldini, the versatile Italian skipper already had Lothar Matthaus' World Cup appearance record in his sights, and if Giovanni Trapattoni's side had made it all the way to the final in Yokohama, he would have broken it.
But Italy crashed to Korea in the second round, and it is Hong who is now covering new ground.
Before this tournament began, South Korea had never won a World Cup finals game, and an Asian side had never gone further than the quarter-finals - North Korea in 1966.
Now, under the guidance of Guus Hiddink, they are on the cusp of the final itself.
This success has been founded on Hong. He is the team's libero and with 132 internationals behind him, exudes calm throughout the side.
Such is his sense of almost parental responsibility, that it was unsurprising to see him score the crucial penalty in the 5-3 shoot-out win over Spain in the quarter-final. It was an incredible moment.
"Yes, I was under a lot of pressure, I could feel the pressure. I was nervous because I was the last to go, so I was very happy to see it go in," he said.
"When I was a junior player I used to specialise in taking penalties. That's a long time ago now, but the feeling is still with me.
"Guus Hiddink told us to concentrate on accuracy, not power, and I think it worked because we scored with all our kicks."
He is confident of further success too, and believes victory over Germany is well within the team's grasp.
"It's just unbelievable that we won and that we're really going to the semis. It hasn't hit reality yet.
"As the tournament goes on and the team keep winning we feel we can beat any team, including Germany," he said after the exhausting slog against Spain.
"We're in a great mood but we are physically tired. I think we were able to win today because we still had good physical stamina and a great game strategy.
"As for Germany, we'll have to evaluate them but I think the more important thing is to improve.
"We regard the Seoul stadium as our home ground and everybody is looking forward to playing there. We have defeated Italy and Spain and if we play well we can get the same the result as before.
"We feel we can beat anyone if we play like we did against Italy and Spain. We're confident that we'll be going to Yokohama for the final."
Yet at one stage, Hong looked like missing out on the tournament entirely.
He was sidelined by injury for three months of the 2001-02 season with J-League side Kashiwa Reysol, and there were fears Hiddink had lost patience with his fitness problems when he was not selected for the Gold Cup in the US in January 2002.
To make things worse his deputy, Song Chong-gug, was impressive.
But, by this time, he had completed a mid-season transfer back to Pohand Steelers, the K-League club where he had initially made his name, and was quickly rehabilitated, impressing for both club and country before being confirmed as the squad captain for the World Cup itself.
This came as a relief to Korea's players and fans alike. While the nation had enjoyed little success in the previous World Cups, Hong has almost always shone on the big stage.
USA 1994 was an especial triumph. He scored in the commendable 2-2 draw with Spain, before finding the net again in a thrilling 3-2 defeat to Germany.
Despite only being 33-years-old and a sweeper (Matthaus played in the same position until he was 39), Hong insists that he will be retiring from international football after the tournament.
He will continue playing for Pohang Steelers until the end of the year, and then decide whether or not to take up coaching.
And, if he does, don't be surprised to find him following in the footsteps of the class of 1990 and soon coaching his country.
onefootball
