While England's Red Devils are Manchester United and Europe's the Belgian national team, in Asia the name refers solely to the supporters' club of the Korea Republic national team.

At the FIFA World Cup™ they co-hosted four years ago, Korea's fans took to their cities' streets and stadiums in their tens of thousands, more than living up to their '12th man' slogan. This enormous groundswell of support, coupled with the tactical nous of then coach Guus Hiddink, played a decisive role in the Taeguk Warriors' triumphant march to the semi-finals.

Go to the Korea Republic team page

Early days
The story of the South Korean Red Devils now stretches back over a decade. In late 1995, fans around the country - networking by means of online discussion boards - agreed that the national team was in need of a countrywide supporters' organisation. A club was duly formed, and it began to gather momentum in the spring of 1997 when its members appeared en masse and in a unified group at the qualifiers for France 98. It was in August of that year that the club officially adopted the 'Red Devils' signature.

Though a strange choice at first glance, the name dates back to the FIFA World Youth Championship Mexico 1983, when Korea Republic's heroics in reaching the last four saw them dubbed the 'Red Furies' in the international press. In choosing a similar name a decade later, the supporters hoped that the senior team could emulate the achievements of their younger compatriots.

For all their current popularity, the Red Devils received a less than enthusiastic reception when they first appeared. The country might have returned to democracy by the 1990s, but the 'red complex' that had troubled the nation for so many years was slow to disappear. The Taeguk Warriors wore white and blue at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, and it was not until the 1998 finals in France that the national team returned to their now-famous red shirts. It was probably no coincidence that, by this time, the growing band of Red Devils was an increasingly familiar sight in the stadiums back home.

Though only on a small scale, the Red Devils provided passionate support for the national side at Lyon's Gerland Stadium, Marseille's Velodrome and the Parc des Princes in Paris. One draw and two defeats might have offered a meagre return for their backing - and ensured a first-round exit - but it did not diminish the fervour and commitment of the Red Devils. This tidal wave of support swelled further at the AFC Asian Games in Bangkok later that year, and was carried over to the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

A new fan culture
With the 2002 FIFA World Cup on home soil, it was the perfect stage for the Red Devils – and it was also to prove their crowning glory. Prior to the event, the national team had never won a game at a FIFA World Cup finals but their 2-0 triumph over Poland in their first match was the cue for a nationwide outbreak of football fever, with hundreds of thousands of fans pouring into the city centres, proudly sporting their red t-shirts. With momentum building with every game, the Red Devils began providing more systematic support, supplying cards at stadia to form giant flags and messages in the stands.

In the second-round match against Italy, which the Taeguk Warriors edged 2-1 in extra time, the Red Devils unveiled a massive banner with the message '1966 Again' - a reference to their northern Korean neighbours' shock 1-0 victory over the Italians at the 1966 FIFA World Cup. The rest, of course, is history, and the home support was again a crucial factor in Korea's unforgettable quarter-final victory over Spain, though not even the collective will of the entire nation could prevent them going down 1-0 to Germany in the semi-finals.

The Red Devils were not finished yet, however, and put on another amazing spectacle ahead of their team's ultimately unsuccessful bid to claim third place at the expense of Turkey. This time the banner in the stands simply read 'CU@K-League', showing the Devils' intent to take their fervent support into the country's domestic league.

Now, four years on - their numbers reduced but their passion intact - the Red Devils are quietly preparing for Germany. They have set up camp in Leipzig, where Korea Republic take on France in their second Group G match and, bolstered by a sizeable immigrant community based in Germany, they will doubtless provide their team with louder and more visible support than they managed in France.

As for the Warriors themselves, their aim in Germany will be to prove that their fourth-place finish in 2002 was down to skill and determination, not luck or the benefits of home advantage. However, no matter what fate befalls Dick Advocaat's men this summer in Frankfurt, Leipzig and Hanover, one thing is certain: their faithful Red Devils will be willing them on every step of the way.