A meeting with Kevin Gallacher wasn’t quite the event of the night and especially not for the charming Scot after I explained to him that I was present when he injured his leg two times However, it was close to matching the boring match that took place between France with South Korea in Leipzig.
The lunchtime meal was with a small group that included L’Equipe journalists who believed of the fact that their team in its final legs and would soon be thrown out of their misery. Their downbeat attitude was in sharp contrast to a team of Swiss sports writers I shared dinner with just five days earlier following the match between Korea and Togo. After watching that Korea victory , and then the draw that was a sloppy 0-0 with their side and France they rated their team’s anticipated finishing position from second place to an unambiguous first.
On the day of the match it was difficult to get around the narrow streets of Leipzig’s historical city centre, which was crowded with final ank who were crowded, enjoying the numerous outside bars and pubs.
They Koreans were louder, as they almost always are – as demonstrated at the stadium. The communist-built ZentralStadion appeared to be mostly blue when it was first opened, but the music heard in a warm Saxony evening was in the section with red, one that was never quiet in its dancing and singing.
S.Korea v France
In desperate attempt to avoid further criticism by the likes L’Equipe The French began brightly and it came as no surprise that Thierry Henry scored the first goal within the 9th minute. At half-time, it should be two, because Patrick Viera’s shot was on target before it was defeated by Lee Woon-jae in goal . The ‘keeper has responded to his critics by putting in two excellent performances within Group G.
Taeguk Warriors Taeguk Warriors offered little as an attacking force , but they improved in the second period after Park Ji-sung was transferred to the midfield from the sidelines. His passion in the middle brought the balance back a bit particularly since France were content with the result as it was. Korea’s attempts to break the superb defensive duo that consisted of William Gallas and Lilian Thuram were made easier by the addition of Ahn Jung-hwan, who was introduced with just 20 minutes left. In the same game, for the second time the span of a week it was The Lord of the Ring changed the speed of the game, and Korea began to get more involved.
The equaliser was a uninspiring one from an French viewpoint, however the image of the ball bouncing over an not-employed Fabian Barthez was a delicious one from a Korean viewpoint which was that was not shared by the clearly angry Gallas who kicked the ball into Dresden.
It was clear which group of players and fans were happy after the match. The Koreans were on the field to pay tribute to their fans , while the French players displayed more urgency when they left the pitch than they did for the majority of the second period – an easily exit that was which was followed by their supporters. The Koreans continued to sing, and, as you can tell from the noise emanating from Leipzig city centre at the beginning of the night they were joined by the newly formed Red Devils.
It was clear that the French were disappointed, but not in a way that was excessively so. In the mixed zone, their players highlighted that they required to defeat Togo in order to advance to the next round. Moreover, the Switzerland loss to those Africans in two games implies the fact that South Korea also have to beat the Africans at Hanover this Friday in order to ensure that they will progress.
matkaresult 