South Korea Dominate Greece
June 12th 2010 17:07
On the football stage, the Koreans are well-known for their vivacity and stamina and not much else. Greece, on the other hand, shocked the whole world in 2004 by winning the European Football Championship using an ultra-defensive system that stifled their opponents.
That system was nowhere to be seen today as the Red Devils ran all over the Greeks to win the game by the score of 2-0. Where the Koreans were aggressive, fast on the ball, technically sound and supportive of one another, Otto Rehhagel's men were slow and disjointed. While Korea defended and attacked as a block (sometimes they had as much as six players on the edge of the opposition's box), the Greek strikers were isolated in front where they barely got any service through the 90 minutes. Their defense was porous as well, conceding the first goal early in the game when Lee Jung Soo was left unmarked at the far post after a free-kick near the corner flag. Park Ji Sung scored the insurance goal early in the second half as defender Vyntra's poor first-touch inside his own half became a gift for the Manchester United midfield who coolly beat Tzorvas with a low shot to the far post.
A couple of substitutions saw Greece take on a more aggressive shape, even threatening Korea's goal on a few occasions but their lack of finishing allowed Jung Sung Ryong to have a pretty quiet game. The entrance of Kim Nam Il late in the game also stabilized Korea's midfield defensively and Greece found themselves unable to get a goal to reduce the gap.
Needless to say, Korea started this World Cup with a bang. It'll be interesting to see how they fare against Argentina in the next game
My man of the match: Park Ji Sung
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