South Korea's national team manager Paulo Bento released a 28-man list for the 40-team tournament, which includes Kim Min Ja, Son Jun Ho and Kim Shin Wook, three current internationals with Chinese Super League (CSL) careers, as well as Kim Young Kwon, Park Ji-soo, and Jung Woo-young, three old CSL players. If not for Kwon Kyung-won, who played in the K2 League's Kimcheon Sang-mu, suddenly getting injured before the league's opening in late February, and Yoon Kwang-ha, the previous year's AFC Champions League MVP, dropping out, the South Korean national team would probably have eight members with Chinese Super League histories. Counting the manager Paulo Bento, who has coached in Chongqing Jinsi, the South Korean national team has seven footballers who have left their mark in the Chinese Super League, and the "flavor of China" is really a bit strong.
Unfortunately, Paul Bento inaugurated the South Korean national team after a radical blood change, but also let the former performance of the Chinese Super League, many former South Korean international players gradually fade out, or the South Korean national team's "flavor of our country" may also be more intense some.
Paulo Bento recruited a number of South Korean national Olympic team age players on international competition days in March and June, in an effort to develop talent for the Tokyo Olympics. To do this, he had to give up some older but also has the ability to become an international player, this time including in this season's K League performance is still good in the previous year's AFC Champions League MVP Yoon Kwang-ha. Yoon Gwang-ha made a name for himself in the AFC Champions League last year with 4 goals and 3 assists in 8 matches, 4 goals in 24 matches in the K-League, and then he was involved in scoring in both Club World Cup matches. This season he is still Ulsan Hyundai's main midfielder, the last two matches of rival Jeonbuk Hyundai assisted two goals, shut out the Pohang Steelers, but did not get elected to the national team, but also because of Bento consider leaving more positions for newcomers.
Because North Korea withdrew from the tournament, the South Korean team in June's Top 40 only has three opponents left, Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka and Lebanon, none of which are strong, so it is a good opportunity to train newcomers. Paulo Bento recruited 5 new people, 28 people in the list of national Olympic team has 4 people, counting also confirmed the Korea national Olympic 3 overage players have 7 people, accounted for all of the quota 1/4. Kwon Kyung-won in November last year, the national team competition day performance is not good, and this year in the league before the start of the injury, the drop is not suspenseful. Kim Shin-wook, Son Jun-ho and Kim Min-jae are national team regulars, and unless injured in recent years have all made the cut. Only Kim Min Jae temporarily separated from Beijing Guoan due to personal matters back to South Korea, and finally confirmed by Paul Bento can participate in the final 28 list.
In addition to the three current Chinese Super League internationals, Kim Young-gwon of J-League Gamba Osaka, Park Ji-soo of K1 League promotion rivals Suwon FC, and Jung Woo-young of Qatar's SAD are also familiar faces from the national team of the Paulo Bento era. Kim has been out of Guangzhou Evergrande to join J1 League side Gamba Osaka for more than two years now, and has been a sure starter for the team in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Especially in 2020, Osaka Gamba won 20 games, Kim Young-kwon sat in the defense of 17 games, Osaka Gamba fans called "Kim Young-kwon effect". But this season J League due to the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, the whole March League Cup postponed, March 25 and the Japanese team in the warm-up game Jin Yingquan thigh injuries, and after that has not been rehabilitated, in Osaka Gamba even completely did not enter the record. He had to hire a private rehabilitator at his own expense to help speed up his recovery, but fortunately still ended up on Bento's roster.
Park Ji-soo is a bit strange, despite the fact that in Suwon FC is the defense surely the main force, but this season's performance is very unstable, he led the defense of the 16 games conceded 26 goals, of which 3 games conceded 4 goals, after joining the Suwon FC after the first 3 rounds of the league accumulation of yellow cards were sentenced to death, and gave the opponent 3 penalties. early in May, Suwon FC lost to Daegu 2-4 at home, the 4 goals conceded Park Ji-soo is responsible for direct 3. On May 21st, Suwon FC was drawn at home by Incheon United, Park Ji-soo gave the opponent a penalty kick for handball, and was sent off for two yellow cards in three minutes. Such a bad performance, but still elected to the national team, some mind-boggling.
The Korean media also questioned Paul Bento's selection criteria, with Dong-A Ilbo's sports section believing that Kim Young-gwon, Park Ji-soo and Hong Che shouldn't have been selected due to their athletic status. Kim Young-gwon's only participation in this year's competition is the Japan-Korea warm-up match in March, Park Ji-soo is a time bomb in Suwon FC's defense, Hong Che in Ulsan Hyundai in the first 17 rounds of the only 7 times into the game, but all 3 people have been Paul Bento's unlimited trust. Some people think this is Bento's way of selecting more trust in veterans who understand his tactics, but this is unconvincing as it violates the condition-only theory that Bento has always emphasized.
Compared to the controversial Kim Young-gwon and Park Ji-soo, Jung Woo-young of Qatar's Saddlers deserves his place. He is the mainstay of the team's midfield under Harvey's rule, scoring 18 times in 22 rounds of league matches, and constituting Sadd's midfield double axle with compatriot teammate Nam Tae-hee. Sadd won the league title of the main force, but unfortunately because of the foreign aid quota constraints, the AFC Champions League Sadd only to Nam Tae-hee reported, Zheng Yu-yong can only participate in the domestic tournament in Qatar. Even so, he is still by virtue of excellent performance, with the team won the league and Emir Cup champion, killed the Qatar Cup final, only because of the epidemic outbreak of the final was postponed, failed to assist the team to realize the domestic tournament 3 consecutive championships.
The period when Korean foreign aid was at its peak in China was also the period when Chinese Super League capital was at its peak. Jang Hyun-soo, Park Jong-woo, Kim Ki-hee, Kim Cho-ryong and Hong Jung-ho were all South Korean internationals, and Son Jun-ho's brother-in-law Kim Seung-dae and Yoon Kwang-ha got the same call-ups to the South Korean national team despite playing for Yanbian Fude, one of the poorest clubs in the Chinese Super League. Only now they have faded from the national team, it is difficult to follow into the high eyes of Paulo Bento. First of all, their age is not an advantage at all, and secondly, their condition is also deteriorating.
Kim Seung Dae joined Pohang Steelers after leaving Yanbian Fude in 2017, and joined the giants Jeonbuk Hyundai in 2019, but there was no opportunity at the bottom, and was loaned to Kangwon FC in the K2 League the previous year.This year, the lease expired and returned to Jeonbuk Hyundai, although it is still a rotating starter, the embodiment of the disappointment, 12 times into the field only swiped 1 assist, while foreign center Ilyuchenko just joined the team with 9 goals and 2 assists of outstanding performance. Kim Hyung-il, who spent half a year at Guangzhou Evergrande in 2017 without making a single appearance, returned home to join Bucheon FC in the K2 League, still unable to gain a foothold, and went to the Thai League in 2018.
Hong just right in 2018 was Jiangsu Suning loan to Jeonbuk Hyundai, 2019 buyout. Two years to come he has been the main player of Jeonbuk Hyundai, although has been 31 years old but is in the prime of the year, this season is also 15 battles all start and play a full 90 minutes, just because of the age of the problem, will not get the Korean Football Association recruitment.
Among these Chinese Super League's former South Korean internationals, the most lamented is Guangzhou R&F's Jang Hyun-soo. Originally a go-getter in the South Korean national team, he was banned for life from the South Korean national team for falsifying his military service record, and he originally joined FC Tokyo in the J1 League after leaving Guangzhou R&F, before moving to Riyadh Crescent in the Saudi League in 2019. Although the manifestation since the beginning of the superb, but the same in the Middle East performance of Nam Tae-hee and Zheng Yu-yong is the national team regulars, Zhang Hyun-soo can only be on the sidelines, and no longer return to the national team may be. Previously Jang Hyun-soo in the South Korean national team has always been the main defense, this fake military service scandal completely killed his future in the South Korean national team and even South Korea's domestic professional league, can only go to overseas to play football.
