I think the synonym for violent soccer needs to change. Now, Uzbekistan’s reckless and violent soccer has raised the eyebrows of soccer fans.
The Korean Asian Games national soccer team, led by coach Hwang Seon-hong, played against Uzbekistan in the semifinals of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou, China at 9 p.m. on the 4th (Korean time) and won 2-1. With this, Korea headed to the gold medal match. The next opponent is the ‘old enemy’ Japan.
On this day, Uzbekistan tormented Korea with rough soccer that surpassed China’s Shaolin soccer at its peak. In fact, Uzbekistan is a strong national team in each age group, but is famous for its particularly rough style. In fact, SBS commentator Jang Ji-hyeon even gave a grounded commentary before the game started, saying, “Considering Uzbekistan’s rough playing style, they could definitely be sent off.”
This commentary was spot on. A rough fight took place from the beginning of the game. Uzbekistan attacked key offensive resources such as Lee Kang-in and Cho Young-wook harshly, and during an aerial battle with Cho Young-wook in the first half, they intentionally threw away Cho Young-wook in the air, causing him to fall heavily to the ground.
The rough play continued in the second half. He thrust his elbow into Lee Kang-in’s face and used his hand without hesitation. Eventually an accident occurred. In the 17th minute of the second half, when Eom Won-sang first caught the ball on the right side, No. 14 Yordashev, who was running a speed battle to catch up with Eom Won-sang, attempted a tackle from behind targeting Eom Won-sang’s ankle.
Eom Won-sang, who was hit hard by this, fell down, clutching his ankle. It is a malicious tackle that does not even touch the ball. Immediately after Yordashev’s malicious foul, the referee called a foul, and Yordashev could not hold back his anger and threw the ball hard on the ground.
In the end, Yordashev received a yellow card. Coach Hwang Seon-hong eventually called Eom Won-sang to the bench. After the game, Coach Hwang sighed and said, “Eom Won-sang may be injured.” It was safe to say that it was an unfortunate injury caused by Uzbekistan’s violent soccer.
The referee’s card was not issued unless it was a foul of this level. Uzbekistan continued to make vicious tackles toward Korean players. In the end, Uzbekistan was punished. In the 27th minute of the second half, Abdu-Rauf Buriev attempted an unreasonable tackle targeting Cho Young-wook’s ankle and was sent off due to an accumulated warning.무지개토토
Uzbekistan’s play, including the sending-off scene, exceeded the allowable limits in the game. The Uzbek players looked like they were playing mixed martial arts rather than soccer, such as a reckless back tackle toward Eom Won-sang or an elbow strike toward Lee Kang-in.
Manners were also the worst. In an already unreasonable situation, he ran towards the ball and collided with a Korean player or made a habit of diving. Buriev, who was sent off, protested harshly when he saw the red card, and even showed disgusting behavior by spitting at the referee. It was literally a total mess.
Uzbekistan’s rough play is not limited to this game. In the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games semifinal match against Uzbekistan, Alibayev was sent off for an unreasonable foul. At the time, there was controversy over rough play, but instead of improving, it got worse.
Even in this situation, there was no reflection. Uzbek coach Kapadze, who played in the K-League, said in a post-game interview, “I received multiple yellow cards. I don’t understand. I want the game to be fairer. I don’t think we should fight with the referee.” indicated.
Since Uzbekistan will continue to face clashes in the future, including on the road to the Paris Olympics, we must be wary of Coach Kapadze’s remarks. There were concerns about the rough style of play in the quarterfinals against China, but considering that it was a somewhat more comfortable game than expected, the synonym for violent soccer has now changed.
Aside from the Asian Games, in the 2015 King’s Cup match held in Thailand, Uzbekistan’s Shamsidinov hit Shim Sang-min’s face during a ball duel in the 42nd minute of the second half, resulting in a one-year suspension. It is literally a violent socce무지개토토r with history and tradition.
In particular, Uzbekistan was seen fighting to the point where it was even more reckless against an opponent that was one step ahead of them. Although it is not as good as Korea, Uzbekistan has emerged as a powerhouse in age-group soccer in Asia, so we may have to experience this kind of reckless style more often in the future.
The time has come for Korean football to study how to respond to Uzbekistan’s reckless football.
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