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A Study on Azkals vs Korea Icheon FC Showdown PhilBoxing.com Thu, 19 Jan 2012  Manila, Philippines - Only one more day before the first ever Korean football team in over 5 decades lands on Filipino soil. Korea's Icheon Citizen FC lands in Manila Thursday night and will get rested before Friday's press conference and practice at Rizal National Stadium for the KIA Rio Cup. The Philippines/South Korea football match is produced by Dragon Promotions and ABS-CBN Sports. Korea's team will be captained by its MVP Joo Won Moon and Icheon star players Ji Hoon Yang and Jae Young Jin. Philippines hopes will reside strongly on the shoulders of Emelio "Chieffy" Caligdong and the Younghusband brothers. Koreans all over the Philippines are itching with excitement at the prospect of rooting for their visiting countrymen, while of course Azkals die hard football fans will be in full force cheering them on against the experienced South Koreans. The big question has been "how good is the Korea team?". To better answer this, one must understand Korea's organized and dynamic football program. Players start from various junior systems, on through high school, college, and eventually professional levels. In the pro league system, top college and even former national and pro level players must constantly prove themselves in the ranks. This was known as the Challenger League which has evolved to what's known now as the K3 league, a mixture of professionals and amateurs. This is a direct feeder system into Korea's elite major pro teams. A total of 18 teams compete in the K3 League. The Icheon Citizen was the top team in 2011. The Azkals will be facing the reigning champions on Saturday night. "Everybody in the Philippine Football community knows how good Korean Football is. Korean players are very fit and technically excellent. We know Icheon Citizen will give the Azkals a torrid test. I think it's great that our national team is being tested with these tough tune up games before the Challenge Cup", explains Bob Guerrero sports broadcaster and analyst. Who will be the deciding factors in the game? Fans are going to want to keep an eye on Korea's Yang Ji Hoon ( Korea National College Team Player), Hyeon Woo Lim, and Jae Young Jin ( Korea National Team Player). And don't forget the Captain, Joo Won Moon, the 2011 Korea K3 MVP & Top League scorer. Azkals will be backed by anchor Phil Younghusband. Younghusband, who wears number 10, is a striker/ forward who has so far scored 18 goals in international competition for the Philippines. His brother James Younghusband, who wears number 7, is a midfielder and has 6 international goals, including the lone goal against Internacional de Madrid FC last Jan. 7. Finally Chieffy is the captain of the Azkals and is an enlisted serviceman with the Philippine Air Force. Standing only 5'5", Caligdong, who wears number 13 and plays midfielder, is a wily fellow. He has so far scored 13 international goals for the Philippines. And don't forget to count in the X factors of the coaches. Azkals Head Coach Hans Michael Weiss will have his hands full with Hyun Chang Lee, the Icheon Citizen Head Coach. Lee has had an illustrious career of accomplishments including The Football Association 2011 Leadership Award for Best Challengers Team. He has a half a dozen championship wins including the 2005 National League Championship. He was promoted as the 2000 to 2003 National Football Team Director. He has been the Citizen FC Head Coach since 2000. Most recently, he led his team to another 2011 Challengers Cup Championship. "The Azkals need to play more with all their best players together, as frequently as possible. They need to learn more on how to stay together under fire against good teams like Madrid, LA Galaxy, and now Korea. Then the result will be a team that binds together further and the interest in the sport of football growing in numbers", advises Ronnie Nathanielsz, veteran sports journalist. But the South Koreans are not underestimating the young Azkals. The progress of Filipino football has not escaped their attention. "We are impressed by the big scores the Azkals have made against their wins over Nepal and Sri Lanka. We are very curious about them, but they seem like a dynamic team", says Icheon Head Coach Lee. "There is pressure of course on us as Koreans have never lost to Philippines in football. But all we can is our best." The game's event broadcaster ABS-CBN has also added another benefit of the game to the people, responding to the recent landslide in Compostela Valley. "We are adding as a beneficiary, the victims of the recent landslide. Fifty bodies have been recovered thus far. But so many more are still missing. Hence, the Korea - Philippines friendly will benefit both the Typhoon Sendong and Compostela Valley victims and their relatives ", said Peter A. Musngi, Vice President of ABS-CBN Sports . He adds, "We are hoping that this game will herald more Korean - Philippines sports events in the future that would benefit those who are in need. Hopefully not victims of disasters." So for a variety of terrific reasons, don't miss out on the historic game. It will be one for the ages.  |
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