Sept 20, 2012
So I was off by a few days, but Kim Bo-Kyung finally made his anticipated debut on Tuesday, subbing in for Craig Noone the last 10 minutes in a 2-0 win over Millwall in the English Championship League. He did fairly well, getting in a few touches before the full time whistle blew. More interestingly, as Kim comes onto the pitch, the fans were chanting for him to do the “Ayatollah.” Check this out:
YES! And so Kim starts his new tenure with Cardiff. Perhaps he’ll get a start next Saturday when the Bluebirds visit Crystal Palace. Cardiff sits 5th in the table with 4 wins / 1 draw / 1 loss.
Tuesday also featured Lee Chung-Yong in Bolton’s 2-1 loss to Birmingham City. Lee played 59 minutes before being substituted for Martin Petrov. Bolton is mired in 15th place in the English Championship League table. Owen Coyle’s side has just 2 wins / 1 draw / 3 losses.
Later on Thursday, Park Jo-Hoo and FC Basel will be at Sporting Lisbon in UEFA Europa League Group G play, this consolation after the Swiss side were eliminated from the Champions League in early September. Game starts at 3:05 EST.
Closer to my ‘cheeb’, The Washington Post reported that South Korea is close to regaining their pre-colonial era embassy building back in Washington D.C. – THE original embassy representing Choseon-era Korea before Japan colonized it and sold the Phelps House unceremoniously in 1910. For the next 35 years, Korea endured a brutal occupation, with Japan erasing the name and country of Korea politically from the world map. Fast forward 102 years, this stately mansion in Logan Circle may become a cultural center and museum in conjunction with the Republic of Korea. Read about the article here in a piece entitled, “How Logan Circle is getting it’s Seoul back” by Al Kamen.
We’re getting some news reports about Park Chu-Young and his wife becoming the proud new parents of a baby girl. The Tavern of the Taeguk Warriors congratulates PCY and his wife on the new birth! Here’s hoping PCY invites the Tavern for the little girl’s Dol celebration (not bloody likely, but hey -we’re allowed to dream, right?).
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A bit of news from the other side of the world, it was announced earlier in the week that the Taeguk Warriors will face off against Australia in a November 14th friendly in South Korea. Current FIFA rankings have the Socceroos somehow at 25th place, while South Korea moved up 2 postions to 27th. I’m hearing a song coming on right now, Bob Dylan’s “The Times they are a-Changin.’ The South Korean National team’s next match is a World Cup qualifier in Iran October 16th.
Ulsan Hyundai won today 1-0 in the first leg of the Asian Champions League Quarterfinals against Al-Hilal. Brazilian striker Rafinha struck at the 16th minute with a Lee Keun-Ho assist at Munsu Stadium. Ulsan is the only survivor left representing the Republic of Korea in the Asian Champions League. K-Talk blog had an excellent game report you can here.
Man this guy is fast: the Koreans Footballers Abroad blog got the listings for Koreans playing this weekend. Check it out here. I’m looking at Son Heung-Min and Park Ji-Sung starting for their respective teams, plus we’re on the lookout for Ki Sung-Yeung‘s first start with Swansea. They play Everton early Saturday and it’s widely available in the US on ESPN2/ESPN3.
Tavern is closing for the night. Listen, I LOVE getting comments, but as a friendly reminder, please refrain from advertising goods/services. The Tavern is for the time being, advertisement free. Peace.
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