South Korea National Football Team Looks To Regain the Magic of 2002

The South Korean National football team had an excellent year in 2009. It was the type of year that a team wishes for heading into the World Cup.

Bringing a 14 game unbeaten streak into 2009, the South Korean team managed to go unbeaten in the first 13 matches of the year. Their streak however was broken while playing a friendly against Serbia in London, England in November, their last match of the year.

However, a 6-7-1 record for 2009 is certainly worth commending for a team ranked 52nd in the FIFA World rankings.

The South Korean team is led by their Captain, midfielder Park Ji-Sung, who plays his club football for Manchester United in England. Park has over 130 caps for the English powerhouse and may be the most important piece of the Koreans Word Cup puzzle.

In games in which Park scores, the Korean side has lost only once. If Park can, in his third World Cup appearance, take the team on his back, the South Koreans have a good chance of advancing out of the group stage.

Everyone remembers the teams 2002 World Cup semi-final appearance. Of course, they had the benefit of playing their games in the friendly confines of the Korean Penninsula.

In 2006, they did not have that benefit and were eliminated after the group stage, despite an impressive tie against eventual tournament runner-ups France.

Obviously, the squad hopes to do better this Summer and, despite being significantly lower ranked by FIFA than their competition, the Koreans do have a chance to make some waves in South Africa.

In their first game South Korea will face Greece, the 2004 European Champions. They need to pull out at least a draw in order to, realistically, have a shot at the knockout stage of the tournament. The South Koreans will look to their 2007 win against Greece in London as inspiration.

In their second game the Koreans will face an Argentinean team that is expected to lead the group into the second round. While a win or draw against the eighth ranked team in the World would be a shock, the Koreans did manage to beat a Paraguay team who less than a month later beat Argentina.

Depending on the results of their first two matches, the team's final match of the group stage against Nigeria will either be incredibly important or a meaningless swan song. In three meetings, the South Koreans have never lost to the "Super Eagles" of Nigeria, but both sides will be looking to avenge their early exits from 2006.

Without a doubt, the road to the knockout stage will be a tough one for the South Korean football team. Ultimately though, if they can regain the magic of their 2002 run and couple that with their recent success, the South Koreans could wind up surprising people and making another improbable run at the World Cup Championship.