Koreans Abroad Weekend Recap and Europa Preview

By @KoreaFootAbroad

Weekend Recap

Long weekend for me, but not much football to watch.  Disappointing weekend outside of Tottenham's team result.

Suk Hyun Jun -- An unused sub.

Park Joo Ho -- Didn't make squad.

Kim Jin Su -- This was the surprise disappointment as the new manager switched to a three man backline and dropped both left backs from the squad.  It didn't help much as they could only draw their fellow relegation candidates.

Lee Chung Yong -- He came on as a sub at half time and had a very good impact match with some very nice passes and dribbles.  Unfortunately, perhaps what will be remembered by fans (and maybe Pardew) was LCY not tracking Deeney as Ward decided to abandon his

Ki Sung Yueng -- An unused sub.  Will have a good two weeks of extra rest to recover from concussion, though Swansea did look like they needed him in a flat performance, losing to Southampton.

Son Heung Min -- A fairly common theme in Son's recent Tottenham performances as he started in a huge win at the Etihad.  Some very good work rate, and created space for other attackers with decent movement in final third, but also some poor decisions, attempting to beat 3rd and 4th defenders on the dribble, rather than passing.  I also thought he should have done better when he found himself the recipient of a lucky bounce in the box, and could do nothing with the chance.  And a bit reflective of his play seeing Son dribble away with his head down as the whistle was called.

Hong Jeong Ho -- Like most defenders, really struggled with Lewandowski's movement.  On the first goal, was marking Lewandowski but neither he or Kohr covered him as he drifted back to receive the ball.  On the second goal, he was covering Lewandowski but a beautiful pass from Thiago plus perfect timing from Lewandowski meant his efforts at an offside trap were for naught.  Finally, he went off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury at 70 minutes, putting his use vs Liverpool into doubt.

Ji Dong Won -- Didn't make squad after his knee injury.

Koo Ja Cheol -- Was not a surprise when he was taken off at 55 minutes.  Really invisible playing on the right, with Augsburg struggling to have any possession.  And on the defensive side, Koo seemed to tire out at the second half, and was missing his usual fight and hustle.  A poor performance from Koo.

Europa Preview

So some transfer news with Yun Suk Young moving to Charlton Athletic on loan for rest of season (and rest of QPR career).  YSY will be looking to build some highlights to interest clubs on the main continent as getting a work permit in UK will be very unlikely.

So midweek action is all Europa League.  Both ESPN3 and Fox Soccer are streaming games according to their sites, and it looks like DirecTV is no longer showing knockout games on overflow channels.

Hard to predict how much action there will be, with all the clubs having other battles with higher precedence at this moment, except for Dortmund who should take it seriously with league position pretty firmly set.

Day	Time (KST)	Player	Club	Opponent	TV
Friday	3:00 AM	Park Joo Ho	Dortmund	Porto	ESPN3 / Fox Soccer 2 Go
Friday	3:00 AM	Suk Hyun Jun	Porto	@Dortmund	ESPN3 / Fox Soccer 2 Go
Friday	3:00 AM	Son Heung Min	Tottenham	@Fiorentina	ESPN3 / Fox Soccer Plus
Friday	5:00 AM	Hong Jeong Ho	Augsburg	Liverpool	Fox Sports 2
Friday	5:00 AM	Ji Dong Won	Augsburg	Liverpool	Fox Sports 2
Friday	5:00 AM	Koo Ja Cheol	Augsburg	Liverpool	Fox Sports 2

Park Joo Ho -- Maybe he can find himself a bench spot but I think even that is unlikely right now.

Suk Hyun Jun -- Perhaps he's fully fit to get some game time.  Porto has done well without so he may still be on the bench but has a greater chance of starting than on the weekend.

Son Heung Min -- We'll see how Pochettino handles three competitions for Tottenham.  It may be that Son starts but it's a bit tricky to predict with this and FA Cup this weekend coming up, both of which are probably secondary to PL title chase.

Hong Jeong Ho -- His leg injury didn't look too serious but I think Weinzierl may look to rotate regardless and play it safe.

Ji Dong Won -- If he's fit, I think he'll get a chance to find his form again to help the misfiring Augsburg offense.

Koo Ja Cheol -- Not too many alternatives to Koo, but it's highly possible that with Augsburg drifting back to only a point off relegation spots, that Koo is rested as he looked totally flat this past weekend.