Saturday, August 23, 2008 Korean midfielder, a baby and the Baggies By John Dykes Special Contributor
ONE of the less widely-reported “human interest” stories of the opening Barclays Premier League weekend was nevertheless one of the more compelling. It concerns a young Korean, a baby and the Baggies.
They may have lost to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium but West Bromwich Albion produced a display which suggested they will be able to hold their own in the top flight this time around. Having looked like being swamped by Arsenal’s attackers early on, West Brom threatened the Gunners on several occasions, with attacking midfielder Kim Do-heon causing most of the problems for William Gallas and company.
It was an impressive showing by the 26-year-old Korean national, especially as he could have been forgiven for being distracted by events 9,000 kilometres away. On Tuesday last week, Kim’s wife, Hye-won, gave birth to the couple’s son. Kim decided to stay in England and fight for a place in West Brom’s first team rather than return to his homeland.
It was a decision which earned the admiration of his manager Tony Mowbray, himself the father of two young boys.
“He [Kim] is showing a great dedication to his career and loyalty to the team by being here,” said Mowbray.
“I know if my wife had given birth I would have been asking the manager to leave, even if it was just for a day, to be with my family.
I’m pretty sure it will happen. We have got an international break coming up with some qualifiers to play so hopefully he will be visiting them soon. But he is getting on with his job and is doing really well.”
That international break only comes after two more weekends of Premier League action, so Kim has got some waiting to do yet before he is able to hold his son in his arms. He can rest assured though that he has made a good decision, at least in terms of his career.
West Brom fans were unanimous in their praise of Kim after the Arsenal game and throughout pre-season. Mowbray spoke of Kim’s versatility and said his experience on the big stage for Korea would set him in good stead.
For his part, Kim has shown a real determination to make things work in England. He first arrived at the Hawthornes for a trial at the end of last year and then moved to the club on loan until the end of the season. He struggled to break into the Championship-winning side and only scored his first goal in the last game of the season, eight
minutes after coming on as a sub against QPR.
Mowbray decided to make the deal permanent and signed Kim for the bargain price of 550,000 pounds sterling (one month’s wages for Frank Lampard) at the end of May.
Kim’s compatriot Seol Ki-hyeon started, and scored, against Hull on opening day but looks likely to miss out when Andy Johnson is fit again.
Elsewhere around the BPL, Asian starters are few and far between: Park Ji-sung (who kept Kim Do-heon on the bench at the 2006 World Cup) appeared to have grabbed his chance at Old Trafford well towards the end of last season, only to suffer the heartbreak of missing out in Moscow.
His Chinese teammate Dong Fangzhuo has hardly made an impact at Old Trafford, while another striker, Korea’s Lee Dong-gook failed to score a league goal in almost 18 months at Middlesbrough and has returned to the K-League.
Ali Al Habsi has shown excellent form on the odd occasion he has started in goal for Bolton but the Oman national is still second choice behind Jussi Jaaskelainen.
The last of the seven players on BPL clubs’ rosters is Iranian Andranik Teymourian, who joined Fulham from Bolton on a free transfer over the summer.
So, seven Asian players in the league. None guaranteed a starting place. Even the three Thai players taken to Manchester City by Thaksin Shinawatra earlier this year have been experiencing work permit difficulties. It looks as if it’s getting tougher and tougher for Asians to break into the league.
All of which perhaps explains Kim Do-heon’s decision last week. Here’s hoping it works out for him, both professionally and personally.
