The sharpest of cutting edges
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Monday 8 October 2012
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The insatiable Korean forward has not stopped scoring since her side kicked off their Azerbaijan 2012 campaign with an 11-0 demolition of Gambia, and has struck in each and every one of their four games so far. With two matches still to go in the competition, she has seven goals to her name, just one fewer than the all-time tournament record set by Korea Republic’s Yeo Minji at Trinidad and Tobago 2010.
Yet as she explained the voracious finisher has team objectives to meet first.
“I want the world title more than anything else,” she said. “We are getting there and we were thrilled to beat Canada and reach the semis, though that’s not an objective in itself. We’re going to do everything we can to go all the way, starting with a win over Germany. I’ve also got my sights set on the adidas Golden Boot and I’m aiming to score more goals and make it mine.”
I want the world title more than anything else.
Ri Un-Sim, Korea DPR forward.
Scoring seems to be an obsession of hers, as her performance in the Asian qualifiers showed, when she struck nine of Korea DPR’s 14 goals, including seven against Thailand. The April 25 player has stayed in the groove in Azerbaijan, thanks in no small part to the support she has been receiving from her 16-year-old club-mate Ri Kyong-Hyang.
“We play for the same team back home and I’m closer to her than anyone else in the side here,” she said of her fellow Ri, who has scored three goals in the competition to date and served up two assists, one less than another influential Ri singled out for praise by Korea DPR’s leading scorer: Ri Hyang-Si, who stands second in the assist rankings.
“The fact is though that I have a very good understanding with all my team-mates,” explained Un-Sim, emphasising the collective strength of the Koreans.
Praise from the best
One man well qualified to assess Un-Sim’s contribution to the team is Korea DPR coach Hwang Yong-Bong: “She’s a team player and reads the game excellently, though there are a lot of reasons why she is the player of the tournament to my mind. She’s a lovely person too and very honest with it.”
The smiling, easy-going striker has plenty of admirers elsewhere too, among them Chinese legend Sun Wen, FIFA Player of the 20th Century jointly with the USA’s Michelle Akers.
“I have to say both her technique and physique are remarkable,” said the former China PR star. “She also seems to have the mental strength to go with it too. She is also very young and has all the time she needs to develop and progress.”
Ri Un-Sim still has two appearances to make at Azerbaijan 2012, more than enough time for her to continue her fast-paced development in front of the watching world and to bolster that already-impressive goal tally.
Andressa: Brazil can be happy
Saturday 6 October 2012
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She did so by giving a few inspirational words to the players in the dressing room before each game. More often than not she would end her address in tears at the memories of Brazil’s agonising elimination at the hands of Spain in the quarter-finals two years ago.
And though the South Americans went out of Azerbaijan 2012 at the same stage on Friday, beaten this time by Germany, there were no tears in the midfielder’s eyes when she departed the 8km Stadium.
Brazil turned in one of their best performances of the tournament against the Germans, taking an early lead through Djenifer, before Sara Daebritz levelled the game with half an hour gone.
I’ve never experienced anything as intense or as tough as this and yet I’ve never felt so happy.
Andressa, Brazil captain
Though Germany’s heartbreaking winner came two minutes into added time and though the outcome was the same as it had been two years earlier against the Spanish, Andressa was adamant that defeat did not hurt as much this time around.
Produced at their peak
“As strange as it may seem, it’s not as painful,” the skipper told FIFA.com minutes after the final whistle had sounded. “We produced our very best football against Germany and I think we outplayed them for most of the game.
“We had a bad break and it cost us, but that’s football and that’s why it’s such an exciting sport. They didn’t play as well as us, but they still managed to win with the last kick of the game.”
She added: “We did everything we could and we trained as hard as we could. We dug deep, got the ball into their box and defended well, but it wasn’t enough. Our feeling is that we did what we had to do.”
There is also solace in the way A Seleção recovered from a 5-0 defeat to Japan in their opening game, the Brazilians slowly rediscovering their best form before peaking against one of the powerhouses of women’s football and pushing them all the way.
“We’ve come on tremendously,” she continued. “I’ve never experienced anything as intense or as tough as this and yet I’ve never felt so happy. I think that’s what we’ve got to take away with us, that you learn more when you lose than when you win.
We didn’t lose to any old team, but to a side with one of the strongest traditions in women’s youth football.
Edvaldo Erlacher, Brazil coach
“You have to give it your all right till the end and you can’t relax for a second, especially in a World Cup. We have to realise, though, that this is not the end. It’s only the beginning.”
Coach Erlacher took a similar view in assessing Brazil’s progress at Azerbaijan 2012, and described the last-eight duel with the Germans as one of the most exciting games of the competition:
“It was one of the best games of the World Cup to my mind,” he said. “Both sides defended well and were always looking to score. We were the better team in the first half. Germany gave us a bit more space but we didn’t make the most of it. Even so, you have to understand that there’s a lot of pressure on these girls.”
He rounded off by saying: “I’m very proud at everything they’ve done. We didn’t lose to any old team, but to a side with one of the strongest traditions in women’s youth football.”
