Seol Looks to Rebound in Pecking Order
Seol Ki-hyeon talks to reporters after a practice at the As-Salt Field in Amman, Jordan, Thursday. / Yonhap
South Korea’s deficiency has been the lack of an accomplished striker, but Seol Ki-hyeon still struggles to get a look.
Manager Huh Jung-moo is currently preparing his players in Amman for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Jordan, easily the most critical match so far in his young tenure that has fell under a spell of caution and timidity.
South Korea leads North Korea by goal difference at the top of Group 3, with Jordan trailing the leaders by a point with four and Turkmenistan stuck at the bottom. The top two teams will advance to the final phase of the World Cup qualifiers.
Huh’s side threw away a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw with Jordan in their first-leg match in Seoul last week to force itself into a near must-win situation on Saturday.
A defeat at King Abdullah Stadium would likely drop the South Koreans to third place, assuming a North Korean win over Turkmenistan in Pyongyang, and endanger its bid for a seventh consecutive World Cup berth, not to mention putting Huh on the coaching hot seat.
Expecting a tough game on the road, Huh is likely to go with a safety-first 4-2-3-1 formation, hoping that the enlarged midfield could give the team the lion’s share in possession. However, the problem is Huh’s extended failure to find a true, frontline predator who could excel as a target man.
Despite a Biblical amount of evidence that suggests otherwise, Huh continues to insist that FC Seoul striker Park Chu-young could be that player.
In Thursday’s practice, Huh placed Park as the lone striker and flanked him with Manchester United winger Park Ji-sung and Lee Chung-yong, Park’s FC Seoul teammate, which looks to be the lineup he deploys on Saturday.
Seol, whose glorified equalizer against Italy in the 2002 World Cup seems a distant memory, is likely to start the game on the bench, although Lee’s bruised back may allow him to join the starting lineup by default.
However, the 29-year-old Fulham forward says he is ready to make an uphill climb in Huh’s pecking order if given the minutes.
“I am prepared to perform if the coach gives me the chance,” Seol told reporters after practice in Amman.
“I am closer to my top form fitness wise and my stamina is better than when I first reported to the national team. I am disappointed with myself that I have not been contributing to this team and I am awaiting the chance to make a difference,” he said.
It would have been hard to imagine just a year ago that Seol would be fighting for minutes in the national squad, where he enjoyed automatic status for so long.
Seol’s Premier League career got off to a solid start, establishing himself as a wide midfielder and scoring four goals for a Reading squad that impressed in the 2006-2007 season.
However, after complaining his way out of Reading in August last year, Seol has since gathered dust on the bench at Craven Cottage where he now faces an uncertain future.
With his confidence dipping in the lows, Seol had looked for redemption in international play, where he frequently displayed a flair for the moment.
However, after Seol looked miserable in a May 28 practice match against Kookmin Bank FC, a club in South Korea’s second-tier National League, Huh excluded him from the discussions for the starting lineup.
Seol admits he was in terrible condition when he was first summoned to the national team last month, but insists that was because he was trying too hard.
Looking to prove himself all over again, Seol says he was overzealous in personal training after the end of the Premier League season and that led to a setback in his fitness. However, with his body recovering, Seol says he is ready to click on all cylinders again.
“I know I can’t ask for preferential treatment just because I play in English football,” he said.
“All I can do is do the best and produce in whatever role I am given.”
At least on paper, a vintage Seol conforms as a better option to lead the line than Park, who has always been a deep-lying striker. Park’s natural inclination to drop deep was once again displayed in the first match against Jordan, which meant that his teammates’ punts into the danger areas were met by no one.
Although Seol is seeing more minutes as a winger, he can also operate as a central striker, and his combination of pace, strength and aerial ability could have a clear value on Huh’s side.
However, it’s difficult to invest too much hope into a player who hasn’t featured in his club’s last 15 matches.