Klinsmann sees Korean players 'grow together' ahead of big tournament
Korea head coach Jurgen Klinsmann directs his players against China during the teams' Group C match in the second round of the Asian World Cup qualification tournament at Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre in Shenzhen, China, Nov. 21. Yonhap
With Korea's fifth consecutive victory in the books, following a 3-0 win over China in a World Cup qualifying match Tuesday, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said he sees a team that has been growing as a unit over the past several months.
Klinsmann's tenure with Korea started with three draws and two losses, but the Taegeuk Warriors have now won five in a row with 19 goals scored and zero conceded.
Skipper Son Heung-min netted two goals in Tuesday's victory in Shenzhen, China.
"I think our team at the moment is very talented because we have four players who can make it very difficult for every opponent," Klinsmann said at his postmatch press conference, reeling off the names of Son of Tottenham Hotspur, Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain, Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Cho Gue-sung of FC Midtjylland.
"So we are blessed. Also, we have very disciplined defending players like Kim Min-jae (of Bayern Munich) and other great players," Klinsmann added. "We have, right now, a group of players that grow and they grow together. In the last six, eight months, we kind of grew together and I think we have the quality of doing well at the Asian Cup in Qatar."
Klinsmann was referring to the continental tournament that Korea haven't won since 1960. On Tuesday, he reiterated his oft-stated goal of winning the Asian Cup.
"I'm going to work very, very hard for this goal," he said. "And I think this team has the capabilities to do that. Knowing that it's very difficult, knowing that the other teams are very good, but this is the clear goal for us."
Klinsmann said the atmosphere at Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre was "wonderful," jam-packed with Chinese supporters with a few Korean fans also on hand. After Korea scored twice in the first half, Klinsmann said his players could have made life easier on themselves if they had tacked on another goal early in the second half. China fought back a little before Korea finally made it 3-0 on 87 minutes.
Son scored his first goal on a penalty and headed in a corner taken by Lee Kang-in for his second. Son then assisted Jung Seung-hyun for the team's third goal with a free kick.
Stressing the importance of set-pieces, Klinsmann said the German team he'd coached at the 2006 FIFA World Cup had lost to Italy, the eventual champions, because of set-pieces.
"Italy won the World Cup with 70 percent (of the goals coming in) set-pieces," he said. "I lost the World Cup in 2006 to Italy because of set-pieces. I want to make sure that I'm going to win more games in the future. We train set-pieces every time we come together." (Yonhap)