The final weekend listings prior to the international break, where a Lee Chung-Yong, suddenly with new life, takes on Wigan, Son Heung-Min, fresh off of a brace against Zenit in the Champions League, takes on Koo Ja-Cheol and maybe even Park Joo-Ho, the latter’s contract being extended by Mainz. Also, speculation that Yun Suk-Young has been called up to the first team, replacing Kim Jin-Su, who is still hurt.
| Day | Time (ET) | Player | Club | Opponent | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | 3:00 PM | Lee Chung Yong | Bolton | Wigan | BeIn |
| Saturday | 9:30 AM | Hong Jeong Ho | Augsburg | SC Paderborn | None |
| Saturday | 9:30 AM | Son Heung Min | Bayer Leverkusen | Mainz | None |
| Saturday | 9:30 AM | Kim Jin Su | Hoffenheim | Koln | None |
| Saturday | 9:30 AM | Koo Ja Cheol | Mainz | @Leverkusen | None |
| Saturday | 9:30 AM | Park Joo Ho | Mainz | @Leverkusen | None |
| Saturday | 10:00 AM | Kim Bo Kyung | Cardiff City | @Birmingham City | None |
| Saturday | 12:30 PM | Yun Suk Young | QPR | Man City | NBCSN |
| Sunday | 11:00 AM | Suk Hyun Jun | CD Nacional | Benfica | None |
| Sunday | 11:00 AM | Ki Sung Yueng | Swansea | Arsenal | NBCSN |
| Sunday | 11:30 AM | Ji Dong Won | Dortmund | Gladbach | GolTV |
Start off with the injuries – Ji Dong-Won is still hurt, while Suk Hyun-Jun obtained an ankle sprain, so neither of them will feature for their sides. Kim Bo-Kyung is not injured but isn’t expected to start, making a bench appearance midweek, but nothing more. #FreeKimbo
On Friday, Bolton will face Wigan, and Lee Chung-Yong, who is in fine form, scoring his first goal of the season last week, will probably start. Neil Lennon has made Christmas come early for Lee Chung-Yong fans, with Chungy playing better than he has in quite a while thanks in part to the former Celtic boss’ confidence in him.
Saturday games in Germany see Hong Jeong-Ho likely make the bench as a defensive sub, as he has been all season, and a Korean derby between Son Heung-Min, Koo Ja-Cheol and Park Joo-Ho. Son, as has been mentioned 100 times, scored a brace midweek including a fantastic set piece finish, and if he’s not fatigued, he should start.
Interesting graphic by Opta about Son:
https://twitter.com/mixedknuts/status/530334617317154816
Koo Ja-Cheol was rusty but will probably get a start for Mainz, while Park Joo-Ho announced that he was fit in a Bild interview. He also commented on his European career “hanging by a thread” during the Asian Games, and how glad he is to be back at Mainz, expressed regret about not playing much this year due to injury, talked about how bad his German is and mentioned his dog is back in Korea with family. Fascinating last bit, eh?
Park Joo-Ho’s contract was optioned by Mainz, which means an extension. Good news for Park and we all better thank Rim Chang-Woo (or Lee Yong-Jae – who knows who scored!?) for that.
Yun Suk-Young has apparently been called up to the KNT first team, probably in place of a injured Kim Jin-Su:
INTERNATIONAL R'S: Yun Suk-Young has been called-up by his native South Korea http://t.co/jE7Phksl27 pic.twitter.com/ypVkGO3188
— QPR FC (@QPR) November 6, 2014
And the quiet yet effective Ki Sung-Yueng will start against “The Arsenal” (why “the” Arsenal? Arsenal fans… shakes head)
Switching gears – from Europe to the Middle East.
(Checks soccerway…)
Never mind. Apparently all three leagues (Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) are taking this month long break. If anyone knows the reasoning for this, let us know in the comments below.
Oh, and also, this is Remembrance Day Weekend – or Veteran’s Day weekend down in the good ol’ US – it’s a very important day in Canada – especially this year, with the terrorist attacks on our soil – even the Prime Minister is cutting short his 1597015th trip to China (to make sure we owe them more money) just to be in the country for the event. (No, actually it’s an election year next year, and the socialist opposition will tear him apart for not being in Canada on the day). I’m not trying to delve into politics – that wouldn’t very wise of me – wrong can of worms to open I reckon. Anyhow, a “Lest We Forget” was all I wanted to say, to the brave men and women who died in the World Wars, Vietnam and the Korean War. And if you prefer ze French, a “Je Me Souviens” is in order.
In any case, good night from Tavern Studio Canada, where the sun sets at 4:30pm in November. Thought I’d throw that in – why the hell not?! Jae will have your K-League preview in a few hours. What games will you watch this weekend?
There are no matches in the Mideast for the next few weeks because the Gulf Cup is being played (11-13/26) there. I think leagues stopped a week early so participating teams could have a warm up match this week.
I’ve been hearing lately that SHM was playing in central midfield for Leverkusen during the CL match he scored the brace in… anyone can confirm or deny this? Thanks
Son often drifts inside under Schmidt. It’s not unusual to see him playing in the 10 spot behind Kiessling. The three of him, Bellarabi, and Calhanoglu frequently switch positions.
Alright, may be just misunderstanding on my part. I tend to call what you describe as an attacking midfielder. When I think of central, I think vertically central, or box-to-box type central; not horizontally central. 😛
From what I’ve seen and heard (haven’t watched as much Leverkusen as I’d like this year) Schmidt-ball really is that. Son has become a player that is horizontally central. He has a set position but it’s very fluid and he often does interchange with the other attacking mids.
I actually think “gegenpressing” is ideal for Korea. Overall offense on the hand? Not sure, although Schmidt’s overall scheme is simple I believe. Anyways, while Korea might not reach the level of Dortmund, Leverkusen, or Hoffenheim.. they can certainly achieve the level of Augsburg, Mainz (under Tuchel), or Freiburg.
Well using your terminology, Son played as an attacking midfielder. He was quite clearly in the band of three behind Kiessling (with Bellarami and Brandt) with Calhanoglu and Bender deeper in the ‘central midfield’ spots.
Why is Son SOO much better for the club than he is for the NT setup? Supporting cast is one factor more than likely….but perhaps we should be building the team more around this guy right now and give him the green light like Leverkusen has?
Certainly there are many reasons why he may struggle with KNT. Pressure, lower quality around him, less practice time to develop chemistry/cohesion, poorly designed system/tactics, and so on.
This is one for Jae or Takeuchi but if I may – does the KNT have the ability to press intensely, play so fluidly, like Schmidt’s teams do? Can we use the outscore tactic like Schmidt has had to do in so many of these games? Are we able to score 4 if the other team scores 3?
I don’t think Gegenpressing would work for the KNT, but your guess is as good as mine, Kimchi.
Nah, he wasn’t box to box CM (he did play the position briefly in one game in Bundesliga). Actually, the 4 attacking players frequently interchange & it’s based on their intense “gegenpressing”. They don’t have a set formation but it’s often a mix of 4-4-2/4-2-2-2/4-3-3 during a game.
You guys know of any Wanderer forums where the fan base actually discuss their players, LCY mainly? Ive scanned the major ones, and if you just read their forums, you’d be hard pressed to prove LCY even plays for Bolton. Do they not like him? Its been a while since I perused these sites. Had to blow the dust of them actually.
http://www.burndenaces.co.uk/forum/bolton-wanderers/dougie-freedman-post-match-comments-v-wednesday/75/
Graeme Le Saux not a fan of Ki’s ….everytime he’s commentating on Swansea games he loves to point out that Ki isn’t creative enough or that he back passes way too much. Its hard to argue against Ki’s conservative play no doubt but there is reason to his rhyme.
Thoughts?
Ki is a tidy midfield player, who’s accurate in passing, doesn’t take too many risks but helps build up the play. Plus it’s Arsenal today, you don’t want to mess up trying something unlikely and get destroyed the other way.
I would like Ki to be more aggressive and take risks but the way Monk wants him to play I think is the way he’s playing now. Cool, calm, accurate, safe. If he’s a mess their passing game won’t work.
That’s what I think, at least.