Post by Holyjoe on Nov 11, 2004 7:48:04 GMT -5
Bonfrere Slams FIFA for Poor Scheduling
times.hankooki.com/lpage/sports/200411/kt2004111120350211650.htm
By Cho Jin-seo
Staff Reporter
PAJU, Kyonggi Province - Head coach of the national football team Jo Bonfrere strongly criticized FIFA on Wednesday, saying it is a "bad" organization for not giving his foreign-based players adequate time to prepare for the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Maldives.
"It is a miscalculation from FIFA," Bonfrere told reporters when asked about the late arrival of the seven foreign-based players - Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo of PSV Eindhoven, Lee Chun-soo of Numancia, Seol Ki-hyeon of Wolverhampton, Ahn Jung-hwan and Yoo Sang-chul of Yokohama Marinos and Cho Jae-jin of Shimizu S-Pulse.
"They (the players) have to travel against the time, losing another day. That is only 48 hours (left for the players).
"Only thing FIFA said (about the matter) was 'sorry, sorry.' It¡¯s a very bad, bad organization," said the Dutchman, before starting the team's first practice session at the National Football Center in Paju.
Last week, the Korean Football Association and Bonfrere called up eight foreign-based players for Wednesday¡¯s match. But seven of them are expected to join the squad after Saturday, as they have to play club games on Saturday. The only exception is Song who is serving three-game suspension in the Dutch league.
According to FIFA's rule, a player should be given four days, including the day of the match, by the club when he is called by the national football association for a World Cup qualifier. But the period shall be extended to five days, when the match is held on a different continent from where the club plays.
Among the seven players, Seol and three J. League players are scheduled to arrive on Saturday, while Lee Young-pyo, Park and Lee Chun-soo are expected to return on Sunday, leaving less than three days before the match.
However, Bonfrere stressed that he will have no problem in beating minnows Maldives and advance to the final round even though his team were held to a humiliating draw in March¡¯s away game.
"We have done a lot of investigations, and we hope to do much better than the first game," he explained. "We will win the game for sure. The only problem is when (we begin to score). In the first half, or in the second half."
Currently, South Korea leads Group 7 with a record of three wins and two draws for 11 points, just ahead of Lebanon with 10. The team will likely need to beat Maldives to reach the final stage, as Lebanon are expected to defeat Vietnam on the same day.
Maldives, who are scheduled to arrive in Korea on Monday, are ranked 142nd by FIFA but have been in a good mood after trouncing Vietnam by 3-0 last month.
The game starts at 8 p.m. at Seoul's Sangam World Cup Stadium. The national team hasn't won a game in Sangam since Nov. 2001, when they beat Croatia 2-0. Since then the team has lost seven games in a row there, before July's 1-1 draw with Trinidad and Tobago.
times.hankooki.com/lpage/sports/200411/kt2004111120350211650.htm
By Cho Jin-seo
Staff Reporter
PAJU, Kyonggi Province - Head coach of the national football team Jo Bonfrere strongly criticized FIFA on Wednesday, saying it is a "bad" organization for not giving his foreign-based players adequate time to prepare for the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Maldives.
"It is a miscalculation from FIFA," Bonfrere told reporters when asked about the late arrival of the seven foreign-based players - Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo of PSV Eindhoven, Lee Chun-soo of Numancia, Seol Ki-hyeon of Wolverhampton, Ahn Jung-hwan and Yoo Sang-chul of Yokohama Marinos and Cho Jae-jin of Shimizu S-Pulse.
"They (the players) have to travel against the time, losing another day. That is only 48 hours (left for the players).
"Only thing FIFA said (about the matter) was 'sorry, sorry.' It¡¯s a very bad, bad organization," said the Dutchman, before starting the team's first practice session at the National Football Center in Paju.
Last week, the Korean Football Association and Bonfrere called up eight foreign-based players for Wednesday¡¯s match. But seven of them are expected to join the squad after Saturday, as they have to play club games on Saturday. The only exception is Song who is serving three-game suspension in the Dutch league.
According to FIFA's rule, a player should be given four days, including the day of the match, by the club when he is called by the national football association for a World Cup qualifier. But the period shall be extended to five days, when the match is held on a different continent from where the club plays.
Among the seven players, Seol and three J. League players are scheduled to arrive on Saturday, while Lee Young-pyo, Park and Lee Chun-soo are expected to return on Sunday, leaving less than three days before the match.
However, Bonfrere stressed that he will have no problem in beating minnows Maldives and advance to the final round even though his team were held to a humiliating draw in March¡¯s away game.
"We have done a lot of investigations, and we hope to do much better than the first game," he explained. "We will win the game for sure. The only problem is when (we begin to score). In the first half, or in the second half."
Currently, South Korea leads Group 7 with a record of three wins and two draws for 11 points, just ahead of Lebanon with 10. The team will likely need to beat Maldives to reach the final stage, as Lebanon are expected to defeat Vietnam on the same day.
Maldives, who are scheduled to arrive in Korea on Monday, are ranked 142nd by FIFA but have been in a good mood after trouncing Vietnam by 3-0 last month.
The game starts at 8 p.m. at Seoul's Sangam World Cup Stadium. The national team hasn't won a game in Sangam since Nov. 2001, when they beat Croatia 2-0. Since then the team has lost seven games in a row there, before July's 1-1 draw with Trinidad and Tobago.
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