PSV Eindhoven will see their Champions League quarterfinal counterparts Olympique Lyon again in South Korea on July 20, as both are drawn into Group A of the Peace Cup tournament, which will be played July 15-24.

Suwon, Kyonggi Province was picked to be the battlefield for the rematch of the top teams of the Netherlands and France. South Korea’s Seongnam Chunma were also drawn in the same group, and will play against PSV in the opening match at Seoul World Cup Stadium on July 15.

Led by former South Korean national team manager Guus Hiddink, PSV beat Lyon after a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals of the Champions League earlier this month. South Korean internationals Lee Young-pyo and Park Ji-sung contributed to the win by playing full minutes in both home and away games. 
This is not the first time for the two clubs to meet in South Korea. In 2003, PSV defeated Lyon 1-0 with Mark van Bommel’s penalty in the rain-soaked final match of the inaugural Peace Cup event.

``We didn’t expect to play against each other again in this competition,’’ said PSV’s press officer Pedro Salazar-Hewitt after the drawing ceremony held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul on Thursday. ``We are becoming friends recently because we see each other so much during the year. But we hope we get the same result from last time.’’

Lyon’s press official Olivier Blanc agreed that they are building a special friendship with PSV, but looked less positive.

``It was very exciting two years ago. And the result of today’s draw is also exciting, but I have to admit that we will have a tough time,’’ Blanc said through an interpreter. ``We saw that PSV are a very strong team a few weeks ago. And we found that the Korean team was hard to beat last time.’’

Along with hosts Seongnam, eight clubs from all over the world are divided into two groups. Each team will play three games in the group stage, with top-placed teams meeting in the final match.

PSV earned a seed in Group A as the winner of 2003’s event, and rest of the participants were grouped by continents, with each group having two European teams and one South American side.

The Peace Cup was started in 2003 by Chunma and their owner, Sun Moon Foundation, following the success of the 2002 World Cup in South Korea.

The organizers said that they are planning to arrange tour packages for foreign fans who want to visit South Korea to see the games, and is also negotiating for the broadcasting rights in Japan and Southeast Asia.

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