December 22, 2012
Brrrrr…getting cold here at the Tavern, on a number of levels. German Bundesliga is on winter break and so is Koo Ja-Cheol, Son Heung-Min or Cha Du-Ri. Short listings of games featuring Koreans footballin’ in Europe this weekend.
Friday already saw Park Chu-Young on the bench unused in Celta Vigo’s 0-1 loss to Atletico Madrid. They kept it close, yet generated very little offense. Paco Herrera may be thinking of adding Park back into the equation after LaLiga’s winter break. Park’s had a slow but steady learning curve at Celta, producing 3 goals so far. However, Paco expressed earlier in the week that he expects more from the Arsenal loanee.
SATURDAY (all times listed in US Eastern Standard Time. TV listings are in the US. Internet streaming should be available worldwide).
England, Petersborough vs Bolton, 10 am Bolton may be preparing to say goodbye to the Blue Dragon as Lee Chung-Yong has been strongly linked to Stoke for the January transfer window.
England, Leicester City vs Cardiff City, 10 am The Bluebirds are barely on top of the NPower Championship table, even with Hull on points but ahead on goal difference. Since Kim Bo-Kyung scored his first goal for Cardiff against Blackburn on December 7th, he was rested/unused in the last match, a surprising home defeat to Petersborough, snapping their incredible 10 game home win streak. With that logic, Cardiff will win this one on the road.
England, Newcastle vs QPR, 10 am Fox Soccer -tape delay 2:30pm Last week QPR finally won their first game of the season, just in time for the holidays. Let’s see if Harry Rednapp’s side can get another one before Christmas to wrap up for their fans. Park Ji-Sung may still be out injured.
SUNDAY
England, Swansea City vs Manchester United TV: Fox Soccer GAME OF THE WEEKEND alert! By most accounts, this has all the markings of an epic game as Ki Sung-Yeung and company look to trouble the top of the table Manchester-inians. But will the Swans defense be able to contain the likes of Robin Van Persie?
Note: Ji Dong-Won will surely not be in the 18 man roster for Sunderland -that is unless Martin O’Neil decides to throw the biggest curveball of the season in his lineup. They play at Southampton on Saturday. Where Ji will complete his 2nd act of the season is still undecided as Sunderland is working with several teams interested in the 21 year old. His former team Chunnam Dragons have made a bid for him, but all indications are pointing to FC Augsburg at the moment, with the possibility of joining his fellow Olympic medal winning teammate, Koo Ja-Cheol at the struggling Bundesliga side. Augsburg is looking for ways to get out of the relegation zone, having barely moved a notch above dead last Grunther Furth.
Over to the Netherlands, Suk Hyun-Jun will most likely not be in the 18 man roster for FC Groningen’s match against VVV Venlo. That match is scheduled for Sunday. Meanwhile Suk has been playing in some reserve matches for Groningen. It was reported by Voetbalnieuws that scouts from Beerschot FC, a Belgian 1st division club, has been taking a look at Suk in the reserve matches.
Well that’s all for now – time to sleep (WAAAAAAHHH!!!!)….and that’ll be a crying infant, needing a late night diaper change. Ay-guh-nah.
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