7 Aug 2008(Thu)

August 4, 2008: Kashiwa Reysol have had some cracking Koreans over the years, none more so than the Holy Trinity of Hong Myung Bo, Yoo Sang Chul and Hwang Sun Hong.

Choi Sung Kuk, however, is not on the list of successes, as he played only eight times in a short, unhappy stint during Reysol's relegation season of 2005.

So maybe he felt he had something to prove in the JOMO Cup on Saturday, when the K-Allstars crushed the J-Allstars 3-1 at Kokuritsu in the revamped summer festival.

Choi scored a lovely opening goal for the K-League team and set up the third in a move that told the story of the match, and highlighted the difference between the two teams on the day.

Even though the Koreans had just gone 2-0 up and could have been excused for sitting back, see how central defender Kim Chi Gon pounced so swiftly to intercept a Japanese move and play the ball out to Choi on the right wing.

Choi galloped into the open prairie, the J.League defence scattered, and timed his pass to perfection to pick out Edu, who confidently chipped the ball over Narazaki with his left foot for 3-0. Game over.

I must admit I was surprised I enjoyed this match so much.

The old format was a crashing bore, an allstar snooze fest, and a match the players would have preferred to skip.

J-East against J-West belonged on the J-Scrapheap, along with extra time, golden goals, penalty shootouts and a two-stage system full of flaws.

But full credit to the J.League and the K-League in coming up with a formula to justify the expenditure of the sponsor, Japan Energy Corporation.

It was a tough, competitive game, with tackles flying in and a few running battles going on as the match developed.

In short, it was a proper football match, and the occasion was lifted by the noisy support of the Koreans in a crowd of 27,629.

Yes, the two professional leagues could be on to something good here, and MVP Choi was already talking about his desire to play in next year's match.

Although his J.League stay in 2005 was brief, the 25-year-old midfielder was laughing all the way to the bank on his latest trip to Japan with his prize money of 1 million yen and his new Mercedes-Benz.

By all accounts he is keen to have another go in the J.League, and his performance will not have gone unnoticed by the club scouts on Saturday.

I liked the big defender, Lee Jung Soo, who started at right back and moved to left back, and picked up a yellow card for a crunching tackle on Mu Kanazaki three minutes from time.

ends