Rewind: Korea beat Japan to take bronze at London Olympics

Football

Published: 09 Aug. 2022, 15:20

Rewind: Korea beat Japan to take bronze at London Olympics

The Korean national football team celebrates after beating Japan 2-0 in the bronze-medal match at the 2012 London Olympics at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Aug. 10, 2012. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Ten years ago, on Aug. 10, 2012, Korea became just the second Asian nation ever to win an Olympic men’s football medal, beating local rivals Japan 2-0 in a bronze-medal match at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Park Chu-young, at the time a striker for Arsenal, was the star on the day, putting the Korean side ahead in the 38th minute. Koo Ja-cheol, the Taeguk Warriors’ captain for the tournament, added goal No. 2 to carry Korea over Japan and on to the 2012 London Olympics podium.

Korea had arrived in the bronze medal match after taking second place in the group stage with one win and two draws. The Taeguk Warriors managed a 2-1 win over Switzerland, but settled for 0-0 draws against Mexico, who went on to top the group, and Gabon.

Park Chu-young scores the opener for Korea in the bronze-medal match against Japan at the 2012 London Olympics at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Aug. 10, 2012. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

That second-place finish earned Korea a spot in the quarterfinals, where they beat hosts Great Britain on a penalty shootout after playing to a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes.

That 5-4 penalty win carried the Taeguk Warriors through to the semifinals, where they were handed their first loss of the tournament — down 3-0 against Brazil.

But that semifinals loss set up what was guaranteed to be a very exciting bronze-medal playoff, pitching Korea against long-term rivals Japan on Aug. 10.

Japan, who had not conceded a single goal before their semifinal loss to Mexico, struggled to string together a solid defense in the face of a feisty Korean offensive.

Park Chu-young celebrates after scoring the opener for Korea in the bronze-medal match against Japan at the 2012 London Olympics at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Aug. 10, 2012. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Park’s goal perfectly exposed those defensive weaknesses, picking up a long ball in space and then turning to fire a low shot past the Japanese goalkeeper.

The second goal was even more of a defensive nightmare, with Koo picking up a huge kick from Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong and firing it into the bottom corner.

From the Japanese side, captain Maya Yoshida looked to have got one back for the Sumarai Blue, only for his headed to be disallowed due to a foul on Jung.

Koo Ja-cheol scores Korea's second goal in the bronze-medal match against Japan at the 2012 London Olympics at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Aug. 10, 2012. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The rivalry between the two teams was not only visible in front of the goal. It was a very physical game, with Ki Sung-yueng, Oh Jae-suk and Koo all booked for fouls on Japan’s Yuki Otsu within the first 30 minutes. Japan responded with plenty of technical fouls of their own, with a total of seven yellow cards between the two teams by the end of the game.

But long before the final whistle blew it was clear Japan had no answer for the Korean onslaught, leaving Japan — the only other Asian team to win an Olympic football medal — to settle for third place while the Taeguk Warriors headed for the podium.

Korea celebrated the victory as if they’d won gold, and although the color of the medal may have been a bit duller, the impact appeared to be largely the same. The Taeguk Warriors returned home as conquering heroes, having firmly staked out Korea’s spot at the competitive end of the international stage.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]