Klinsmanho, who shouted ‘aggressive football’, one ‘homework’ left by the Colombia match
- allforyouclick
- 0
- on Mar 26, 2023
Scoring is important for victory, but it is also important not to concede that much.
The Korean national soccer team, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, drew 2-2 against Colombia in the ‘Hana Bank Invitational National Soccer Team Friendly Match’ held at Ulsan Munsu Soccer Stadium at 8:00 pm on the 24th.
Korea led the game from the beginning of the first half and led by two goals in the first half alone. Both the opening goal and the additional goal came from Son Heung-min’s toes. In the 11th minute of the first half, he succeeded in pressing and took the ball, and Son Heung-min, who received the pass, calmly rolled his left foot toward the empty goal and scored the opening goal. Heung-Min Son then took the free kick he had earned in the extra time of the first half and broke the net once again. This time it was the right foot.
The second half entered with some margin, but it only took 5 minutes for the game to return to the starting point. It is also a problem that the defensive concentration was disturbed by allowing an early goal and then giving an equalizer in an instant, but it is also a problem that both goals were conceded in the same pattern. Unlike the first half, when they attacked Korea’s right flank, Colombia struck Korea’s left flank from the beginning of the second half.
On Korea’s left side were Jung Woo-young (Freiburg) and Lee Ki-je. Both players had a hard time defending in one-on-one situations against the Colombians. In the first conceding scene, Lee Ki-je could not cut the ball off clearly, so the ball was passed to the opponent. Jung Woo-young, who did not expect this, could not mark the opponent entering the space. Naturally, left center back Kim Young-gwon was also dragged out, and Kim Min-jae had no choice but to lean to the left for defensive cover.
The second conceding scene started with Jung Woo-young under pressure from the opponent. Colombia, who cut the ball from a high position, quickly tried to counterattack, went up the right flank and sent a cutback into the box to quickly score the second goal. Lee Ki-je could not quickly return to the defense because he was up high. So did other players. Kim Min-jae and Kim Young-kwon hurriedly entered the box, but were caught off guard by the opponent’s cutback.
Neither Jung Woo-young nor Lee Ki-je are strong defensive players. Jung Woo-young is good at trying to press based on his activity level, but he often shows himself being pushed back in physical fights. His timing to join the defense is also hard to say. Although Lee Gi-je is a defender, he is famous for his offensive ability, as is the case with his team바카라, Suwon Samsung. Because of this, some degree of cover from other teammates, including players on the same side, is required.
It is true that the two players, who lack defensive ability compared to their offensive ability, were deployed, but the fact that they were pierced twice in a row and provided an excuse for conceding is a problem. We need to improve the problems revealed in the Colombia match to reduce the possibility of repeating the same thing in the Uruguay match.
Two main approaches can be considered. First, there is a way to place Na Sang-ho, not Jung Woo-young, on the left side. One of Na Sang-ho’s strengths is his active participation in defense based on his high activity level. This was the reason Na Sang-ho was consistently selected during the Paulo Bento era. As Kim Jin-soo returned early from injury, if he had to use Lee Ki-je in the next game, he could choose a way to balance by placing Na Sang-ho on the same side.
The second method is to use Youngwoo Seol. Seol Young-woo, who was selected to replace Kim Jin-soo, has a bit more strength in terms of defense than Lee Ki-je. There may be concerns over the fact that it is his first selection for the A national team and that he has not been able to match his existing players, but Lee Ki-je has not been playing with other players for a long time. You can also look forward to seeing Kim Young-kwon, who plays with Seol Young-woo at Ulsan Hyundai, helping Seol Young-woo. The two players are responsible for the team’s left defense in Ulsan as well.
As coach Klinsman predicted, playing aggressive football is a positive aspect, but it was the Colombia match that confirmed that defense is just as important as offense. It cannot be denied that the hot style of football brings joy to the fans. However, it should not be overlooked that greater joy comes from victory. To win, you need to not concede. The two goals conceded by the opponent in the match against Colombia gave Klinsmann a simple yet difficult homework ahead of the match against Uruguay.