host must win

Chapter 39 The darkest moment in football history

Regarding the memory of the 2002 World Cup, because the Chinese team made it to the finals in history, for a generation of fans, that summer was absolutely hot and unforgettable.

But from the viewing point of view of the game, the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup was the most boring and boring one in the past 30 years.In that classic 1/8 final, South Korea defeated Italy 2:1.Perhaps such a description is not appropriate, the game itself is not a classic at all, and the classic is the final outcome.

On June 2002, 6, the Korea-Japan World Cup 18/1 finals, the host South Korea faced Italy.Hiddink's subordinates include Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo who are fledglings, Ahn Jung-hwan who is the number one idol, Hong Myung-bo who was shortlisted for the best team in the World Cup, Cha Du-ri, Kim Nam-il, Lee Yun-jae, and Seol Ki-hyun.Look at Italy again, Buffon, Maldini, Del Piero, Totti, Vieri... But judging from the lineup, the two are not at the same level at all.

But South Korea is the host, so it has all the advantages off the field.In the public opinion environment at the time, after all, they had the status of hosts, and it was completely normal for Japan or South Korea to advance to the 1/8 finals, but it would be a bit exaggerated to go further.

Who would have thought that Japan "followed" the original rules of football, while South Korea developed tenaciously, and finally broke into the semi-finals inconceivably, creating the best result of an Asian team in the World Cup.And whether this brilliant flower that grows stubbornly is a fairy grass or a poisonous strain, the world can judge for itself.

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Yin Jun watched the game while eating in a hotel box with the crew of "The Family".

Now it's the time of the World Cup, and the crew intends to take advantage of Yin Jun's popularity, so they don't object to Yin Jun's proposal to watch the game.

Not long after the start, South Korea won a penalty kick, which is already a bit of a surprise, but the Italian is indeed suspected of fouling, which makes sense, not to mention that Ahn Jung-hwan's shot was saved by Buffon.

Then Vieri scored with a header and shut up after the goal, and it seemed that everything was moving in Italy's favor.

However, what happened next left everyone dumbfounded, unable to believe that there is such a dark football game in the world.

With a 1:0 lead, the Italians first started to kill themselves. They wasted a lot of opportunities to kill the game. Vieri's single-handed shot was strangely missed, and Tomasi's single-handed shot was also blocked by Li Yunzai.

The performances of the South Korean team and the referee did not really appear until the end of the first half.

In the 44th minute, during a corner kick, the Italian defensive player Koko was knocked to the ground by the South Korean kickboxer Yoo Sang-chul. His left brow bone ruptured and he bled profusely.

The referee said nothing about this hurtful action, which made other Korean fighters even more unscrupulous!

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Not long after the start of the second half, Juventus player Piero was elbowed by Kim Tae-young and fell to the ground when he broke through. The referee just called the two together and said a few words, and did not show a yellow card to the South Korean thug.

Kim Tae-young's action of hitting Del Piero's face with his upper elbow made the old woman's number one star a little confused.This heavy blow made Del Piero, who turned into a soft-footed crab as soon as he arrived in the competition, frightened. He was replaced by gold medal coach Trapattoni soon after.

The reason why Trapattoni was also criticized by Italy was because his tactical concept was too conservative when he was leading by one goal. He replaced Piero with Gattuso in 61 minutes, trying to defend with the classic chain defense. 1:0 score.

But he was wrong. The old Italian coach ignored the "dark advantage" of the host country and the "Korean ginseng physical fitness" of the Korean players.

In the 71st minute, Zambrotta made a breakthrough from the right. South Korean thug Huang Sunhong kicked Zambrotta out of the field with a standard criminal shovel, and was replaced by Di Livio because he could not insist.

This bad foul, which obviously required a red card and a possible suspension, escaped the referee's punishment again!

In the 78th minute, Totti dribbled the ball continuously and was about to break into the penalty area and was brought down. A chance to score a goal was stifled, but the referee remained silent.

In the 79th minute, Maldini fell to the ground in the penalty area to make a clearance. The Korean player Lee Cheon-su standing behind the Cavaliers kicked Maldini in the back of the head with his right foot when it was impossible to touch the ball. The referee on duty turned a blind eye to the useless actions that were also expressly prohibited!
Di Livio pointed at the referee Moreno and angrily reprimanded. The blind-eyed Ecuadorian referee looked like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water. Vieri's eyes were full of emotions. Gattuso and Korean player Lee Yun Zai and Liu Xiangtie.

Faced with this scene, the crew of "The Family" in the box was also stunned: Nima, this is simply the real version of "Shaolin Football"!
In the 88th minute, Panucci made a small mistake in the penalty area to clear the siege, giving South Korea the hope of a comeback.Xue Qixuan's goal pulled South Korea back from the brink of elimination, which means that the momentum of the audience has turned to South Korea, and after the equalizer, it was the Koreans who attacked frantically.Italy's physical fitness has long been worn down, not to mention the fierce battle in overtime.

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In the extra time, the Korean fighters continued to fight unscrupulously. In the 100th minute, Li Tianxiu kicked Gattuso head-on without the ball. The Milan tough guy subconsciously turned around and avoided it.Under the angry questioning of the Italian players, the referee showed a yellow card.

No chance for Italy in overtime?Do not!Totti has already created the opportunity, but unfortunately, Moreno "stepped forward". He ignored a seemingly undisputed penalty and gave the extremely angry Totti a second yellow card.With the prince of Rome leaving the field angrily, the balance of victory began to tip for South Korea.There are 12 players from South Korea and 10 players from Italy. Is this still playing like this?
In the 111th minute, Vieri made a pass from the left in seconds. Tomasi broke into the penalty area and scored a goal against offside, but was judged offside.From the perspective of slow motion, this is an absolute lore shot!After the penalty was disallowed, another Italian goal was denied.

In the 117th minute, Ahn Jung-hwan's lore came, and South Korea eliminated Italy 2:1, making it to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in history.

Look at Trapattoni's anger and you can see the desperation of the Italians at that time.

Even watching this game for the second time, Yin Jun was still speechless for a long time.

Liu Xian'er, who had already turned pale from being frightened, asked Yin Jun in a low voice: "Brother Yin Jun, is real football like this? Isn't this too scary? Otherwise, you should stop playing football and become an actor." Is it? You are so handsome and popular, you will definitely be popular!"

An Yi, who played Miss Jin Jiaba next to her, and the heroine Dong Bailian also looked at Yin Jun with lingering fear.

Yin Jun smiled bitterly, shook his head and said, "Real football is naturally not like this. In this world, only a despicable country with no lower limit can play this kind of football!"

(End of this chapter)