Tottenham's Son Heung-min has mixed feelings about documentary on club

During what ultimately ended as a disappointing 2019-2020 Premier League season for Tottenham Hotspur, the club's Korean star Son Heung-min and his lads had a documentary crew's cameras and microphones following their moves at home and away. The upshot was "All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur," a nine-episode series on Amazon Prime. It chronicles a campaign that saw the slumping Spurs change their head coach en route to a sixth-place finish. Having watched the documentary, Son said he

Oct. 13, 2020

Pro football league to reopen stadium gates Friday

The South Korean pro football league will reopen the gates to its stadiums later this week, following the recent easing of social distancing restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, the Korea Professional Football League announced Monday. According to the K League, starting with the K League 1 match between Gangwon FC and Incheon United on Friday, supporters will be readmitted to stadiums. The government announced Sunday it would soften social distancing rules and allow pro sports leagues

Oct. 12, 2020

Montenegrin striker Mugosa named K League's top player for Sept.

Incheon United striker Stefan Mugosa has been voted the top player in South Korean club football for September. The Korea Professional Football League (K League) announced Monday that Mugosa topped three other candidates for the Player of the Month honor for September. Mugosa is the first Incheon United player to earn this monthly award. Mugosa scored six goals -- coming in two separate hat tricks -- and assisted on one other goal. He was involved in seven of 10 goals that Incheon scored in Se

Oct. 12, 2020

Men's nat'l football teams set for rare exhibition matches

South Korean football fans will be treated to a pair of exhibition matches between their two men's national teams this month, with the first showdown set for Friday, the Hangeul Day holiday. The senior national team will face the under-23 Olympic squad at 8 p.m. Friday at Goyang Stadium. The second match is back at the same venue next Monday, also an 8 p.m. kickoff. These are the first meetings of the senior team and the U-23 team in 24 years. The senior team boss Paulo Bento and his counterp

Oct. 8, 2020

Ahead of long-awaited matches, U-23 nat'l football coach feels alive again

PAJU -- It has been nine months since the South Korean men's under-23 national football team played a match, and for head coach Kim Hak-bum, the pair of exhibitions against the senior national team couldn't have come a day sooner. "I feel alive again," Kim said Monday after arriving at the National Football Center (NFC) in Paju, just north of Seoul, to open mini-training camp for his squad. The U-23 team will face the senior side on Friday and next Monday. "I think the players a

Oct. 5, 2020

Tottenham's Son Heung-min stays hot in Europa League qualifier

When you're hot, you're hot. Son Heung-min scored a goal and set up two others, helping Tottenham Hotspur past Shkendija 3-1 in North Macedonia on Thursday (local time) in the third-round qualifying match at the UEFA Europa League. Fresh off a career-best four-goal performance against Southampton on Sunday, Son set up Erik Lamela's opening goal in the fifth minute. Then with the score level at 1-1, Son netted the go-ahead marker in the 70th by pouncing on a rebound after Lucas Moura's shot.

Sept. 25, 2020

Changes at top, bottom of K League table looming

By Sunday evening, there could be a new team at the top of South Korean football for the first time in two months. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors will try to overtake Ulsan Hyundai FC for first place in the K League 1 when they both take the field Sunday. By beating Ulsan 2-1 on Tuesday, Jeonbuk closed the gap to two points, 47-45. The win also snapped Jeonbuk's season-high winless skid at three. In a winnable match on Sunday, Jeonbuk will host Busan IPark, who are stuck in 10th place with 21 point

Sept. 18, 2020

Tottenham's Son Heung-min looking to build off successful season

Tottenham Hotspur's offensive star Son Heung-min will kick off the new Premier League season, looking to build off a successful campaign, in which he joined a select company of attacking aces. Tottenham's 2020-2021 season will begin against Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London at 4:30 p.m. Sunday (local time), or 12:30 a.m. Monday in South Korea. Son set a new career high in attacking points, with 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in league play, and 18 goals and 12 assists for

Sept. 11, 2020

Bunched-up table setting up wild final stretch in K League football

It has mostly been a two-horse race for the South Korean club football title in 2020, but there are intriguing battles elsewhere on the bunched-up table. Ulsan Hyundai FC are at the top of the K League 1 with 46 points through 19 matches. With eight contests remaining, they lead Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, three-time defending champions, by five points. Sangju Sangmu are in third place, seven points back. Below them, the middle of the table in the 12-club league gets crowded. Pohang Steelers trai

Sept. 10, 2020

Messi fails to attend coronavirus test: sources

BARCELONA (AFP) -- Lionel Messi missed a coronavirus test at Barcelona's training ground on Sunday morning, club sources have confirmed to AFP, raising the possibility he will now boycott preseason to force a transfer. Without passing a coronavirus test, Messi will be unable to join teammates for new coach Ronald Koeman's first training session on Monday, with the start of the La Liga season less than two weeks away. Messi was due to report for testing at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday but according t

Aug. 30, 2020

Vietnam football coach Park Hang-seo honored for int'l success

HANOI -- Park Hang-seo, the South Korean head coach of the Vietnamese men's national football team, has received a state badge of honor for his accomplishments in his adopted home. The Vietnamese government bestowed the second class Order of Labor upon Park at a ceremony at the Vietnam Football Federation headquarters Thursday. This award is given to individuals with outstanding achievements in labor, creativity or national construction. Park is the first foreign national to receive a Labor O

Aug. 27, 2020

Top dogs, cellar dweller all victorious in K League

After playing their first 15 matches of the season without a victory, Incheon United have now won two consecutive matches. Just like that, their hopes of avoiding relegation from the top division K League 1 to the K League 2 next year are very much alive. The K League's cellar dweller defeated Suwon Samsung Bluewings, the club right above them in the 12-team table, by 1-0 on Saturday. Song Si-woo delivered the winning goal in the 69th, lifting Incheon to 11 points for the season. Suwon, who

Aug. 24, 2020

Korean football league adjusts fixtures ahead of Asian club tournament

The top South Korean football league announced changes to its fixtures on Tuesday, a move designed to accommodate teams playing at a continental tournament in October. The six K League 1 matches set for Sept. 25-27 will be played Sept. 15-16. Matches set for Oct. 4 will instead take place Aug. 25-26. Four K League 1 clubs -- Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, FC Seoul and Ulsan Hyundai FC -- are competing in the annual Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League. The tou

Aug. 11, 2020

Every player in S. Korean football league to be tested for coronavirus

The South Korean football league said Tuesday it will conduct a second round of coronavirus tests on all players and coaches on its 22 teams across two divisions by next week as part of precautionary measures against the virus. The Korea Professional Football League (K League) said the 12 teams in the first-division K League 1 and 10 clubs in the K League 2 will be subject to testing, following their first all-inclusive tests in April. The test results should be reported to the K League secre

Aug. 4, 2020

Football clubs set to welcome fans for 1st time this season

After months of waiting, South Korean football clubs will finally be playing in front of their supporters this weekend. Three matches on Saturday and three more matches on Sunday in the K League 1 will be open to fans. The K League received the green light from the government a week ago to go ahead and start admitting supporters into stadiums during the coronavirus pandemic. After putting some finishing touches on their preparations, the six home clubs for this weekend put tickets on sale. T

July 31, 2020

Coach for struggling football club resigns

Choi Yong-soo, head coach of the struggling football club FC Seoul, stepped down Thursday. The K League 1 club made the announcement less than 24 hours after FC Seoul were knocked out of the quarterfinals at the Korea Football Association Cup (FA Cup) with a 5-1 loss to Pohang Steelers at Seoul World Cup Stadium. In the league table, FC Seoul are stuck in 11th place among 12 clubs with 10 points from three wins, one draw and nine losses. They have allowed a league-high 29 goals in 13 matches

July 30, 2020

Son Heung-min finishes Premier League season with career high in offensive points

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min has finished his roller coaster of a season with a new career high in attacking points, though he failed to add to the tally in the Premier League season finale. Tottenham ended in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park Stadium in London on Sunday (local time), with Son not factoring in on offense before being lifted in the 79th minute. Son ended the Premier League season with 11 goals and 10 assists for a career-best 21 points. He

July 27, 2020

Ki Sung-yueng looks forward to fresh start in return to K League's FC Seoul

Ki Sung-yueng has come home again. And he believes he can regain the form that made him one of the top midfielders to come out of South Korea. Ki was reintroduced as the member of FC Seoul in the K League 1 on Wednesday. He signed with them Tuesday, 11 years after leaving the nation's capital to embark on an international club career that took him to Scotland, Wales, England and Spain. He's signed through the 2023 season, though financial terms were not disclosed under a mutual agreement. Th

July 22, 2020

No upsets as big league clubs advance in nat'l football tournament

When the dust settled following eight knockout matches at the nation's largest football tournament, there were no upsets. Top-flight clubs that took on lower-tier opponents all advanced to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup on Wednesday night. FC Seoul of the K League 1 defeated the K League 2 side Daejeon Hana Citizen 4-2 on penalties, with coach Choi Yong-soo prevailing over his predecessor Hwang Sun-hong. In three other K League 1 vs. K League 2 matchups, the upper-tier teams all prevailed.

July 16, 2020

Tottenham's Son Heung-min scores in 2nd straight match

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min has scored in his second straight match. Son opened the scoring against Newcastle United in the Spurs' 3-1 victory in Premier League action at St. James' Park in Newcastle, Britain, on Wednesday (local time). It was Son's 11th goal in the league and 18th goal in all competitions this season. Son had also scored against Arsenal on the weekend. Those 18 goals plus 12 assists in all matches give Son a new career high in the combined goal-assist

July 16, 2020