When it was announced in February that Jürgen Klinsmann would take over as head coach of the South Korean national soccer team, there were more concerns than expectations, especially from the media. It was pointed out that Klinsmann had not been in charge for three years, and there were concerns that he lacked tactical training from his previous coaching stints. Some media outlets criticized Klinsmann, saying, “The KFA should be the first to install a social media (SNS) application,” referring to his resignation announcement on Facebook.
In his first press conference, Klinsmann refuted the controversy point by point. He responded that despite his absence as a coach, he remained on the ground by serving on the FIFA Technical Study Group, and that he focused on physical training, not tactics, according to the team’s situation. He also showed his maturity by admitting that he made a mistake and apologizing for the SNS controversy.스포츠토토
South Korea national soccer team coach Jürgen Klinsmann (center) explains tactics to players at the Busan Asiad main stadium on Friday, ahead of an exhibition match against Peru. Busan=News1
But coaches are supposed to show results. Klinsmann, who has yet to win an A-match in charge of South Korea, will be looking for his first. The team will face Peru (ranked 21st in the FIFA rankings) at the Busan Asiad Stadium on the 16th. On the 20th, they will face El Salvador (ranked 75th) in an exhibition match at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium.
In the first two matches, Klinsmann showed his colors and allayed fears. In his first A match, Klinsmann wowed the fans with his fiery attacking style of play. Against Colombia, he utilized Son Heung-min (Tottenham), who had been struggling for his country, to earn a 2-2 draw. The same was true in the second game against Uruguay, where they lost 1-2.
The 23-man squad has been dubbed the first Klinsmann squad. For the two A matches against Colombia and Uruguay in March, Klinsmann filled the roster with players who played at the World Cup in Qatar, so this squad will have a distinct Klinsmann flavor.
The pressure is on. The team will have to play without Son “Cha” Heung-min and Kim “Po” Min-jae in the A-Match. Son underwent surgery for a sports hernia, while Kim has been in military training for 15 days.
“He’s hoping to play,” Klinsmann said of Son, “but he’ll be on the bench, but we’ll see.” “Even if Son Heung-min is out, we have Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), who has grown a lot since the last A match,” he said. “We are discussing long-term Plan B and Plan C using Oh Hyun-gyu (Celtic), who has been traveling with us since the first season.”
There will also be changes in the defense line. Not only Kim Min-jae, but also Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan) was unable to join the national team due to a hamstring injury. “I hope Kim Min-jae will be able to join us for the A match in September after completing his military training,” said Klinsmann. “There were many unexpected changes in the defense line, but I hope that the new players, including Won Doo-jae (Gimcheon) and Park Ji-soo (Portimonense), who were checked on site, will prove their skills.”
Goalkeeper Kim Seung-kyu (Al-Shabaab), who has been temporarily given the captain’s armband, will have to work with the new defense to help Klinsmann’s Masugirls win. “I will be nervous and focused on the game because they are all excellent players,” said Kim. “There are a lot of changes in the defense line, but we need to do well in times like this to gain confidence for the next game, so I am determined to keep a clean sheet.”
“The most important thing for the national team is consistency,” Klinsmann said. “We only play a few A matches a year, but we will try to keep playing well.”