Ticker-tape parade by Korean team

Diehard ‘Red Devil’ fans lined the streets of Seoul on Tuesday evening for a ticker-tape parade by the South Korea soccer squad wh...

Diehard ‘Red Devil’ fans lined the streets of Seoul on Tuesday evening for a ticker-tape parade by the South Korea soccer squad whose spirited fourth-place finish at the World Cup set new standards for football in Asia.

The Seoul thoroughfare that millions of euphoric fans turned into a sea of red jerseys during the tournament took centre stage again as rock bands, an opera diva and fireworks were set to replace football on large outdoor screens.

Police said they expected about 50,000 fans at the main Kwanghwamoon intersection to greet a motorcade carrying Dutch coach Guus Hiddink and his 23 players. A huge poster of Hiddink and the team on a building overlooking the parade route read: ‘‘We will always remember you.’’ President Kim Dae-jung said the World Cup was ‘‘like a dream’’ in a speech delivered on Tuesday after returning from Yokohama where he had joined Japan’s Emperor Akihito to watch Sunday’s World Cup final.

‘‘As a co-host, we were concerned that we might not make it to the last 16, but we advanced to the last eight and then the last four. It was like a dream,’’ Kim said.

Story continues below this ad

‘‘I’m so proud of Hiddink and our soccer players,’’ Kim said in a speech that mixed World Cup happiness with a stern warning over a weekend naval battle with North Korean forces that cost four South Korean sailors’ lives and wounded 19.

Under Hiddink, South Korea produced fast, physical football that galvanised the nation with police estimating 22 million fans took part in street celebrations during the team’s matches.

A statement from the presidential Blue House said Hiddink would be awarded honorary citizenship and the country’s top Order of Sport Merit medal. Players were to receive the same medal but one level lower.

The co-hosts’ dream run came within one game of the final after wins over Poland, Portugal, Italy and Spain. They were stunning victories for a squad that entered the tournament ranked 40th in the world and was winless in five previous finals dating back to 1954.

(Reuters)