Sasa Drakulic's new team...

[Holyjoe]

beat Israeli side M. Petach-Tikva 3-0 at home in the first leg of the UEFA Cup qualifying round, then lost 4-0 away in the second leg last night!

When's he moving to Bucheon?

[Holyjoe]

M. Petach-Tikva v Herenveen in the UEFA draw.

Who cares? Anyone?

[redneck13]

So where does Sasa play now?

[Holyjoe]

AEK Larnaca, in the Cypriot league. They finished 9th out of 14 clubs last season but won the Cypriot Cup 2-1 against AEL Limassol to qualify for the UEFA Cup.

They drew 0-0 with Barcelona in the 1996/97 UEFA tournament, but had already lost the away leg 2-0. There's some pointless trivia for you...

[nyujeelandsaram]

I've been to Larnaca. Don't remember seeing anything football related in Cyprus during my two weeks there though.

I wonder if Nicossia has a decent team. They could play international matches by simply playing on opposite sides of their city!!!

[SteveW]

Nicosia has THREE teams :

Apoel Nicosia
Omonia Nicosia
Olympiakos Nicosia

Anyang has NONE

[nyujeelandsaram]

SteveW said:

Nicosia has THREE teams :

Apoel Nicosia
Omonia Nicosia
Olympiakos Nicosia

Anyang has NONE

ACTUALLY !!!!

Anyang has the All-Stars!!! And some um..... ajeosshi teams.

Tonight the missus asked if we wanted to donate any money to the lads who are trying to get an new Anyang team up and running. She's already sent the dosh off via the internet.

The logo they are using is the one I'm using for me avatar.

I might start up a thread to keep folks updated.

Here's their website: www.anyangfc.com/

One of the leaders of the support crew last year is on the Anyang sports council or committee or something like that so that's promising.

[SteveW]

Another pretendy made-up team!

Can any old pub side try to join the K-League these days??

[nyujeelandsaram]

SteveW said:

Another pretendy made-up team!

Can any old pub side try to join the K-League these days??

mmmmmmm a good pub sigh..............

[Holyjoe]

takisonline.com/frames_index.htm?uefa/games/040812_aek-mpt

The three goals from the first leg match, if anyone's interested...

[redneck13]

What and Sasa didn't score!?

[Holyjoe]

Sasa netted a penalty in AEK's 5-4 CFA Shield (Super Cup, I guess) defeat to APOEL. He also got himself booked

[Holyjoe]

Found an old article about Sasa Drakulic from the Korea Herald... (you can tell it's old if the Korea Herald wrote an article about football )

wk.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2001/02/09/200102090003.asp

Sasa Drakulic: A striking story

Apart from the occasional expletive directed at opposition players, Sasa Drakulic doesn't speak a word of Korean. He can't read menus or signs on shopfronts despite living here for the better part of six years. He winces at the memory of a forced transfer to Japan when Korean soccer vilified him for a handball incident in 1999. And these days, he gets friends to translate stories in Korea's sports newspapers, just to find out which starlet he is supposed to be having an affair with that particular week.

A surprise, then, that the Yugoslav says, "I love Korea. I feel like I was born here."

The life of a high-profile sports star is much the same the world over and for Drakulic, the trappings of fame and fortune more than make up for any hardships encountered here.

A healthy salary, modern apartment and a bevy of beauties at his beck and call are perks of what could only be described as a labor of love for the player known as "Shasha."

While some may claim he's only here because he couldn't cut it back home, it would be wise to take a look at what drives the Yugoslav, what makes him so happy to be here, to understand why he's stuck it out in Korea so long.

Born in 1972, Drakulic grew up in a close Catholic family in a region of Yugoslavia that would later be integrated into Croatia. Then, as is now, becoming a professional soccer player was a common dream for young men in his neighborhood and one that Drakulic had a better shot at realizing than most.

"When I was growing up all I thought about was soccer," he recalls. "I would play before school, on the way to school, after school - that's what it is like back home, boys grow up on soccer."

Civil war was to interrupt that dream.

Almost overnight, his life was turned upside down, neighbor turned on neighbor and close friends became deadly enemies.

With the horrors of ethnic cleansing a very real danger for those caught in the wrong part of Yugoslavia at the wrong time, Sasa's family abandoned their property and belongings and fled to Serbia.

"My family are Serbian but where we lived was Croatian territory. We had to leave everything behind or be killed," says Drakulic. "We arrived in Serbia with no home and no money, we had to start our lives again."

With his mother, father and sister to provide for, Sasa turned to what he knew best - soccer - and joined the local team to make some money. Quickly establishing himself as a player with potential, Sasa become something of a celebrity in the small town, and it was in this soccer backwater that he got his big break.


A series of eye-catching performances drew the attention of scouts from Yugoslavia's top team, Red Star Belgrade, and he was quickly offered a contract.

"I joined up with the first team but found it hard to break through. That generation of Yugoslav footballers was incredible and because I was only 20 at the time, I was told to be patient and wait until the older players in the team had moved on. But I didn't have time. I had to think about my family, and because of the war, I could only make enough money to survive. I knew I had to get out."

As fate would have it, one of the coaches at Red Star had contacts in Korea and when Pusan Daewoo let it be known they were looking for a striker, Sasa got the call.

"I also had an offer to play in Greece but my coach advised me to go to Korea," says Sasa. "There was more money to be made in Korea but he also said I would have a better chance to shine, to make an impression."

And make an impression he did.

Drakulic gave Pusan a dimension Korean soccer had never had before - 191 cm tall, 79 kg marauding target man capable of stretching defenses to the breaking point.

But complimenting his aggressiveness and power is a finesse rarely associated with players his size. Drakulic thrives with the ball at his feet, though his intelligent use of possession is often overshadowed by his goal-scoring exploits. In all, Drakulic has scored 62 goals in roughly five seasons in Korea, peaking in 1999 with the Suwon Blue Wings when he notched 18 strikes in all matches.

On the debit side, Sasa's heading ability lets him down despite his height advantage, and he admits he is not the quickest player over the first 10-20 yards.

He is also described by many as overly combative and often falls foul of referees by arguing with their calls and for rough tackling. His 34 yellow cards and one red testify to his eagerness.

But six years and three K-League Championship trophies later, he is widely regarded as the most successful foreigner ever to play here.

And after weighing up his options over the past few months, Drakulic has decided to spend another few years here, signing a three-year deal with Songnam Ilwha.

"After spending time in Japan and back home in Yugoslavia you can't believe how happy I was to come back to Korea to sign for Songnam," says Drakulic. "What people have to realize is this, Korea is where I have made something of my life. Everything I have now is because of Korea, this country gave me the chance to build a new life. This is where I grew up."

His fondness for Korea rarely mentioned in the newspapers, Sasa usually hits the headlines for more sensational reasons.

His relationship with Korean actress Han Ko-eun, in particular, was the talk of the town late last year.


After the rumor mill had gone into overdrive, Han released a statement through her management company saying she had written a letter to Sasa ending their two-year relationship in order to concentrate on her career.

"Maybe the letter got lost in the post because I never received it," laughs Sasa. "And two years? I don't know why she would say that. Two months, maybe."

Another episode blown out of proportion was the story concerning his wish to become a Korea citizen.

In almost every sports newspaper across the country last November, Sasa was pictured holding the Korean flag, headlines screaming, "Sasa wants to become a Korean citizen," and "Foreign striker to wear Korean flag on his chest."

"What I said was that I would love to play for Korea if there was that chance," says Sasa. "Korea has given me so much and I thought that if I could help the national team it would go a long way to repaying that debt. "

What he failed to realize at the time was that Korea refuses to allow dual citizenship and therefore to become a Korean citizen, Sasa would have to give up his Serbian passport.

"I don't think I can give up my passport," he admits. "When I finish playing soccer I think I will go back to Serbia to be near the place my mother is buried. I bought a house for my family and my father lives alone so it is better if I go back to be near him."

While it is undeniable that Drakulic still considers Serbia his home, his attachment to Korea is strong and genuine.

His mother visited the country many times and delighted in the regard her son was held.

"She loved Korea because of the way the people treated me. It reminded her of when I played for the small team in Serbia, people were always shaking my hand and talking about me," he recalls. "I think if I had to change my nationality to any country, she would've been happiest if it was Korea."

As he prepares to begin the next chapter of his Korean adventure, Drakulic is as excited as he was the first time he came here.

"When the Songnam manager signed me, the media were asking him all these questions about me and he said, 'You all know who Sasa is, you all know how he can play. We need him. End of story,'" says Sasa. "I feel needed in Korea and I'd like to stay here for many years until my playing career finishes."

Good news for the gossip columnists. Better news for Korean soccer.