Poor South Korea. Get blitzed 5-0 by France in the Confederations Cup opener, making Japan feel a whole lot better about life after Philippe Troussier's boys lost by the same score in Paris on March 25. Go out of the tournament on goal difference, while Japan finish top of Group B following wins over Canada and Cameroon and a 0-0 draw with Brazil.
To make matters worse, Japan went on to defeat Australia 1-0 in the semifinals before losing 1-0 (yawn) to France in last Sunday's final at International Stadium Yokohama. And just when the South Koreans thought things couldn't possibly deteriorate further, along comes whinge-bag Frank Leboeuf, moaning about everything from traffic jams to kimchi-flavored sports drinks (OK, I made that bit up).
"We had a nightmare with the traffic in South Korea. Before the Brazil (semifinal), we were stuck on the team bus for nearly two hours. They'll have to fix that before next year," said the Chelsea defender. Food for thought for South Korea before the country cohosts the 2002 World Cup with Japan.