Soccer: Hosts' sad farewell to coach

TAEGU - South Korea's extraordinary World Cup run ended on a sad note yesterday as Turkey beat them 3-2 for third place and the hosts prepared to say goodbye to their coach and top striker.

Guus Hiddink is expected to move to a club in Europe - he has already been in touch with his former Dutch club PSV Eindhoven - after engineering an amazing turnaround for South Korea in 18 months as coach.

"I like to be on the pitch, I like to work on a daily basis with players," Hiddink said.

The co-hosts came within one game of the final after five previous World Cup appearances without winning a match.

They beat Poland, Portugal, Italy and Spain with fast, physical football to emerge as the best-ever side from Asia.

Striker Hwang Sun-hong is proud to have been part of a team who made history, but now he is to bow out of international soccer.

"I've said before that I'll retire. I am resolved to do so, but it still hurts," said Hwang, who missed the match because of a thigh injury.

South Korea's most dangerous forward for more than a decade, Hwang, 33, retires with 50 goals as Ahn Jung-hwan and others vie to fill his boots.

Lee Young-pyo, who added grit to the midfield and whose crosses from the left provided some of the best service the forwards received, said South Korea would be back.

"It would have been regrettable if it had been our last chance, but I'm sure there'll be more such chances in the future," Lee said.

"I hope this World Cup will be a stepping stone for Korean football."

Hakan Sukur hit the fastest goal in finals history after 11s and Ilhan Mansiz added two as Turkey clinched their memorable win.

The previous fastest goal, timed at 15s, was by former Czechoslovakia's Vaclav Masek in an opening-round game against Mexico in the 1962 finals in Chile.

Turkey only lost twice in the tournament, both times to finalists Brazil, in their opening match (2-1) and a tightly-contested semifinal (1-0).

They led 3-1 at halftime, with the Koreans' second goal coming in injury time.

* Turkey exploded with joy after the win, with thousands of supporters taking to the country's streets waving national flags, and politicians lining up to praise the team.

"Turkey, Turkey, you're the best," screamed fans as they gathered in Istanbul's main Taksim Square.

The roads of Turkish towns and cities, deserted during the match, were suddenly flooded with thousands of fans wearing T-shirts and caps in the national colours of red and white, yelling for joy or beeping their car horns.

Turkey's President Ahmet Necdet Sezer was quick to express his joy.

"The achievement of our national team has contributed to the promotion of our country and raised the sport to a higher level," he said.

Other political leaders declared the team's achievement to be "historic."

The team's performance injected a dose of optimism into a country battling an economic crisis and facing political instability.

Thousands of supporters are expected to greet the team when they fly into Istanbul's Ataturk airport today.

The players and team management will then drive through the city streets before arriving at Taksim Square, where a concert will be held.

* Belgium have won the Fair Play award for the cup.

Belgium, eliminated in the second round by Brazil, had only seven players booked in their four games and none sent off. Sweden finished second and Japan third.

Only teams that reached the knockout stages were eligible for the award.

* Germany's Oliver Kahn has been named the best goalkeeper of the cup.

The 33-year-old will receive the Yashin Award, named in honour of the late Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin, who starred at World Cups between 1958 and 1966.

Before the final against Brazil, Kahn had conceded just one goal in six matches, with Ireland's Robbie Keane the only player to beat him, in their group E match on June 5.

Fabien Barthez was judged best goalkeeper at the World Cup in his home country four years ago when France were world champions. Belgium's Michel Preud'homme won the first award in 1994.

* The final was watched by an estimated 1.5 billion people, giving it the biggest audience in television history, its Swiss broadcasters said.

"Accumulated for the 64 matches we expect more than 40 billion spectators," Host Broadcast Services' chief executive Francis Tellier said.

The figure for the final - about one-quarter of the planet's population - is easily the largest viewership for a single television programme, according to HBS.

- REUTERS

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