South Korea Addingto Its Cup Holders
International troubles notwithstanding, soccer’s 2002 World Cup moves ever closer, and South Korea, a host with Japan, is rapidly bringing its 10 stadiums on line.
Last Thursday, the Koreans opened the fourth of them, the 41,000-seat Daejeon stadium, by staging an international game between South Korea and Nigeria, which ended in a 2-2 tie.
Earlier this year, the Daegu, Suwon and Ulsan stadiums were opened, and six more are set to be completed by the end of the year.
On Sunday, South Korea and Nigeria played each other again, with South Korea winning, 2-1, in a game that marked the opening of the stadium in Pusan, which will serve as a 2002 World Cup venue and the site of the 2002 Asian Games.
The stadiums in Gwangju, Jeonju, Seogwipo and Seoul will be unveiled in October and November, with the stadium in Inchon set to be completed in December but not officially opened until March.
Although U.S. Soccer has not made an announcement, the United States is tentatively set to play South Korea in one of the new stadiums on Dec. 9, eight days after the draw to divide the 32 World Cup teams into eight groups of four for the May 31-June 30 tournament.
That game, of course, depends on the U.S. team qualifying, as do possible games on the road against Italy and Germany early next year.
Japan Plan
Japan’s coach, Frenchman Philippe Troussier, is taking his team to Europe next month for preparatory games.
Japan will travel to Lens, France, for an Oct. 4 match against Senegal, which has qualified for the World Cup, and then across the English Channel to play Nigeria in Southampton on Oct. 7.
Japan then returns home to host three-time World Cup winner Italy at Saitama Stadium 2002, one of the country’s 10 World Cup venues, on Nov. 7.
Troussier plans to call 24 players into camp on Monday, including European-based players Hidetoshi Nakata (Parma), Junichi Inamoto (Arsenal), Shinji Ono (Feyenoord) and Akinori Nishizawa (Bolton Wanderers).
France Squabble
As defending champion, France does not have to qualify for next year’s World Cup, but Coach Roger Lemerre does have to keep his players on the same page, and that means playing friendly games whenever and wherever possible.
One such game, against Australia at Melbourne on Nov. 11, has raised the ire of English club teams, which are refusing to release their French players for that match.
Arsenal, whose French contingent includes Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Sylvain Wiltord, has urged all European clubs not to give up their French players for the game.
“Clubs are paying huge wages to players and are entitled to have a say in what they do,” Arsenal vice chairman David Dein told England’s Daily Telegraph newspaper. “Now we are talking about a 24-hour journey. This is madness.”
Manchester United Coach Alex Ferguson, who likely will have to do without goalkeeper Fabien Barthez and midfielder Mikael Silvestre, added his two cents’ worth.
“I think it is ridiculous,” he told the Guardian newspaper. “We put up with their friendly against Chile [a 2-0 loss in Santiago] earlier this month, but the Australian game is in November, when all the top clubs will be in the middle of European campaigns.”
Lemerre is unmoved.
“I sympathize with the English clubs,” he told the Daily Mirror newspaper, “but we need the best preparation possible and that means we need our best players possible, otherwise it is a pointless exercise.
“We would rather play top-class opposition closer to home, but we need good matches ahead of the World Cup to make sure the team is well prepared for next summer.
“I know that clubs are unhappy, but we are within our rights.”
On Tuesday, Arsenal’s French coach, Arsene Wenger, reluctantly relented and said he would allow his players to travel to Australia.
“It is difficult to accept that France make two long trips in such a short space of time, but if my players are selected and if they are fit I will send them,” he told Arsenal’s Web site.
Cameroon Switch
The first team to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, Sydney Olympic gold medalist Cameroon, continues to play musical chairs with its coaching staff.
After being turned down by German Coach Horst Koeppel two weeks ago, Cameroon’s Youth and Sports ministry turned to another German, Winfried Schaefer, and last week named him coach for the 16-team African Nations Cup in Mali Jan. 19-Feb. 10 and for Korea/Japan 2002.
Schaefer, former coach of Karlsruhe SC and VfB Stuttgart in the German Bundesliga, is Cameroon’s fourth coach since the Olympic Games.
Quick Passes
U.S. national team goalkeeper Kasey Keller made his debut for Tottenham Hotspur, shutting out Torquay, 2-0, in the second round of the English League Cup.
Brad Friedel, Keller’s U.S. teammate, was in the nets as Blackburn Rovers blanked Oldham, 2-0, in League Cup play.
