“You can see that the team has changed since I played my first game in March.”
What has Jürgen Klinsmann, 59, seen?
Klinsmann and the South Korean national soccer team played Wales to a 0-0 draw in an exhibition match at Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, England, on Aug. 8.
The result means Klinsmann’s quest for his first win will have to wait until another time. The national team hasn’t won a game since his appointment in March, drawing three and losing two in five matches.
It is the worst start for any South Korean national team manager in history. It’s been 31 years since South Korea implemented a full-time managerial system with Kim Ho in 1992, but no coach has ever failed to win their first five games in charge. Gus Hiddink got his first win in his fourth game, while Hong Myung-bo and Shin Tae-yong also picked up wins in their fifth games.
However, Klinsmann set an unwelcome new record by failing to win against Wales. It wasn’t just the result that was frustrating. “South Korea had more possession, but it was the home team Wales that had the better chances,” said the BBC, “South Korea’s captain Son Heung-min and Hwang In-beom shot from long range. It was Wales who had the best chance of winning this match.”
From the outset, the game was a directionless affair. There was none of the buildup that former coach Paulo Bento was known for. The colors of Bento were gone, but the colors of Klinsmann were nowhere to be seen.
In particular, the midfield was completely removed. The promised play of utilizing Hwang In-beom and Park Yong-woo to work from the waist down was hard to see. Kim Min-jae’s main route seemed to be a long pass to the front line. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a straightforward long ball tactic, but it wasn’t going to work against a Welsh defense with a tightly packed back five.
The only individual flashes of brilliance came from Son Heung-min. A frustrated Klinsmann brought on Hwang Hee-chan, Hwang Eui-jo, and Yang Hyun-joon in the second half, but nothing changed.
The team continued to play aimlessly, and the intermittent Welsh counterattacks left them vulnerable. It was a game that would have been lost if not for the luck of the opponent’s decisive header in the 20th minute. Korea’s record for the 90 minutes was a dismal 61% possession, 4 shots (including one that was blocked by the defense), 1 shot on target, and 0 shots in the box.
It’s all the more disappointing because it’s an all-time great. The Klinsmann’s roster is filled with European players such as Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Kim Min-jae (Munich), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), Cho Kyu-sung (Mitwylan), Oh Hyun-kyu, Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic), Hong Hyun-seok (Gent), Hwang In-beom (Zvezda), Hwang Eui-jo (Norwich), and Kim Ji-soo (Brentford).
It’s a roster that could be called the golden age of Korean soccer. Moreover, the overseas players were in great form last weekend as they swept the European stage. Captain Son Heung-min scored a hat trick, Hwang Hee-chan netted his second goal of the season, Hong Hyun-seok scored multiple goals, and Cho Kyu-sung picked up his first assist in Denmark. However, they were all silenced by the national team.
The fact that the opponent was Wales added to the disappointment. The Welsh are in a bit of a slump, with just one win in their last 13 games. On top of that, Rob Page was under fire as the Welsh were on the verge of missing out on Euro 2024 qualification. He even went so far as to say he didn’t want to play South Korea ahead of their crucial trip to Latvia, but even that was no match for Klinsmann.
Still, Klinsmann had plenty of time on his hands. Even in his post-match press conference, he spouted off words that were hard to understand. “It was a very good test for us,” he said, according to Sky Sports in the UK. I’m happy with what the players showed,” he said. 메이저사이트
Klinsmann went on to say, “Wales went with a back five and it was hard to break. We want to develop and grow as a team. Every game will help us.”
In conclusion, Klinsmann said: “These friendlies are the moments when you can try different things. You can see that the team has changed since I played my first game in March.”
It’s hard to argue with that statement. Klinsmann’s debut was a 2-2 draw with Colombia in March. Like the Wales game, the result was a draw, but the performance was better. There were some defensive lapses, but the basic buildup to the attack was different.
However, Klinsmann believes the team has changed since he took over. He wouldn’t have said that the team was getting worse, so it’s clear that something positive has changed. So what did Klinsmann see in the team’s frustrating performances?