Thursday, March 15, 2012

South Korean jitters...

SOUTH Korean coach Shin Seok Kyo felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach when asked how he rated his next opponents, Malaysia, in the Olympic Qualifiers in Dublin, Ireland.
"Oh! That is a very crucial match for us and I feel tension in my stomach just thinking about it. Malaysia are a very good side, and they have many good strikers who are very fast with the ball," said the coach who recalled three of his Sydney 2000 Olympics team-mates to beef up his squad.
"And I also believe the Malaysian coach is feeling just like me, as that match could make or break our Olympic dreams," said Shin.
Korean skipper Seo Jong-Ho and Yeo Woon Kon have played in three Olympics since making their name in the silver medal winning side in Sydney 2000 where they lost to the Netherlands on penalties.
Coach Shin was a then fullback in the silver medal winning side: "I know Tengku (Ahmad Tajuddin) and Faizal (Saari) are very talented strikers, and at the back Razie (Rahim) is not only a steady defender but also is a strong penalty corner flicker.
"And then, there is Amin (Rahim) who has little playing time in Dublin, but when he comes in, he scores and also controlls the midfield very well.
"Malaysia have three good penalty corner flickers and we have to be careful not to give too many PC's," said the Olympian.
Malaysia have a good recent record against the Koreans as we held them to a 2-2 draw in the 2010 Asian Games, and then beat them 3-1 in the Azlan Shah Cup last year, but the inclusion of the two three-time Olympians has somewhat changed the face of the team and past records would not matter on Thursday.