Now that South Korea has qualified for men’s football at the London Olympics this summer, Hong Myung-bo, the Olympic team’s head coach, has set his sights on the next goal: to win an Olympic medal.Hong has coached South Korea to the London Olympics, the country’s seventh straight Olympic Games and ninth overall. But South Korea has never won an Olympic medal in men’s football.The coach said the key will be to try to learn from the past.“Winning a medal at the Olympics is not easy at all,” said H

March 5, 2012

South Korea advanced to the final round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup with a 2-0 win over visiting Kuwait at Seoul World Cup stadium on Wednesday.Striker Lee Dong-gook scored the opener in the second half before Lee Keun-ho doubled the lead to ensure manager Choi Kang-hee’s second victory since his appointment.Choi, who took the helm of the Taegeuk Warriors in December, praised his players after the game, noting: “It was a difficult game, but the players worked hard out there.”B

March 1, 2012

(Yonhap News)South Korea will live to see another day of football.South Korea defeated Kuwait 2-0 in a World Cup qualifying match at Seoul World Cup Stadium Wednesday, powered by two second-half scores.With the win, South Korea advanced to the fourth and the final round of the Asian qualifying round

Feb. 29, 2012

South Korea coach Choi Kang-hee insists two-time K-League MVP Lee Dong-gook can lead the Taeguk Warriors to progress to the fourth round of World Cup qualifying when it takes on Kuwait on Wednesday.The Koreans must avoid defeat against Kuwait in Seoul on Wednesday to seal their passage and Choi said Jeonbuk striker Lee proved he could lead the line after his double in Saturday’s 4-2 friendly win over Uzbekistan.The 32-year-old, who won the 2011 K-League MVP award, had not played for Korea since

Feb. 28, 2012

The 2012 season in the country’s top soccer league kicks off on Saturday with 16 teams due to play a total of 352 games. The K-League had a troubled season last year, marred by a massive match-fixing scam with dozens of players indicted in the unprecedented scandal.For this season, the league governing body has made some major changes to root out corruption in its league. One of the major changes is a new promotion-relegation system being introduced starting this year. According to the new “spli

Feb. 27, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― Liverpool won its first trophy in six years Sunday, beating second-tier Cardiff 3-2 in a penalty shootout to capture the League Cup while Manchester United kept the Premier League title race bubbling with a last-gasp victory.It was a bittersweet day for Liverpool captain Steve Gerrard, who collected the club’s eighth League Cup title after cousin Anthony Gerrard missed the decisive penalty kick for Cardiff at Wembley Stadium.“It’s always cruel when it comes to penalties,” Steven Ge

Feb. 27, 2012

South Korea on Saturday beat Uzbekistan 4-2 in a football friendly, a tune-up match before a crucial World Cup qualifier next week.At Jeonju World Cup Stadium, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul, forward Lee Dong-gook and midfielder Kim Chi-woo each scored twice, as South Korea fended off a late Uzbek charge.Lee Dong-gook, the reigning MVP of the domestic K-League, opened the scoring for the home team in the 18th minute. After taking a pass near the penalty spot with his back to the net, Lee tu

Feb. 26, 2012

Augsburg rolls to 3-0 victory in BundesligaLONDON (AP) ― Manchester City tightened its grip on top spot in the English Premier League on Saturday by registering a 13th straight home victory, easing past Blackburn 3-0.City barely broke into a sweat at fortress Etihad Stadium to move provisionally five points clear of Manchester United, with Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko scoring in a routine victory.United States defender Tim Ream made his league debut for Bolton at Chelsea but cou

Feb. 26, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― Manchester United advanced to the next round of the Europa League on Thursday despite losing its first ever home game in the competition 2-1 to Ajax.Javier Hernandez stretched United’s 2-0 first-leg advantage in the sixth minute before Aras Ozbiliz made it 1-1 on the night 31 minutes later. Toby Alderweireld scored with three minutes left but Ajax could do no more than scare United, which is in the second-tier tournament after it was eliminated from the Champions League group stage

Feb. 24, 2012

South Korea clinched a berth in men’s soccer at the London Olympics, blanking home side Oman 3-0 in the penultimate regional qualification contest.At Al Seeb Sports Stadium in the Omanese capital, winger Nam Tae-hee scored seconds into the match, and his teammates added a pair of second-half goals to send Korea to its seventh-straight Olympics.The victory gave Korea a four-point cushion over Oman at the top of Group A with one game left for both nations. Korea is at top with 11 points on three w

Feb. 23, 2012

South Korea clinched a berth in men's football at the London Olympics here Wednesday, blanking home side Oman 3-0 in the penultimate regional qualification contest.South Korea`s national soccer team celebrate after Nam Tae-hee (second from left) scored the first goal. (Yonhap News)At Al Seeb Sports

Feb. 23, 2012

Chelsea fared nearly as badly as Arsenal on its trip to Italy, leaving English clubs in danger of missing the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time since 1996.Ezequiel Lavezzi scored two goals and Edinson Cavani had one as Napoli rallied from an early deficit for a 3-1 victory Tuesday night in the first leg of the total-goals, second-round series.In the earlier game, Pontus Wernbloom scored on the last play as CSKA Moscow held visiting Real Madrid to a 1-1 tie.“We will analyze strong

Feb. 22, 2012

Arsenal’s Park Chu-young was relegated to the reserve team, Britain’s Metro newspaper reported Monday.It was another reminder of a tough rookie year in the Premier League for the South Korean captain, who has played less than 10 minutes with the season more than half way through.His teammates Andrei Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh were also transferred to the second-string squad.Metro speculated the team’s manager Arsene Wenger sent his second-unit scorers to the reserves in hope of revitalizing t

Feb. 21, 2012