South Korean coach Huh Jung-moo says his players are not afraid of Lionel Messi and his team mates when they face the South Americans at Soccer City in Johannesburg on Thursday.
After beating Greece 2 – 0, a victory against Argentina would almost certainly guarantee they would advance to the knockout stages, something the Asian side have only previously achieved when co-hosting the finals in 2002.
Huh Jung Moo commented: “Argentina are one of the contenders for the final and they have a lot of very good players. They are a very tough team to play against. But I have told my players, we have to remain confident no matter who our opponent is. If we do what we have to do, regardless of the result, we can manage to grow as a team. Of course, our players have to grow a lot more – there are still rough edges. But just because our opponent is a strong team, I don’t think they will be defeatist.”
According to Huh’s plan, Park will be moved from his usual left wing position to the central midfield against Messi standing right behind the one-top striker.
Park proved effective in blocking Messi in the second match between Manchester United and FC Bacelona in the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League in April 2008, which Manchester won 1-0. Park as a left-wing midfielder marked Messi on the right wing at first, and when Messi moved to the center, so did Park.
With strong cardiovascular endurance, Park ran 10.844 km in the Group B opener against Greece last Saturday, playing in both defense and offense. That was far more than Messi, who ran 8.351 km in the match against Nigeria, mostly staying in the offensive zone.
Messi made 84 passes and eight shots, while Park posted 39 passes and two shots. Messi tends to focus on attack only while Park is indispensable in defensive tactics as well.
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