Ian Porterfield Interview
John Duerden reports on a new icon in Busan
It's a long way from South Yorkshire to South Korea. When Ian Porterfield
embarked on his managerial career in Rotherham in 1979, little did
he know that a quarter of a century later he would be enjoying his
life on the south coast of this small country. The journey has been
a convoluted one, stops at Sheffield United, Aberdeen, Reading,
Chelsea, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Bolton, Oman, Trinidad and Tobago, are
testament to that. His journey started at Millmoor but one senses
there is still more to come from the talkative Scot.
Soccerphile caught up with him in a plush hotel lobby overlooking
the beach area that he now calls home.
Soccerphile: Why did Chris Marsden leave?
Ian Porterfield: I don't want to go into any great detail
at this moment in time. I'm sad and disappointed. He had been at
Busan for only a short period of time and his wife had been here
for a short period of time. Before they came, we invited his wife,
agent and himself to see everything that Busan had to offer - where
we play, all the people involved with the club, the schooling etc.
We pushed the boat out because we're not a wealthy club and it was
hard for us to convince the player contract-wise to come here for
2 years. They went back home and decided after a week or ten days
that they wanted to come.
Everyone was very pleased that he'd come to the club.
I was quite surprised that he decided just to leave. I'd have hoped
that he would have waited to the end of the stage, sat down and
discussed it. If that had happened, everyone would have seen it
differently. The club is disappointed. However, in football these
things happen. It's all about handling players and making the right
decisions.
Soccerphile: Why did you decide to come to Busan?
Ian Porterfield: Mr Chong the owner, was looking for a coach
to come to Busan Icons and I think that he'd gone to five different
countries. I couldn't meet him in London but suddenly I managed
to come out here and speak to him. I was so impressed with the man
and the type of person he was. I saw the club and I came here (to
Haeundae Beach), I was absolutely amazed at what I'd seen. Well,
I was sure that my wife would enjoy it here and it has worked out
well for us.
Soccerphile: What did you know of Korea and Korean football
before you came here?
Ian Porterfield: The Far East was an area that I hadn't been
to too much. My aim was to come to Korea for the World Cup with
Trinidad and Tobago. The Trinidad and Tobago National Team did so
well for such a small country of 1.3 million. We went through all
the qualifying games, then went through the 1st round, 2nd round,
all the individual games until the last, last bit. We were just
a little bit short and missed the boat. It'd always been a dream
that I'd had and I'd missed out going to the World Cup by one point
with Zambia and I just missed out again with Trinidad and Tobago
to come to Korea and I haven't been disappointed.
Soccerphile: Have you been disappointed with the difference
between the passion shown during the World Cup and the poor attendances
that Busan attract?
Ian Porterfield: Yes but the K-League here has only been
going for 20 years. It started amateur and it's getting very professional
now. It's growing very quickly. I think that the World Cup created
such an interest and many people in Korea started to go and watch
the teams - whether it be in Seoul, Busan or Chonbuk. I think that
where they let themselves down was the fact that once the World
Cup finished, everything stopped. I think that there is great potential
here for football. It proved the potential that the team could have
when it went to 4th in the world -that was a great achievement.
There's a lot of good players here. The football needs better development
and better structure, I've been trying very hard to emphasize this
idea to Busan I'cons since I came. If football's going to grow here,
we've got to get football in the community.
My job is to let people know that we have a football team here.
When I first came to Busan and met people, no-one knew that there
was a football team here.
Soccerphile: It's a huge city as well.
Ian Porterfield: Of course, we've got over 4 million people.
There are many ideas that I would like to put in place and try to
help to build the club and make it better. The people out there
have got to support their team like they do in some other parts
of the world.
There's no reason why this country can't do the same. It will take
time but it's possible. I think that if a system was put in place
of football in the community, what you would get are not only players
for your club but supporters for your club.
What I would like for Busan is for the I'cons to grow and be the
family team.
I think that one of the reasons that we don't get good gates is
that we play in the World Cup Stadium way over outside of town.
It's very difficult to get there, no train service and it takes
a long time by bus. This is a big disadvantage to the people here.
The old stadium, there's been talk about even moving back because
the crowds are so poor.
Soccerphile: Is playing in Busan World Cup Stadium with
its 56,000 capacity a handicap?
Ian Porterfield: That's very true. In Suwon, Seoul and Chunnam,
all compact stadiums, nice and tight, our performances have been
wonderful. I certainly agree that if we had a more compact stadium,
it would be a big help, a better atmosphere. We had 23,000 people
at our first game (this season) but the stadium looked less than
half full. The atmosphere is not there as the people are too far
away because we have the running track. Hopefully, one day, I gather
Mr.Chong is planning our own stadium. I don't know when this will
happen but I think that it would be a good thing, a good arena so
that people can come to the game quite easily. There's good excitement
for them to come as a family, a family day out, a family occasion
and they're all Busan I'cons supporters.
Soccerphile: It's interesting that with all this talk about
football in the community that there was a lot of talk recently
about Busan I'cons moving to Seoul. Was that serious?
Ian Porterfield: When this story came out, it was quite amazing
because we were preparing for the new season and we were in Hong
Kong playing two games against the Kuwaiti National Team.
My wife called me and was really worried, she said: 'We are moving
to Seoul, it's all over TV.' In all honesty it was a good marketing
exercise. I was very happy that the I'cons stayed in Busan.
I think that this was a message to the people here. I recall that
we wanted to use the stadium. Our clubhouse is only 18 months old,
since I came here. We only have two pitches that were in a little
bit of a mess. We wanted to use the main stadium and the second
pitch at the stadium. I think that there were some people on the
Busan council who said: 'You can't use it.' I'm not certain, this
was what I heard.
In between times, the Korean Olympic team was training on the pitch
regularly. We are the team in Busan and though we all want the team
to do well and they've qualified for Athens and that's wonderful
but this is our city and Busan I'cons is the city's team. Since
that situation came about, maybe a few people have sat up and took
notice and offered more help and support which is very much needed.
At the end of the day, it was never going to happen. That was my
thought.
Soccerphile: What do you think about the K-League reverting
back to the two-stage season?
Ian Porterfield: That's been done because of the Olympic
Games and the World Cup qualifiers. I think that maybe it's too
little football and football fans would like to see a bit more football.
I was surprised that they made it so short - 12 games (each stage).
I thought that maybe they could have made it 36 games. In between
they could have the cup competition.
The World Cup and Olympic Qualifiers were very important to the
country. I think that the publicity that Korea got from the World
Cup was incredible so obviously they want to keep it going.
It's a disadvantage however; it's not the best way. Possibly for
teams with small squads like Busan, Daejeon, Daegu and Bucheon it's
useful because we don't have the resources of say Suwon, Pohang,
Ulsan-teams with more money, Seoul FC. It's going to be better for
us because we play fewer games. Last season was very tough on my
club, we were playing three games a week with a small squad of players
and it was hard.
Soccerphile: There have been some surprises this season,
not least Champions Seongnam's poor form, why do you think they
are doing so badly?
Ian Porterfield: I think that they let four players move
to Incheon, obviously there's been some change there. I think it's
good for football that not one team continues to win the league.
Because of fewer games this year, every game is a cup final. You
can win two games and you're in the top half and lose a couple and
you're in the bottom half. The league this season is wide open for
a lot of teams. Clubs like Seoul, Suwon, Incheon and Chonbuk - the
money these clubs are spending you'd expect to be successful. I
would love to have the budget that these people have, it would make
my job a lot easier. Our club is not in that position. I have no
complaints; we are going in the right direction. We are laying a
foundation and I hope that we keep improving in my time as coach
here.
Soccerphile: What would be a successful season for Busan?
What would you be satisfied with?
Ian Porterfield: When I came here, we probably had as poor
a squad as anybody in the league. We won 13 games last season and
finished 4th from bottom, the season before we finished 2nd bottom.
We've progressed - the team is far, far better now in many areas
but we've still improvements to make. I would hope that we can continue
playing well throughout the first phase of the season and maybe
even improve the team a little for the second phase and do well
in that. Hopefully, we can improve steadily, I don't think that
you can snap a magic wand and go from the bottom, where we were,
to the top in a short period of time.
Soccerphile: Are there any Korean players you have seen
that you immediately thought that they would do well in England
or Europe?
Ian Porterfield: There are a lot of good players here that
can do well. I think the big disadvantage that they've got here
is that they develop very late in their career. In Korea, education
is everything, university studies, so players develop a lot later
than in the UK and I think it's a big disadvantage. I've got a young
goalkeeper, Kim Yong-dae, 23, I believe that if he could go to a
good English club that he could do very well. He's got the potential
to be an outstanding goalkeeper. It gives me great satisfaction
to see how he's developed since I came here. He wasn't even the
first choice keeper when I came here and now he's second choice
to the lad up at Suwon (Lee Woon-jae) in the national team.
There are a lot of good players here but the late development hinders
them. It's quite hard for people to go to the English Premier League
and the big leagues in Europe. That's why they take a hop, skip
and a jump to Japan because they don't get the necessary opportunities.
When you go to the Premier League, you've got to get an apprenticeship,
you need that little bit of experience. You've got players of 26,
27 who are babies as far as experience with other people.
Soccerphile: But it's a big gamble to leave school at 16
to concentrate on football in Korea.
Ian Porterfield: That's right but why? Sixty years ago, Korea
was as underdeveloped as most African countries. Argue? It's true.
Now, it's one of the most forward-looking economies in the world.
Education is very important but when you analyze the way football
goes in this part of the world-it doesn't work.
Kids are studying all hours of the day here - morning, noon and
night. Other countries have education as well as it can be done.
Football and education can go together. The KFA should look at,
a perfect example. Now France is developing more players than England,
Spain etc. The national team won the World Cup and the Euro Championships
with a population not much bigger than Korea. It can be done and
I tried to encourage this when I was involved in African football.
In fact before I left Trinidad and Tobago, I wanted to lay a structure
to develop football straight through and it would have worked.
Soccerphile: Would you be interested in the Korean National
job?
Ian Porterfield: I love my job at Busan, I want to make a
go of this club. I loved being a National coach and had great satisfaction
from taking Zambia to 18th in the world from sixty something. I
took Trinidad and Tobago from sixty something to 24th/25th. I am
very proud of my achievements. The future - who knows? What will
be, will be. I am ambitious, my life is football, my love is football.
I am committed to Busan I'cons but tomorrow's another day.
There may be a few more Korean tomorrows as there have been suggestions
of a contract extension. For enthusiasm alone, the manager of Busan
deserves some success and who knows? He could achieve his dream
at managing in the World Cup with Korea.
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