World Cup 2010: Four Asian players who can make it big
The World Cup is the biggest stage of all and performing well can lead to fame and fortune for any player. Here’s a look at a player from each of the Asian quartet that are far from key men for their teams at the moment but are in with a chance of changing all that in June.
Let’s have a look at Luke Wilkshire, the Australian player with just one flaw – he is just too subtle to get admiration from the public at large. One of the problems of being efficient, versatile and quiet is that your reputation does not perhaps reach the heights that it should. But a good coach knows the value of such players and the Australian coaches are still putting their faith in Luke Wilkshire. Despite having Champions League experience with FC Twente and Dynamo Moscow, it would be a struggle to find anyone outside of Australia, the Netherlands, Russia or England, where he played for Bristol City and Middleborough, to have heard of him. He can play in the middle or at the back on either side and is rarely wasteful with the ball when he has it and works hard to get it when he doesn't. Wilkshire is Mr. Dependable for Australia who may find some of the credit that he is due in South Africa.
Let’s move towards South Korea. The 21-year-old Lee Sung-ryeol, who just made his debut for the national team in January in a South African training camp will be key to the teams’ chances. In six appearances since then, the FC Seoul striker has found the net on three different occasions. Lee scored in the first game against Hong Kong, then a the second in a 3-1 win over Japan in Tokyo and the third a fine strike against Ecuador in Seoul in May. That goal showed his qualities, his balance, ball control and eye for goal. Lee is a silky fox in the box that has looked more impressive in recent times for South Korean than FC Seoul. Coach Huh Jung-moo won’t care about that. The baby-faced striker is unlikely to start against Greece but is the kind of forward who could make a serious impact from the bench.
Kim Yong Jun from North Korea has turned many heads in the recent past. He’s not an automatic starter in the first eleven which is sometimes a puzzle for the brain. Kim was one of the stars of the team in the middle part of the previous decade and looked to have a very bright future. A rumored move overseas didn’t happen for him which was a shame as Kim has what it takes to be one of Asia’s stars. The 26-year-old is just as effective with the ball as he is without it. Possessing a fierce and accurate shot and a good eye for the pass, Kim has the skills to go along with his energy in the middle of the park and he never lets up for a second. A real pleasure to play with and a pain to play against, Kim deserves some playing time in South Africa where he can test himself against some of the best in the world.
Finally, Japan’s 22-year-old Takayuki Morimoto is one of those players who scores goals on a regular basis, but for some reason is not given the status he deserves. Despite the lack of goals scored by the likes of Keiji Tamada and Yoshito Okubo and, increasingly when faced with top opposition, Shinji Okazaki, Morimoto is likely to start on the bench in South Africa. He finished the season in a stylish manner and then started the 2009/10 season for Catania even better but soon found himself in a substitute’s role after Christmas. Even when he was scoring, Morimoto wasn’t getting the call-ups he deserved and the feeling persists that Coach Takeshi Okada just doesn’t really rate him. He is champing at the bit however and the Sicilian-based hitman is big, strong and quick with a fierce shot. He offers Japan a more direct threat and there will come a time when that is what is needed.
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