The Koreans are coming

South Korean international Kim Kun Hoan has spent the last 5 years in the J-League

The eagerly-awaited pre-season friendly with a difference for Phnom Penh Crown, has been confirmed for Sunday 9 December, at the Olympic Stadium, with a 3.15pm kick-off and will be screened live on Apsara TV (TV11). The opponents are a team of South Korean professional players, playing under the banner of Korea All Stars Union FC, and all of them perform for clubs in the top echelon of the Korean and Japanese Leagues. This standard of player has not been seen in Cambodia before, as the only Korean team we are accustomed to is one of the University also-rans, Ulsan University, who have played the Cambodian national team a few times. This touring team will be considerably better than them. Heading their player roster will be 26-year-old, 6ft 4 inch defender Kim Kun Hoan who played in the 2008 Olympics and made his senior debut for the Korean national team against Oman. He has played in the J-League for the past five years with Yokohama Mariners, Montedio Yamagata and currently, Sagan Tosu, who finished 5th in the J-League last season. Four of the visiting squad play in the J-League, with the remainder all performing in the top league in Korea, rated as the best domestic competition in all of Asia. The visitors, who have all played for the Korean university national team where they developed a bond of friendship that has brought them on tour to Cambodia, will arrive on 7 December, train the following afternoon and then head to Sihanoukville for a few days R&R after the match before heading home and the start of their domestic season in March. Tickets for the match cost 4,000Riel to sit in the main grandstand. Crown will wear red, the All Stars will wear white.