On the 26th March in Ingelheimm (from 15:00 CET) and on the 29th March in Worms (from 12:00 CET) the Germany U19s have to games of great importance. The two games against South Korea are the last two friendly games before the European Championship in Germany. One player who is very familiar with both countries is Du-Ri Cha.
Born in Frankfurt, Du-Ri Cha lived in Germany until he was 9 years old, while his father Bum-Kun Cha was playing in the Bundesliga. When he retired in 1989, the family moved back to South Korea. Du-Ri returned to his country of birth in 2002, in order to follow in his father’s footsteps at Bayer Leverkusen. Since then he has played for Bielefeld, Frankfurt, Mainz, Koblenz, Freiburg, Glasgow, Düsseldorf and Seoul.
The 35-year-old has now retired himself. In an interview with DFB.de, Du-Ri speaks about education and the biggest talent back home, the work carried out by South Korea national team head coach Ulli Stielike and his plans for the future.
DFB.de: Mr. Cha, at the end of the month, the Germany and South Korea U19s will face each other. What kind of an opposition can manager Marcus Sorg’s side expect?
Du-Ri Cha:
The South Korean youth teams traditionally belong to the best teams in Asia. In Asian competitions, the U17s and U19s pretty much always feature in the final and thereby qualify for the World Cups of their age groups.
DFB.de: What sets them apart on the pitch?
Cha: Our teams are technically gifted, cover a lot of ground and have a good mentality. They fight ‘til the end.
DFB.de: How is youth football in South Korea structured? Does it compare to Germany?
Cha: On the one hand, yes, because like in Germany, there are youth teams from U15s to U21s. Club-football structure isn’t so good in South Korea, though. The scouting of talent is mostly done in schools, especially high schools.
DFB.de: That means a player will always have graduated from high school before playing as a professional?
Cha: Exactly. In most cases, talented players then go onto University first for at least one or two years and play for the Uni teams. The Uni teams are of a very high standard in South Korea. In my student years, we even won the odd game against professional teams.
DFB.de: In 2001, you made the jump from university team to national team.
Cha: Correct. The national coach at the time, Guus Hiddink, organised a friendly against my university ahead of the World Cup in 2002. I made such a good impression in the game that he invited me to join as the only student - an incredible experience. We achieved fourth position in front of our home crowd, the best finish of a South Korean side in World Cup history.
DFB.de: Only your father, Bum-Kun Cha, managed to make the step up to the national side at an earlier age.
Cha: He was called up at the age of 19, but this is very rare. Normally you become a professional in your early 20s. The young players don’t have it that easy, as they have to gain a lot of respect from the coaches and the older players. In that sense young talents in Germany have it a lot easier.
DFB.de: Are there are special talents in South Korea at the moment, close to breaking into South Korea’s starting XI?
Cha: Seung-Woo Lee of FC Barcelona is a huge talent, I have a lot of faith in him. Barca took the risk of getting a transfer ban when they signed him, as he was attracting interest from most of Europe. Lee is fast, technically gifted, and fits very well to the mentality in European football. For that reason he had no problems getting into the swing of things at Barcelona. At the moment he plays for the U19s, and in the UEFA Youth League. I will follow his progress with great interest.
DFB.de: Ulli Stielike became South Korean head coach in September 2014. Do you think he has done a good job?
Cha: Stielike is doing an excellent job, especially if you consider the background. He was signed after the disaster of a World Cup in 2014, at a time when the whole country was very frustrated with the performances in Brazil. He had got the team back on the right track within three months, even though he didn’t know them that well yet. He then secured second position in the AFC Asian Cup, and excitement for football increased once again in the country. They have also won every game in their World Cup qualifying campaign so far.
DFB.de: You ended your career as a player last November. What is your plan now, do you want to stay in football?
Cha: Yes, that’s my aim. At the moment I am talking to lots of old friends and new contacts in football, and I intend to start with my first coaching badges this summer. I don’t know exactly what I’ll do yet though.
created by mmc/dw
On the 26th March in Ingelheimm (from 15:00 CET) and on the 29th March in Worms (from 12:00 CET) the Germany U19s have to games of great importance. The two games against South Korea are the last two friendly games before the European Championship in Germany. One player who is very familiar with both countries is Du-Ri Cha.
Born in Frankfurt, Du-Ri Cha lived in Germany until he was 9 years old, while his father Bum-Kun Cha was playing in the Bundesliga. When he retired in 1989, the family moved back to South Korea. Du-Ri returned to his country of birth in 2002, in order to follow in his father’s footsteps at Bayer Leverkusen. Since then he has played for Bielefeld, Frankfurt, Mainz, Koblenz, Freiburg, Glasgow, Düsseldorf and Seoul.
The 35-year-old has now retired himself. In an interview with DFB.de, Du-Ri speaks about education and the biggest talent back home, the work carried out by South Korea national team head coach Ulli Stielike and his plans for the future.
DFB.de: Mr. Cha, at the end of the month, the Germany and South Korea U19s will face each other. What kind of an opposition can manager Marcus Sorg’s side expect?
Du-Ri Cha:
The South Korean youth teams traditionally belong to the best teams in Asia. In Asian competitions, the U17s and U19s pretty much always feature in the final and thereby qualify for the World Cups of their age groups.
DFB.de: What sets them apart on the pitch?
Cha: Our teams are technically gifted, cover a lot of ground and have a good mentality. They fight ‘til the end.
DFB.de: How is youth football in South Korea structured? Does it compare to Germany?
Cha: On the one hand, yes, because like in Germany, there are youth teams from U15s to U21s. Club-football structure isn’t so good in South Korea, though. The scouting of talent is mostly done in schools, especially high schools.
DFB.de: That means a player will always have graduated from high school before playing as a professional?
Cha: Exactly. In most cases, talented players then go onto University first for at least one or two years and play for the Uni teams. The Uni teams are of a very high standard in South Korea. In my student years, we even won the odd game against professional teams.
DFB.de: In 2001, you made the jump from university team to national team.
Cha: Correct. The national coach at the time, Guus Hiddink, organised a friendly against my university ahead of the World Cup in 2002. I made such a good impression in the game that he invited me to join as the only student - an incredible experience. We achieved fourth position in front of our home crowd, the best finish of a South Korean side in World Cup history.
DFB.de: Only your father, Bum-Kun Cha, managed to make the step up to the national side at an earlier age.
Cha: He was called up at the age of 19, but this is very rare. Normally you become a professional in your early 20s. The young players don’t have it that easy, as they have to gain a lot of respect from the coaches and the older players. In that sense young talents in Germany have it a lot easier.
DFB.de: Are there are special talents in South Korea at the moment, close to breaking into South Korea’s starting XI?
Cha: Seung-Woo Lee of FC Barcelona is a huge talent, I have a lot of faith in him. Barca took the risk of getting a transfer ban when they signed him, as he was attracting interest from most of Europe. Lee is fast, technically gifted, and fits very well to the mentality in European football. For that reason he had no problems getting into the swing of things at Barcelona. At the moment he plays for the U19s, and in the UEFA Youth League. I will follow his progress with great interest.
DFB.de: Ulli Stielike became South Korean head coach in September 2014. Do you think he has done a good job?
Cha: Stielike is doing an excellent job, especially if you consider the background. He was signed after the disaster of a World Cup in 2014, at a time when the whole country was very frustrated with the performances in Brazil. He had got the team back on the right track within three months, even though he didn’t know them that well yet. He then secured second position in the AFC Asian Cup, and excitement for football increased once again in the country. They have also won every game in their World Cup qualifying campaign so far.
DFB.de: You ended your career as a player last November. What is your plan now, do you want to stay in football?
Cha: Yes, that’s my aim. At the moment I am talking to lots of old friends and new contacts in football, and I intend to start with my first coaching badges this summer. I don’t know exactly what I’ll do yet though.
