About Roy Ghim 454 Articles
The old Tavern Owner

11 Comments

  1. This is the first time this Youtube stream has worked for me for the Asian Games. Great timing! Thank you so much for posting

    For such a pivotal game for Korea, it’s so weird looking at the half empty stadium, very few Japanese fans. I guess this game only really matters for the 20 guys at the end of the day.

    That first absolutely golden 4v2 chance for Korea is gonna haunt their dreams in the future if they don’t win this.

    Son starting to get that frustrated look on his face that we’ve seen so many times, whereas Japan just playing and looking calm. It’s gonna be a tense second half..

  2. Congrats to the Korean team!!! What an ending! All this stress has to be bad for the heart. Congrats to Son for avoiding the service as well!!!!

  3. This squad deserved it. They really picked it back up after the humble loss to Malaysia. Lee Seung-woo really knows how to find the net during unexpected opportunities. Hwang Ui-jo seems to be a rising star with almost 10 goals in the tournament, and Hwang Hee-chan displayed his finesse.

    Very proud of them.

  4. Two posts for two separate emotions.

    This was such a relief, after all this time, Son especially, no more military service. Oh man I’m so happy these guys have a chance to just normally pursue their careers. There’s no guarantee they’ll actually get to go to Europe (Kim Younggwon got exemption a long time ago and still hasn’t made it to Europe), but just the fact that their careers won’t be interrupted because of the service is awesome. I mean, it’s crazy to me to think that Son has been playing all this time under the shadow of going to the military, and finally it’s gone. It’s like, he’s finally free.

    What else are we going to complain/write about at the Tavern?!?!? (that’s a good thing)

  5. Second comment, a bit negative.
    As a result of what I already wrote about, I have to say this entire tournament is kind of a joke. I doubt I will watch it again.

    Here was the final:
    3 over-23 players (including a Premier League/Champions League superstar + a goalkeeper who just played against Germany in the World Cup), a Barcelona youth prodigy (also from WC), a striker who played in a Europa League semifinal (also from WC), and other guys playing professionally at some of the best clubs in Asia
    VS
    a bunch of university students, all of whom are 21 years old or under- the rule is 23, and they brought 21-under!

    Sooo… why did I watch (other than the possibility of military exemption)? Just to see the result that anyone could have predicted? The matchup is so lopsided. I’m actually shocked that it went to extra time, shocked that Japan was able to score, and shocked that they had a chance to nearly tie it at the end.

    Of course Korea (and all the countries) has every right to bring 3 overage players and call whichever players they want, but the fact is that Korea is one of, if not the only country that does it. It seems like they are the only country that brings a squad that gives them the best chance to win. So what exactly is the point of any of it? It’s like, why would any country think anything about this tournament? For an impartial viewer, it’s kind of ridiculous. And I’d say for fans of the other countries, it is a lose-lose situation. It is set up, due to forces outside of the sport, to basically make anyone root for Korea. If Iran/Uzbekistan/Vietnam/Japan had won, they look ike the bad guys. They’re just kids trying to get experience and win a medal for their country. But if they beat Korea, they are dooming those players and screwing their careers. You can say they probably don’t care, but actually I bet deep down they’re OK if they lose because they know there are bigger things at stake. But that doesn’t make it fun to watch. As a fan of sports in general, it really takes the fun out of it.

    I would to watch a regular Haniljeon, but this was absolutely not a real Haniljeon.…. Why am I gonna cheer for Son Heung Min vs baby-faced teenagers?

    I really wonder if anyone else complains about that or even thinks it’s unfair?

    Bottom line, I’m super happy for the guys, but feel no right to brag or talk shit.

    • Oops, I’ll be fair- upon closer look, the starting lineup for Japan mostly plays in J1 or J2 league.
      But still…. doesn’t really change my perspective

    • There is a lot of really good emotion in this comment Jon. I do want to respond because I think you’ve brought up some good points about the point of the Asian Games football tournament.

      To some extent, yes, it is very pointless that Korea takes the tournament far more seriously than their other opponents. But who is to blame for this? Honestly, it’s just an unfortunate consequence of a war-torn country that the military has to hold this military conscription burden over the men of the nation. I say men of the nation because every Korean man carries the exact same burden and this system isn’t helpful to anyone, let alone 20 footballers who just want to pursue sporting excellence. So the fact that the Korean teams take Olympics and Asian Games tournaments more seriously than their opponents is not something that will change any time soon because the military situation of Korea is just so unique.

      To defend the teams that send their U21 sides when we send our U23 side, they actually have a point for this. Japan is preparing for the 2020 Summer Olympics and so a U21 side now should develop into the U23 Olympic squad. It’s a smart strategy and one that would be nice for Korea to actually be able to use. Unfortunately, since the Asian Games is more winnable than the Olympics, we go all out with the U23 side for both tournaments.

      In terms of being fun to watch and the opponents not wanting to spoil Korea’s parade, I think you should remember Vietnam’s fans. They had a lot of fun with the Sonny military memes and were perfectly okay with playing the villain. Overall, is the Asian Games football the perfect, competitive tournament fans want? Maybe not. To me, though, I remember watching the games in Incheon in 2014 in Korea and that was fun. Hopefully traveling to an Asian Games or Olympics tournament soon can change everyone’s mind!

      • Dude, I was wondering if my negativity was gonna draw the trolls, but your response couldn’t have been more polite/positive. You’re awesome.
        I realize my comment was kind of dick-ish. I begged you guys to post a stream of the game, you did it, then I bitched about the game. What an ungrateful SOB I am haha.

        In all seriousness, I agree with everything you said, and pretty much knew all of that. I guess it’s better to focus on the positives. And nothing I said in any way means I blame the players. They’re working within the system, and for that I’m happy that they got the result they needed. Not blaming the players, but just the whole situation (In fact, I got the feeling from the whole tournament that Son knew how weak the opposition was and wasn’t trying to do too much). I’d only blame the players if they bragged about it or something like that.

        • Hmmm right on cue, Steve Han’s Twitter has another gem from Kim Minjae:
          “This is the first time in 40 years Korea won the Asian Games on a foreign soil. It’s a moment in my career that I could brag the most about.”

          Dude… please don’t brag about this. You realize what your team brought and what other teams brought to the tournament? Brag about reaching the QF of the AFC Champions League with Jeonbuk, still with a slim chance to get to the SF. Be happy about avoiding military service. Is this really a huge accomplishment for Korean soccer? That’s a low bar.

          • I’m gonna say this. Cut Minjae some slack. For now, this is one of his best career accomplishments! Yes it’s not the most important tournament but he’s right, this is the first time Korea won the Asian Games on foreign soil. Really we are not very good travelers so winning this tournament is something to brag about! A lot of bragging? Maybe not. But let’s brag a little right?

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