Asian Cup 1956: A South Korean achievement while beating the drums of war
While the drums of war were beating between the two Korean neighbors, the stars of the “South” Korean Samson team succeeded in achieving the title of the first Asian Cup in 1956, which was held in Hong Kong, with the participation of only 4 teams: Israel and Vietnam, in addition to South Korea and the host country.
Although an initial list of 19 teams was included to participate in the first Asian Championship, only 7 teams continued the journey and participated in the final qualifiers, with 4 teams finally qualifying for the final tournament, which was crowned champion by South Korea.
South Korea was not living in a state of economic prosperity, but rather was in a difficult situation as a result of the effects of the war that was affecting the country in general.
The South Koreans purchased travel tickets to Taipei, China, to attend the final qualifiers, and returned to the capital, Seoul, and then they were scheduled for a new trip to Hong Kong to participate in the tournament. There was one international flight a week. For this reason, the team’s delegation was delayed and did not travel until the day it began. Championship.
Park Kyung-ho, one of the pillars of the team that won the Asian title for South Korea, says: “Israel had already defeated Hong Kong when our plane landed at Kai Tai Airport. The tournament has actually begun. A few hours separate us from the first confrontation.”
The star of that team that won its first continental title continues: “We were clearly tired. All the players belong to the army, so we had one week to prepare before the tournament.”
At the beginning of its tournament campaign, the South Korean national team met the host country, Hong Kong, and the match was on the same day that the South Korean national team delegation arrived in the country.
Korean national team players at the moment they won the cup (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Park Kyung explains: “On the day we arrived, at four o’clock in the evening, we played against Hong Kong. We conceded two goals in the first half. Everyone was tired and the atmosphere was hot, but the rain woke us up and we were able to score two goals in the second half and came out with a draw.”
The effects of the war on the Koreans were evident even from the shirts that were worn in the tournament. Kyung explains: “We were wearing the first uniforms that were made in South Korea after the war, so the color scheme was not very good, and after the rain the colors of the shirts came out due to water drops.” He added: “We were able to find a South Korean living in Hong Kong and he helped us obtain some new uniforms made in the United Kingdom for the rest of the tournament.”
South Korea took steady steps after the title following its first draw, and succeeded in achieving a victory over Israel with two goals to one in the second round of the tournament, which was held in a group system, while Vietnam and Hong Kong emerged with a positive draw.
South Korea found itself in a decisive match towards achieving the championship, when it met the Vietnam team, and after an exciting match, the South Korean team won the match 5-3 to tighten its grip on first place and win the first Asian Championship titles in its history.
The players of the South Korean national team succeeded in achieving an external achievement for the first time. That title did not witness much popular interaction, nor did the national team’s delegation receive an official or public reception. Everyone was busy with their lives after the war, which lasted for many years and exhausted their country greatly.
Keung continues his speech for the AFC website, which was published in 2019: “People in South Korea were in a difficult situation. Everyone was busy with their lives, but we were invited then to the Blue House where the president lives, and we were received officially, and those pictures were the first pictures in which the President of Korea appeared.” South Africa with any athlete in the country.”
The effects of the war were in the details of the South Korean team that participated in the first Asian edition. They played the tournament without the participation of a doctor with the delegation, as the players resorted to carrying their injured teammate off the field and treating him with water only, as Kyung points out.
2023-12-28 16:47:05
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