South Korea did Asia proud yesterday, even though it lost to Turkey 3-2 in one of the most thrilling third-place playoff games ever, at Taegu World Cup Stadium in South Korea.
Even when trailing 1-3 as the clock was ticking down, South Korea did not give up and Song Chong-gug clawed one back three minutes into injury time to set up a few moments of madness at the end, as the home team desperately tried to equalize and force extra time. It was not to be, but that hardly mattered to the legions of South Korean Red Devils fans in the stadium and in public squares throughout the country. Or to the impartial observer.
The overall impression of the South Korean team will be one of great spirit, fitness and a never-say-die attitude that overcame setbacks and rode its luck.
When people think of South Korea's co-hosting of the World Cup, they will remember the sportsmanship of the fans and the genuine welcome it gave to visitors.
It has made friends throughout the world because of this and if that was the intention, then it has succeeded.
Before this World Cup, Asian teams in total had won just four games. Despite appearing at five previous World Cups South Korea had never won before. This time round it won five games.
It has been a performance that exceeded all expectations and maybe this explains why some commentators were so quick to suggest that South Korea must have cheated to have got so far. Agreed, South Korea was lucky to beat Italy and Spain, as it benefited from some dubious refereeing decisions.
But it should not be forgotten that there were other bad refereeing decisions, such as the penalty for Brazil in its first game against Turkey and in previous Italian games.
The facts are South Korea beat Italy by a golden goal and Spain lost on penalties.
South Korea's success by taking fourth place in the World Cup heralds the arrival of Asian football on the world stage and it could not have been done with more style.
Also, it was China's first ever appearance, and though it did not win a game, it did not disgrace itself.
Japan, too, had never won a World Cup game, but won three this time round and showed that it has the potential to do even better.
The General Secretary of the Asian Football Confederation, Peter Velappan has said that Asia should build on the success of the first World Cup in Asia. He has proposed that South Korea, Japan and China should increase soccer exchanges between the three countries to boost the quality of soccer in the region.
His idea is for the countries to form a joint league, but surely sense will prevail and a competition similar to the Champions League in Europe will be established.
This will help develop Asia's domestic leagues -- which need strengthening -- and also help inject funding into the grass roots of the game.
It could be that South Korea's success at this World Cup and the credit, which Japan too has brought to Asia through co-hosting the tournament, will be a watershed in the development of soccer in the region.
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