By Damo Baresi - 7 Jan 2015 10:17 AM
North Korea shrouded in secrecy upon arrival in Sydney for the Asian Cup
January 6, 2015 - 9:22PM
Dominic Bossi
Sports reporter
All that 10-year-old Jayden Cook wanted were photos and signatures from players of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He rushed to the squad with his Macarthur Rams jersey, armed with a black felt pen and a smile. They were international footballers, that's all he knew.
But the boy from Campbelltown quickly learnt these footballers seemed to have less freedom than he did, as the players were quickly ushered away by stern team officials less than a minute later.
The most secretive nation at this year's Asian Cup will remain as such for at least another three days, with North Korea refusing to speak to media upon their arrival in Sydney and ruling out any interaction outside of official and mandated media conferences.
There was little more than a polite wave and the odd smile from the players as they arrived at their hotel near Circular Quay to a reception of indigenous dancers and musicians. There was barely a pause from the players as they walked on Australian soil for the first time and past a performance representing a culture most knew nothing about.
Officials wearing suits decorated with badges of their flag, workers' party and, of course, "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-un, tightly guarded the players for their brief public appearance upon arrival. There were smiles in front of the cameras but the players were not allowed to embrace the occasion any more than what was already unavoidable.
All players wore team uniforms without names, squad numbers, sponsors or logos. Every player wore the same model of green and black sport shoes and all had matching haircuts with no quirks of modern fashion.
A team minder refused to allow any players or coach to speak to the media and ruled out any public interaction outside of what is required by the Asian Football Confederation. The English-speaking media official, whose western-style polo shirt sported a badge of Kim Jong-un on the breast, was asked of the team's expectations this tournament. His response: "To win every game." And that's probably what his countrymen back home will be told by their Ministry of Information.
As far as the North Korean public knows, this team arrived in Australia as the reigning world champions after beating Portugal in the final of the 2014 World Cup. On their way to the "title", the heavily censored government television informed citizens their side had cruised through their group, defeating China 2-0, the US 4-0 and hammering neighbours Japan 7-0.
North Korea failed to qualify for the last World Cup and didn't even reach the final round of qualification.
While the players will remain closely guarded and secluded from the public until Friday's pre-match media conference at the earliest, their first opponents will be familiar with their on-field character. Uzbekistan face North Korea in Sydney on Saturday night and are expecting a close and low-scoring match. The two nations played twice in the qualification process for the 2014 World Cup, with Uzbekistan winning 1-0 both home and away. Defender Anzur Ismailov expects little to change at ANZ Stadium.
"They're a very tough team, they're really close, they play from defence. If we score one goal it will be good for us," he said.
The two nations form what is closest to a "group of death", having been drawn alongside Saudi Arabia and China to form what is expected to be the most evenly contested group.The White Wolves were unlucky not to have sealed direct qualification to the 2014 World Cup after losing to second-placed South Korea by one goal differential. However, the Uzbeks fancy their chances of progressing unscathed through the group stages and have set a goal of reaching the final to atone for that disappointment.
"We hope we're going to qualify from the group and we want to go to the final and then we will see who is the best," defender Vitaliy Denisov said.
Uzbekistan are unlikely to have the support of a travelling contingent of fans after many were said to have struggled to obtain travel visas to Australia.
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/afc-asian-cup/north-korea-shrouded-in-secrecy-upon-arrival-in-sydney-for-the-asian-cup-20150106-12it68.html
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By scotty21 - 15 Jan 2015 1:56 PM
lolitsbigmic wrote:scotty21 wrote:MvFCArsenal16.8 wrote:scotty21 wrote:Last night was the debut of the The Pyongyang Pozan!
Kim Jung Un Ole Ole Ole.
Edited by scotty21: 15/1/2015 10:41:39 AM :lol: pity seccos trying to ruin the fun They gave up on trying to stop the Pyongyang Poznan once it stretched into 3 bays. Edited by scotty21: 15/1/2015 11:15:47 AM I would love to see what the north korean media thought of it, the propaganda they could make from this asian cup would be golden. "Millions of Australians paid homage to our glorious leader in supporting our world champion team defeating saudi arabia 13-0."
This!
Who needs a huge government bankrolled propaganda machine when you have 300 Aussie blokes taking the piss.
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