On a spring day, April 14, a big announcement from the world of soccer quietly came out. FIFA released the unveiling of the 2002
World Cup
In the documentary 2002: It's an Asian Adventure, Hiddink, the former coach of the South Korean team, reveals to the world the behind-the-scenes story of the "Taiji Tigers" that made history.
Hiddink revealed that on the eve of the South Korean team's match against Italy, he received an unexpected phone call from then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. President Kim Dae-jung promised to reward the players with exemption from military service if the Korean team could beat Italy and advance to the last eight.
South Korea won back-to-back group stage matches against Poland and Portugal to break into the first ever
World Cup
In the round of 16, their opponent was none other than Italy. Hiddink recalled that the night before the match, President Kim Dae-jung personally called him, "If Korea can beat Italy tomorrow, the players will receive exemption from military service."
The news reached the team and the players were thrilled, knowing full well what the win would mean. In the following day's match, Vieri scored first for Italy, but South Korea quickly equalized in the second half and blew the game wide open with a header by Ahn Jung-hwan in extra time to reach the first ever
World Cup
Elite Eight.
The goal also changed the fate of Ahn Jung-hwan, who was playing for Perugia in the Serie A. In the documentary, he said emotionally, "That goal changed my life, but I felt immense joy. Before that, I never thought we could beat Italy because they had so many world-class players."
And then young player Park Ji-Sung also said, "Through this
World Cup
, I realized how much soccer can impact people and bring them closer together."
