the reactive South Korea is not only ready for counterattacks / Article

Son enjoys football, which allows him to fulfill his dream. He does not deny that he often feels the pressure caused by the sense of responsibility, but in such moments the footballer tries to think more about how to make his people happy. Son’s strongest attributes are an excellent shot with both feet and explosive speed. In the World Cup finals, Son will be the captain for the first time and he praises his teammates who all work as a united fist.

Embodying the joy of the game, Son lets you enjoy the performance of a true professional. The head coach of the South Korean national team, Paula Bentu, sees that the rest of the footballers also inherit the self-confidence from the captain and team leader. As a person, Son leads the team forward and also trains the most. In early November, he suffered a fractured orbital bone in the English Premier League game and underwent surgery, but the team is counting on him to return to the lineup.

Bentu took the helm of the South Korean national team in August 2018 and he praises the Koreans for their very strict work ethic. At the start of the World Cup qualification cycle, fans in Korea had their doubts about Bent, as he had not previously achieved significant success in China. Bentu’s self-doubt was erased right in the qualification. He created a very positive atmosphere in the national team, although the fact that the team is trying to get to the World Cup for the tenth time in a row put an additional burden of responsibility on his shoulders. It was important to secure a place in the final tournament in time.

“When I arrived, it was a team where there were gifted players, especially in attack,” recalls Bentu of the beginning of his work in the South Korean national team. “I would have chosen the fast players more often, especially in attack. They often played too patiently and tried to catch the opponents on the counter-attack.”

Under the leadership of Bentu, the national team tries not to lose the Korean style by relying on fast and technical footballers who are very effective in counter-attacks, but the team is also able to play ball control football.

Defender Kim Minjae, who is considered to be the next big star in the national team, often tends to leave his position on the field, and then he has to move along with the entire defensive line. This is Bentu’s tactic for the joint movement of players. Bentu also expects Minjae to join the attack when the opportunity and need arise.

South Korea’s opponents in the World Cup group are two attacking teams – Portugal and Uruguay, known to everyone for their world-class strikers Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani. This makes the role of defenders even more important, and Minjae will be a decisive factor.

The lively and reliable Hwan Hee-chan is also an important player in the team, as well as the midfielder Hwan In-bom, who played a huge role in the qualification. As a creative footballer, Inbom has stepped into a position that became vacant when Ki Sun-jen retired from the national team a couple of years ago.

The Koreans expect that Ghana, which has no shortage of talented footballers, will also be a tough opponent in the group. Bentu believes that there are two clear favorites in the group – in addition to Uruguay, also his native Portugal, the match against which will not be easy emotionally. Bentu will lead the team for the first time in the match against Portugal, and the coach is counting on a unique experience to come.

As a football player, Bentu played 35 games for the national team, the last of them in 2002 in the World Cup final directly against South Korea. Portugal lost 0-1 and went home.

“It didn’t end well for us Portuguese, I won’t deny that,” admitted Bentu. “The complete opposite was the experience of the Koreans. Both of us went to the last game with hopes of advancing, we [portugāļi] we didn’t do it and it was my last game for the Portuguese national team. After the World Cup, I decided to end my career in the national team.”

Exactly 20 years later, Bentu returns to the World Cup finals as South Korea’s coach.

Koreans still remember the 2002 finals, which took place in their homeland and in Japan. Korea reaching the semi-finals was like a big explosion and the whole country wore the red color of the national team at that time.

“The people, the players and the national team, everyone became one. 2002 made me realize what the World Cup final really is,” Hongmin Son admitted. In a way, it opened the door for me to achieve my dream, just because the tournament was in Korea.”

The South Korean footballers have no doubt that they will be supported in Qatar as well, and this inspires both rookies and more experienced players. Son emphasized that few fans believed in the team’s ability to beat Germany in the 2018 tournament, and unpredictability is one of the reasons why everyone loves football.

Captain Son will be a key player for the team. In the selection, he allowed the national team to safely qualify for the final tournament with seven goals.

However, despite being in the finals regularly since 1986, the South Koreans have only made it out of the group twice. In 2002, South Korea reached the semi-finals as hosts and in 2010 they reached the round of 16.

Bentu is the man the team wants to repeat those achievements with. He will be in the World Cup for the second time as a coach – in his debut, Bentu coached his native Portugal in 2014. Playing against his homeland, Bentu will lead the team at the end of the group stage, while South Korea, coached by him, will play its first match in the World Cup final against Uruguay on November 24.

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