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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

S.Korea's Park, Lee retire from international football

DOHA — Park Ji-Sung and Lee Young-Pyo's retirement from international football puts the onus on South Korea's new generation, and both players are confident they have what it takes.
South Korea coach Cho Kwang-Rae said midfielder Park, 29, was calling it quits on Friday after the team beat Uzbekistan 3-2 to secure third place at the Asian Cup and an automatic berth at the 2015 tournament in Australia.
Left-back Lee, 33, had already announced his own decision to step back from international football earlier in the week.
It is a big loss for South Korea, with the two players the squad's bedrock for the last decade, both featuring at three World Cups, starting in 2002 when they were part of the team that made the semi-finals under Guus Hiddink.
It was that performance that launched their careers, with Park moving to PSV Eindhoven from Japan's Kyoto Purple Sanga and then on to Manchester United, where he continues to wow the crowds.
Lee also went to PSV and followed Park to the English Premier League, making 70 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur before moving to Borussia Dortmund and finally securing a one-million-euros-a-year contract with Al-Hilal.
Park, the South Korea captain, plans to hold a press conference in Seoul on Monday but said after the game in Doha against the Uzbeks that he held out a lot of hope for the young Korean team that has impressed at the Asian Cup.
"At the moment the young players are very talented and skilful, their technique is great," he said.
"They just need some experience and I think this tournament has been very important for them in terms of that.
"I think some of the players can go to Europe and gain experience there, then they will be even stronger than now."
Asked what the future held for him, he replied: "My future? I will try to do my best at my club and just do what I can to help them win everything."
Lee, who won 127 caps, said it had been a pleasure to play alongside Park, his country's most iconic sportsman.
"I wanted Park to play for his country a little more but there must be something personal in his mind so we should respect his decision," he said of a player who earned 100 caps.
"He sacrifices himself for the team. The younger generations will remember him sacrificing himself for the team and his love of football."
Lee also sacrificed himself, experiencing highs and lows in his 12 years of international duty, which included 12 World Cup games.
"This is the time to step down from the national team. I wanted to give a chance to the younger generations. The young players are very skilful and very good," he said.
"I want the Korean fans to support the next generation of players like they supported me. If they are in a bad situation, I'd like them to encourage the players to help get them through the situation."
Like Park, he felt the 2002 World Cup was the highlight, proving to be a pivotal moment for Asian football.
"Every single moment in the national team was very important, but personally the 2002 World Cup was a turning point for Korean football," he said.
"Even the players couldn?t believe the achievement of the Korean team, it was our most historic achievement.
"In that tournament we showed the world that Asian football could do something at the World Cup."
While Park plans to prolong his career at Manchester United, Lee will continue with Al-Hilal.
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Park Ji-Sung and Lee Young-Pyo's retirement from international football puts the onus on South Korea's new generatio
Park Ji-Sung, 29, called it quits on Friday after the team beat Uzbekistan to secure 3rd place at the Asian Cup

Theo Walcott: Barcelona Taught Us A Football Lesson But Arsenal Have Great Chance Of Knocking Out Spanish Champions

Theo Walcott has admitted that Arsenal were “taught a lesson” by Barcelona but is convinced they have a great chance of winning their last-16 Champions League tie.

Arsenal came from a goal behind to dramatically beat the La Liga champions 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, although Walcott recognised that the first leg could have gone either way.
“Barcelona taught us a lesson,” said the Gunners winger. “We couldn’t get near them at times. Barcelona had lots of possession but they didn’t create as many chances as they would have wanted.
“The most important thing is we have something to play with going into the second leg. Going into that game we have a great chance. We know we can get a result and it will be a great game for the neutral to watch.”
Walcott predicts there will plenty more twists and turns at Camp Nou on March 8.
He said: “We can’t get above ourselves. We still have a lot of work to do at their place and have to forget about this result now.

“We know how difficult it will be to win in front of their home support and on a big pitch. We made a lot of mistakes [at Camp Nou] last year and we don’t want to do the same again."
Walcott created problems for Barcelona with his pace and directness in the first half but he faded after the break and, although he was withdrawn in the second half, it did not sour a special evening for the England international.
“To be part of the team that beat the best team in the world has been brilliant,” he said. “It’s so great to be part of a big win and be on the right end of the result.
“It was such an open game. That’s the way they play and the way we play. It was so great to be part of it.”
Walcott admitted that it might now be hard for the Arsenal players to lift themselves for Sunday’s FA Cup tie against Leyton Orient.
“It’s a big come down, no disrespect to Leyton Orient,” he said. “But it’s an important game and we play in the Premier League [against Stoke City] next Wednesday. The games are coming thick and fast so we have to concentrate on these and forget about the second leg.”

Ronaldo & 19 More Of The Greatest Goalscorers Of All Time

With the retirement of former FIFA Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo earlier this week, Goal.comasked its twitter followers whom they considered to be the greatest goalscorer of all time. Many of you agreed with Goal.com's Peter Staunton that Ronaldo was the best finisher, but you also put forward a number of other interesting suggestions. We have now listed 20 of the best goalscorers with their statistics over the years - who do you think is the best? Bear in mind that only players from after 1960 when footage is readily available have been included.


Ronaldo Luiz Nazario de Lima ( BRA): 

Clubs: Cruzeiro, PSV, Barcelona, Inter, Real Madrid, Milan, Corinthians
Club games: 514
Club goals: 352
International games: 97
International goals: 62
Suggested by:@mcgboye; Without any shadow of doubt...nazario de lima ronaldo. Simply the best.

Romario de Souza Faria ( BRA):
Clubs: Vasco da Gama, PSV, Barcelona, Flamengo, Valencia, Fluminense, Al Sadd, Miami, Adelaide United, America 
Club games: 
483
Club goals: 341
International games: 70
International goals: 55

Filippo Inzaghi ( ITA):
Clubs: Piacenza, Leffe, Verona, Parma, Atalanta, Juventus, Milan
Club games: 608
Club goals: 288
International games: 57
International goals: 25
Suggested by:@primusicilianu; The greatest pure goalscorer is Inzaghi.

Marco van Basten ( NED)
Clubs: Ajax, Milan
Club games: 370
Club goals: 277
International games: 58
International goals: 24  

Gabriel Batistuta ( ARG):
Clubs: Newell's Old Boys, River Plate, Boca Juniors, Fiorentina, Roma, Inter, Al Arabi
Club games: 493
Club goals: 366
International games: 78
International goals: 56
Suggested by:@dantedii; It is between Ronaldo, Van Basten or Batistuta

Pele 
( BRA):
Clubs: Santos, New York Cosmos
Club games: 831
Club goals: 767
International games: 
92
International goals: 77

Alberto Spencer 
( ECU):
Clubs: Everest, Penarol, Barcelona
Club games: 
634
Club goals: 445
International games: 15
International goals: 5 
Suggested by:@DeadCarras; One of the most unknown great goalscorers was Penarol's Alberto Spencer.

Gerd Mueller ( GER)
Clubs: 1861 Noerdlingen, Bayern Munich, Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Club games: 669
Club goals: 572
International games: 62
International goals: 68 

Ruud van Nistelrooy ( NED):
Clubs: Den Bosch, Heerenveen, PSV, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Hamburg
Club games: 550
Club goals: 341
International games: 68
International goals: 34 

Ferenc Puskas ( HUN)
Clubs: Kispest, Budapest Honved, Espanyol, Real Madrid
Club games: 622
Club goals: 
617
International games: 89
International goals: 84
Suggested by:@Matthewbrala; Puskas.617 goals in 622 club appearances speaks for itself.

Cristiano Ronaldo ( POR):
Clubs: Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid
Club games: 394
Club goals: 190
International games: 80
International goals: 26 

Lionel Messi ( ARG):
Clubs: Barcelona
Club games: 249
Club goals: 167
International games: 54
International goals: 16
Suggested by:@thendyforaldy85; maybe messi, but we need to see him play in england and italy.

Zico ( BRA):
Clubs: Flamengo, Udinese, Kashima Antlers
Club games: 696
Club goals: 476
International games: 72
International goals: 52

Hugo Sanchez ( MEX):
Clubs: Pumas, San Diego Sockers, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, America, Rayo Vallecano, Atlante, Linz, Dallas Burn, Celaya
Club games: 694
Club goals: 427
International games: 58
International goals: 29

Eusebio ( POR):
Clubs: Sporting de Lourenco Marques, Benfica, Boston Minutemen, Monterrey, Toronto Metros, Beira Mar, Las Vegas Quicksilvers, Uniao de Tomar, New Jersey Americans,
Club games: 437
Club goals: 428
International games: 64
International goals: 41 

Jimmy Greaves ( ENG):
Clubs: Chelsea, Milan, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Brentwood, Chelmsford City, Barnet, Woodford Town
Club games: 602
Club goals: 422
International games: 57
International goals: 44

Uwe Seeler ( GER):
Clubs: Hamburg
Club games: 476
Club goals: 404
International games: 72
International goals: 43

Johan Cruyff ( NED)
Clubs: Ajax, Barcelona, Los Angeles Aztecs, Washington Diplomats, Levante, Feyenoord
Club games: 662
Club goals: 368
International games: 48
International goals: 33

Oleg Blokhin ( UKR):
Clubs: Dynamo Kiev, Vorwarts Steyr, Aris Limassol 
Club games: 
648
Club goals: 283
International games: 112
International goals: 42

Alfredo Di Stefano ( ARG)
Clubs: River Plate, Huracan, Millonarios, Real Madrid, Espanyol
Club games: 520
Club goals: 376
International games: 41
International goals: 29
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