Diamond in the rough

SYDNEY (Yonhap) ― The improbable success story of South Korean forward Lee Jeong-hyeop became even more so on Monday at the AFC Asian Cup, as the 23-year-old forward scored his second goal of the tournament against Iraq, putting South Korea in the championship final.

Lee headed in the team’s first goal in the 20th minute of the 2-0 semifinal victory in Sydney. Lee, who had previously never played in an international tournament, has now scored three times in his first six international matches.

With each goal, Lee makes his head coach Uli Stielike look clairvoyant.

The German-born coach made the unheralded forward his most surprising selection for the Asian Cup roster last month.

Stielike said he had watched Lee, of the domestic military club Sangju Sangmu, on five different occasions.

He liked what he saw even though Lee only came off the bench when the coach was present.

Stielike passed on injured forwards Lee Dong-gook and Kim Shin-wook, and also left off inconsistent veteran Park Chu-young.

He instead opted for Lee, a raw youngster who had never competed for South Korea in any age group.

Lee immediately responded to Stielike’s faith, scoring in his first international match against Saudi Arabia in the team’s last tune-up match before the tournament’s start.

Lee also scored against Australia in South Korea’s 1-0 win that clinched it first place in Group A.

He slid and barely got his foot across to be credited with the score. If Lee was merely fortunate to get on the board against Australia, his header on Monday versus Iraq came off a textbook set piece play.

Left fullback Kim Jin-su curled a picture-perfect free kick toward the net from the right flank. Lee then used his entire 186-centimeter frame to leap over a crowd of defenders and make contact with the ball. It bounced past the diving goalkeeper Jalal Hassan and into the net.

Lee also set up South Korea’s insurance goal against Iraq. In what appeared to be a broken play, Lee trapped a floating pass with his chest and dropped it for Kim Young-gwon, who struck a volley just inside the arc off an Iraqi player and into the net.

After the match, Lee thanked Kim Jin-su for setting up the goal and said he was just fortunate to be at the right place at the right time.

“I don’t think I necessarily have a nose for the goal,” Lee said. “I often find myself on the receiving end of good crosses. And as a striker, my job is to score on those good passes.”

Lee said he’s been watching the video of every match he’s played, hoping to identify areas in his game that he can improve.

“I’ve been changing from one game to the next,” he added. “I think I’ve been getting better at playing off my teammates on offense.”

He said he was grateful for Stielike’s show of faith, adding that he understands he has to play his best every match to justify his place on the squad.

“When we first arrived in Australia, (Stielike) told me to just play my game and he would shoulder all the responsibilities for my performance, good or bad,” Lee said. “He always puts my mind at ease, and it makes my life easier at practice and at matches.”

Next up for Lee and Co. will be the final on Saturday, as South Korea looks to end its 55-year Asian Cup drought. Finding Lee in the starting lineup should no longer be a surprise by then.

Stielike looks beyond Asian Cup

South Korea may have reached the AFC Asian Cup final, but head coach Stielike said the team must keep working to improve itself even if it clinches the championship.

South Korea scored a goal in each half for its fifth consecutive victory at the continental tournament.

Stielike, who took over coaching the South Korean team in October, noted that his team has gradually improved its play but still left much to be desired after the latest win.

“Today, we lost the ball way too often,” he said.

“We still have many players with relatively little experience. Then we have players such as Cha Du-ri and Ki Sung-yueng (who both have more than 70 caps).

“When these players control the ball, it becomes a whole new match. If we are to play a good match in the final, we have a lot of work to do.”

South Korea defeated Uzbekistan in extra time last Thursday, while Iraq knocked out Iran the following day in a penalty shootout. South Korea had an extra day of rest, which Stielike said worked to his team’s advantage on Monday.

For the championship, South Korea will meet the winner of the other semifinals match between Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

South Korea defeated Australia 1-0 in the group stage, and Stielike predicted the host will advance to the final.

“Australia is a very well-prepared team,” he added.

“It’s a tactically sound team and the players understand their roles very well. I think Australia will make the final but there may also be an upset.”

The coach also said if the rematch against Australia is materialized, South Korea will face an entirely different team, noting that Australia had benched some key players such as Tim Cahill and Robbie Kruse to start the group match.

South Korea hasn’t allowed a goal at this tournament, a span of five matches.

It also blanked Saudi Arabia 2-0 in the final warm-up match before the Asian Cup, and Stielike said he’d like to see the streak continue.

“Before tonight’s game, I told the players we could give up a goal and we talked about ways to respond to that,” he said.

“Because we haven’t allowed a goal, the players might get flustered once the opponent scores.

“We can’t keep this streak alive for a year or two years. We have to learn how to deal with it when we’re scored against.”

Though Stielike was hard on his own team, Iraq’s head coach Radhi Shenaishil said South Korea was the far superior side as he conceded defeat.

“We hoped to reach the final, but South Korea played a great match and competed at a high level,” the losing coach said.