2002월드컵 주역들, 이제는 방송해설위원으로 격돌

Published : Jun 15, 2014 - 17:22 Updated : Jun 17, 2014 - 16:22

박지성 해설 "안정환 김남일이 방송사고 친다"...박지성 예언 맞을까?

2002년 월드컵 주역들이 브라질 월드컵 방송 해설가로써 격돌하고 있다.

이 와중에 SBS 방송위원으로 분한 박지성이 방송3사에서 해설위원으로 각각 활약하고 있는 태극전사 동료들에 대한 평가와 예상을 밝혔다.14일 인터넷에는 전날 박지성이 한 이벤트에서 했던 발언이 화제를 모으고 있다.

발언은 박지성이 모델로 활동하고 있는 스포츠용품 브랜드 나이키가 진행한 팬들과의 토크쇼 ‘박지성: 새로운 출발(JS PARK: NEW BEGINNING)’에서 나왔다.현장에선 SNS를 통해 팬들의 질문이 쏟아졌다.

그 중 “2002 한일월드컵 출신 해설위원 중 누가 가장 잘 하는 것 같냐”는 질문이 있었다.박지성은 “말은 아무래도 이영표 해설위원이 가장 잘 하는 것 같다”답하면서도 “재미로 따지면 안정환 해설위원이 낫다”고 말했다.

이어진 발언이 재밌었다.

박지성은 장난기어린 표정으로 “김남일, 송종국 위원은 보좌하는 역할일 뿐”이라고 말했다. 이어 “방송 중에 사고를 칠 것 같은 해설위원은 안정환이나 김남일 위원이 될 것 같다”말해 웃음을 자아냈다.이를 접한 누리꾼들은 "박지성 해설, 재밌네", "박지성 해설, 기대된다", "박지성 해설, 역대 선수들 해설 듣는 재미가 있네"등의 반응을 보였다. (onlinenews@heraldcorp.com)

<관련 영문 뉴스>

Heroes of 2012 World Cup battle it -- off-field

Park Ji-sung, Ahn Jung-hwan and Lee Young-pyo among players-turned-TV commentators

As the Korean team readies for its first match in the World Cup in Brazil later this week, heroes of the unforgettable 2002 games are back, sharpening their soccer instincts.

Their battle, however, isn’t on the field. It’s on TV screens.

From striker Ahn Jung-hwan and mid-fielder Park Ji-sung to defender Lee Young-pyo, a total of six players of the 2002 squad which advanced to the semi-finals have joined the country’s three major TV channels as soccer commentators.

Here’s the lineup of football analysts or commentators for KBS, MBC and MBC: Lee, Kim Nam-il (KBS), Ahn, Song Jong-guk (MBC) and Park, Cha Du-ri and Cha Bum-kun (SBS).

The biggest fish, judging only by on-field reputation, is Park, the former Manchester United star. The iconic player ended his trailblazing career just last month. Many experts and fans say that he was the best player that Asia has ever had.

Park, however, won’t be giving live match commentary from Brazil. Instead, he will be staying in Seoul, offering his insights into teams, head coaches and players in prerecorded clips that will run before the key matches.

Providing live, in-play comments will be the father-son duo of the Chas. Cha Bum-kum, the father, is a former player and national team coach-turned-veteran commentator, while the junior Cha is expected to draw from his ongoing career in the local K-League.

Park, in a recent meeting with fans, offered predictions about the on-screen battle of the former 2002 teammates.

Asked whom among the six he thinks will turn out to be the best commentators, he said, “I think Lee Young-pyo is the most eloquent speaker of all of us. But funwise, Ahn Jung-hwan may be best. Kim Nam-il and Song Jong-guk are just assistants.”

“I have a gut feeling that Ahn Jung-hwan and Kim Nam-il might lose it on air,” he added.

The “eloquent” Lee is in fact the mainstay of KBS’s Brazil coverage. Since hanging up his boots late last year, Lee has been pursuing a TV career, appearing in football-themed KBS programs in the lead-up to the Cup. In Brazil, he is joined by Kim Nam-il, another 2002 team member who still plays in the local K-League.

MBC’s Ahn and Song are familiar faces to nonfootball fans, appearing on the channel’s popular “Dad, Where Are You Going?”

Ahn made world headlines by scoring the winning goal against Italy in the second round of the 2002 World Cup, but it earned him a dismissal from the Italian club Perugia. Song, who was a defender, played in Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and China before retiring in 2011.

In 2002, Hong Myung-bo, now the national team’s head coach, was the captain of the Korean squad whose run to the semifinals was one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. Dutchman Guus Hiddink was the coach. Korea jointly hosted the games alongside Japan.

By Lee Sun-young
(milaya@heraldcorp.com)