A number of midweek european cup games came and went – a handful of Koreans played in them. First and foremost, Son Heung-Min scored his 3rd goal for Bayer Leverkusen (and his 2nd DFB Pokal German cup goal) against Arminia Bielefeld on Tuesday.
That goal was the first of the match, coming in the 62nd minute. The game would go in the win column for Leverkusen, a 2-0 victory.
German DFB Pokal cup
Augsburg D Hong Jeong-Ho: not in 18 in Augsburg’s 3-0 win at SC Preussen Muenster
Wolfsburg MF Koo Ja-Cheol: 45 minutes (2nd half) in 2-0 win against Aalen
Mainz D Park Joo-Ho: 90 minutes in 1-0 loss to Koln
Bayer Leverkusen F Son Heung-Min: 90 min, 1 goal in 2-0 win at Arminia Bielefeld
England Capital One League cup
Cardiff MF Kim Bo-Kyung: not in 18 in 2-3 loss at West Ham
Sunderland MF Ki Sung-Yeung: 90 min in 2-0 win against Peterborough
Sunderland F Ji Dong-Won: not in 18 in 2-0 win against Peterborough
Arsenal F Park Chu-Young: unused sub in 1-1 (3-4 PK) win at West Bromwich
Spain La Liga
Almeria F Kim Young-Kiu: not in 18 in 2-0 loss at Malaga
Netherland KNVB Beker cup
PSV Eindhoven MF Park Ji-Sung: unused sub in 4-1 win at EHC
Asian Champions League – Semifinal round 1st leg
FC Seoul 2 : 0 Esteghlal goals by D. Damjanović (39′) and Ko Yo-Han (47′ – assist by Yun Ill-lok)
A couple of talking points:
- Park Chu-Young: some Tavern goers held their collective breaths on Wednesday (including yours truly) to see if Wenger would actually put Park in the game. It would’ve been an odd but noteworthy progress in Park’s stop & start career. Game went into overtime before the 3rd and final sub was used. In the end, no Park, overtime for both teams, and after the dust settled, Arsenal barely advanced to the next round. Collective Wenger-hate continues and Park’s limbo existence ticks onward. Sort of reminded me of that sinking feeling during Park’s 1st season with Arsenal in 2011-2012 – that wondering when or if Wenger would actually give Park a decent enough chance. Am I Charlie Brown to Wenger’s Lucy, with Wenger holding that proverbial football in place, waiting for me to kick that damn ball?.
- Still on PCY – Ryo and Bendtner didn’t score. Arsenal managed 1 measly goal and had to go to PK’s to beat West Brom. Could that give Park a glimmer of hope he can see some action on the pitch this season in an FA cup or league cup game? The next league cup draw: Chelsea. However, if Park still is getting the cold shoulder, the January transfer window is his next opportunity to exit purgatory.
- The first Sunderland match in the post DiCanio era, Ki played as expected, but no Ji in the roster. Still, I’m going to put money on the idea that Ji has a better chance to emerge now that that ‘crazy’ has been sacked.
- Koo appeared to play a more advanced role up the pitch after Diego was substituted in the Wolfsburg/Aalen game. He seemed to struggle in his last match last weekend in a deeper mid role for Wolfsburg.
- Park Joo-Ho’s Mainz team were upset by Koln.
- Encouraging to see Son score for Bayer Leverkusen. Let’s keep that trend going.
Weekend listings will be up soon. Meantime, I have to admit I enjoy hearing rumours of Lee Chung-Yong receiving interest from Steve Bruce, Sunderland’s old boss back who initially brought Ji Dong-Won to the Black Cats. Steve has rode a rocket ride with Hull, who’s climbed back to the Premier League – and now sits at 11th place in the table. That’ll help provide me some good dreams tonight. Anyung-ju-mu say-yo!
1. 3rd goal overall for Son & 2nd goal for Son in DFB Pokal Cup
2. Steve Bruce did not manage Bolton. He did purchase & manager Ji with Sunderland. Oh, and it is HULL… not sure how you can be thrilled by it.
Aaaaaigh!! You’re absolutely right on the Son stats, excuse me while I have a word with my Tavern Statistician…You F$&@)¥%€!!???!!! And I’m back. Looking for a new Tavern Statistician…
Also right about Steve Bruce, He’s ex Sunderland, not Bolton. Thanks for bringing that to my attention! Damn, I need to hire that guy back, just so I can yell at him and re-fire him again.
But while I understand your concern about Hull, and they don’t necessarily play attractive football a la Swansea, they’re in a hell of a better form than say Sunderland, or Bolton for that matter. Both of those clubs have something in common, both are at the bottom of their respective tables and both have Korean player (or players) on their rosters. One thing we can agree on, Lee has to flee Bolton.
Hull is in better form compared to Sunderland & Bolton right now (which isn’t much) but they are prime candidate to get relegated this season. The thought of Lee Chung Yong half of his season in PL & drop to Championship after World Cup isn’t very appealing.
Good point, many promoted clubs have a slightly greater likelihood of relegation. Could that be said of Hull? Possibly, but could Hull emulate Swansea’s ride since their promotion – or replicate QPR’s eventual demotion? Time will tell. That said, I think we can agree on this: if a club like Everton were to seriously break through negotiations come transfer time, that would be hella preferable to Hull — and I’ll say it again – leaving Bolton (not in a haphazard way) has to be a priority given how the Wanderers have meandered this season in the Championship.
Why did Augsburg buy Hong Jeong Ho and not use him?
A project for Augsburg? Let’s hope it’s not a long term project…
As Roy said above, probably more of a backup longer term project. Hong had a major injury last season and needs to acclimate to European football. There’s certainly a big difference in playing the likes of Bayern, Dortmund, and Leverkusen than playing Seoul, Jeonbuk, and Pohang.