It wasn't the prettiest and it wasn't without controversy but South Korea's 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia in qualification for the 2010 World Cup in Riyadh was one of the team's best results in years and a seventh successive appearance at the World Cup looks a good deal closer.

It had been 19 long years since the Taeguk Warriors last defeated the Sons of the Desert in a competitive match but late goals from Lee Keun-ho, his fifth in three games for the national team, and Park Chu-young in the early hours of Thursday morning Korean Time, gave the visitors the three points. Click to continue reading...

Football eyes have been fixed on the K-league in recent weeks but Wednesday's 2010 World Cup qualifier in Saudi Arabia has been casting a large shadow over the domestic scene for weeks. Wednesday's game in Riyadh is the first big test in South Korea's bid to qualify for South Africa.

Until now, the obstacles on that road have been provided by the likes of Turkmenistan, Jordan, North Korea and UAE. Click to continue reading...

Autumn has been more fruitful than the summer. As the last European season came to an end in May, the fate of South Korea's overseas stars really hung in the balance. Some were fit, few were playing and none were scoring.

Lee Dong-guk and Lee Chun-soo were soon heading back east after unsuccessful spells in England and the Netherlands respectively. Click to continue reading...

Lee Young-pyo is one of football's true gentlemen. The versatile defender is leaving Tottenham Hotspur for Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund after three good years at White Hart Lane and all who knew him, as well as those who benefitted from some of his unreported good deeds he did off the pitch in London, will wish him well at the former European champions. Click to continue reading...

Football is non-stop these days. No sooner did the European club season finish then the European championships started for 16 nations. Now just days after Spain lifted the continental trophy most clubs have started pre-season training and talk in the big leagues is who will go where before the new season gets underway. Click to continue reading...

The line between success and failure is a fine one, especially in the English Premier League, generally regarded as the world's top football competition. In the case of South Korean striker Lee Dong-guk, that line was about as wide as a goalpost.

The Lion King moved to Middlesbrough in January 2007. Click to continue reading...

Alan Shearer spent over a decade at the top of the English Premier League goalscoring charts famously fuelled by a diet of chicken and baked beans. David Shin is just starting out much further down the league ladder but the 18 year-old shares something in common with the ex-England captain and the average UK citizen, who, according to the BBC eat more than 15 pounds of beans each year. Click to continue reading...