Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Kang Ryong-woon

In this Korean name, the family name is Kang.
Kang Ryong-woon
Personal information
Date of birth (1942-04-25)25 April 1942
Place of birth Korea
Date of death before 2002
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Rodongja Sports Club
International career
c. 1962–after 1966 North Korea 39+
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Kang Ryong-woon
Chosŏn'gŭl
강룡운[1]
Revised RomanizationGang Yong-un
McCune–ReischauerKang Ryong-un

Kang Ryong-woon (25 April 1942 – before 2002) was a North Korean football forward who played for national team in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Rodongja Sports Club.

Early life

Kang was born on 25 April 1942 in what became North Korea.[2] A forward, he played at the club level for Rodongja Sports Club in North Korea's top league.[2] During his playing career, he had a reported height of 167 centimetres (66 in).[2]

International career

In 1957, the North Korea national football team was re-organized with the goal of competing at the 1966 FIFA World Cup.[3] In c. 1962, Kang was chosen as one of the best 40 players from the North Korean leagues, whose membership reportedly consisted of over 250,000, to be considered for the national team.[4][5] The 40 players were enlisted into the Army as military officers, under the leadership of colonel and coach Myung Rye-hyun, and went under strict training for the next four years in preparation for the cup.[3][4] Kang and the others trained twice a day starting at 6:00 a.m. and were under other restrictions which included being unmarried, no smoking, no drinking, and (for the last six months) being in bed by 10:00 p.m.[4]

In early 1965, the North Korean leagues were suspended to allow the roster to focus solely on the task of making the World Cup.[4] Kang and the rest of the players gained experience by playing a number of international matches against nations including North Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia and China.[5] The team competed at that year's Games of Emerging New Forces (GANEFO) and went undefeated, with a 3–1 win over China in the finals.[5] Later in 1965, they played at the 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification and defeated Australia to become the sole qualifier from the African, Asian and Oceanic zone.[6]

Kang was ultimately chosen as one of 22 players for the World Cup team.[7][8] By the time of the World Cup, he had appeared for the national team 38 times, according to the Evening Telegraph.[4] At the World Cup, the North Korean team played their home games at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough, England, as part of Group 4 in the tournament which included the Soviet Union, Chile and Italy.[9] Projected as having little chance of success, the team lost their first match, 3–0 against the Soviet Union, before tying Chile 1–1.[9] Kang played all 90 minutes against the Soviet Union, but suffered a leg injury that left him inactive for the subsequent matches.[10][11] After Chile, the team then played against heavily-favored Italy to determine the qualifier to the next round.[12] In a massive upset, North Korea won 1–0 on a goal by Pak Doo-ik.[9][12] The team eventually lost 5–3 in the quarterfinals to Portugal.[9] Kang ended the World Cup with one appearance, playing 90 minutes.[7]

Later life

For the team's performance at the World Cup, all the players who appeared in a match were given the title of Merited Athlete, the second-highest honor for sportspeople in North Korea.[13] After the World Cup, it was rumored that the North Korean squad was imprisoned for celebrating the win over Italy in a bar; however, when interviewed in 2002, several players denied this.[14][15] In 2002, the surviving members of the 1966 North Korean World Cup team were interviewed for the documentary film The Game of Their Lives; Kang was deceased by this time.[13][16]

References

  1. ^ "World Cup 1966 national squads". Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Ryong-Woon Kang (Player)". National-Football-Teams.com.
  3. ^ a b Barham, Albert (January 6, 1966). "England are hosts to the elite". The Guardian. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ a b c d e "No squad better prepared than North Korea". Evening Telegraph. May 21, 1966. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ a b c "Wizard dribbler with strong shot". Evening Chronicle. June 23, 1966. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ "Han Bong Jin–he dribbles like Garrincha, shoots like Charlton". Liverpool Daily Post. July 8, 1966. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ a b "Kang Ryong-woon Stats". FBref.com.
  8. ^ "Meet The Twenty-Two Football Wizards From Pyongyang". Sunday Mirror. May 8, 1966. p. 39 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. ^ a b c d "When Middlesbrough hosted the 1966 World Cup Koreans". BBC. 15 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Kang Ryoung-woon 1966 Match Logs". FBref.com.
  11. ^ "Chile Aim To Put Korea In Cold". Western Daily Press. July 15, 1966. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b White, Jim (18 October 2002). "North Korea in town to relive game of their lives". The Guardian.
  13. ^ a b Chol-hwan, Kang (4 March 2001). "수용소에서 만난 축구영웅". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean).
  14. ^ Macleod, Calum (12 November 2001). "Korea boys of '66 are alive and kicking". The Independent.
  15. ^ Demic, Barbara (22 June 2002). "1966 World Cup Upstarts Absent but Not Forgotten". Los Angeles Times.
  16. ^ "북한 월드컵 8강주역들 영국 방문". NK Chosun (in Korean). 16 October 2002.
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kang_Ryong-woon