ACL: Group G Preview: Cha places trust in Suwon youth

Suwon coach Cha Bum-kun. AFP picture

SINGAPORE: Suwon Samsung Bluewings coach Cha Bum-kun has placed the accent on youth for the K-League champions’ Group G clash against Singapore Armed Forces on Wednesday.

The Korean side claimed a stunning 4-1 victory over J.League winners Kashima Antlers last week but opted to travel to South East Asia with a youthful side bereft of a number of recognised international players.
China defender Li Weifeng is nursing a right thigh injury but goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae, skipper Kwak Hee-ju and Korea Republic international midfielders Song Chong-gug and Kim Dae-eui have been spared the trip with upcoming matches in mind.

Cha insisted that he bore no disrespect for SAF and the decision to rest the veterans was prompted by a desire to be competitive in both the K-League and AFC Champions League.

“Both are really important tournaments for us and we are preparing our squad in the best way possible so that they can compete in both,” said the Korean football legend.

“It is our policy to give the older players a bit more rest. We believe that our younger players can do well in this type of game so that’s part of the reason why we left them behind in Korea.

“With the K-League and ACL happening at the same time, we have to keep some players aside so that they are rested and ready.”

Cha believes that his younger players will be able to cope better with the tropical conditions and artificial turf at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

“Our older players have less stamina than our younger ones and that will be important as the weather here is much hotter than in Korea and will sap their energy.

“The game will also be played on artificial turf, which the younger players are more used to playing on at school and university level in Korea.”

Despite the absence of Suwon’s top players, SAF coach Richard Bok is still expecting a difficult outing for his side.

“The players that they left behind in Korea are experienced players but they still have enough quality in their side to make things hard for us,” said Bok, whose side were beaten 4-1 by Shanghai Shenhua in their opening match.

“They have the players to do the job and we will need to be at our best if we want to get something from the game.

“It will be an uphill task for us but it will be interesting to see how we measure up against the best clubs in Asia. I hope that our players can show the fighting spirit and character that have served us so well and get a positive result tomorrow.”