Two impressions in pre-Asian Cup training

By Nam Hyun-woo

National football team coach Uli Stielike and his 23 men are preparing for the Asian Cup in January, setting the goal of hoisting the trophy for the first time in 55 years.

On Saturday, the Taeguk Warriors jetted off to Sydney, Australia, and set up base camp before they take on Oman in a Group A match on Jan. 10 at the Canberra Stadium.

During the critical weeks before they kick off their campaign for the elusive trophy, two impressions were noticed, giving a glimpse of the blueprint of the German tactician.

Proclaiming themselves underdog

Stielike stressed Monday that changes are needed in players’ mindset about playing football.

“Changes in how players think about and approach football should come ahead of talking about tactical aspects,” the coach said.

“As you can see in the K-League, Korean footballers pay more attention to defense, rather than possessing the ball.

“The biggest concern I have is injecting each players the mindset of possessing the ball as much as they can and making the best out of it,” he said.

“Korea’s FIFA ranking is third highest among the teams joining the Asian Cup. That means there are only two countries ahead of Korea,” Stielike said during the announcement of his 23-man squad.

Unlike domestic confidence that Korean football is the strongest in the region, experts appraised the host Australia and Japan as having the best betting odds to win the tournament.

On Bwin, one of the largest online betting websites in the world, Japan and Australia are at 3:5 favorites, while South Korea is at 7:0, followed by Iran at 8:0.

Captain Koo Ja-cheol refrained from making hasty remarks over winning the tournament.

“I cannot rashly forecast the result,” the 26-year-old Mainz 05 midfielder said. “But I want to show the best performance at the biggest tournament in Asia.”

Korean had a disappointing run in the 2011 Asian Cup, finishing in third place at the group stages after being beaten by Japan in a penalty shootout.

Who will be the sole striker?

When Stielike announced his 23-man roster on Dec. 23, one question remaining is who will be the goal poacher.

In previous squads for recent international competitions or friendly matches, there have been “big-names” who could easily be the key player. This time, however, it is hard to make assumptions.

As K-League’s leading forwards Lee Dong-gook and Kim Shin-wook picked up injuries, the coach called up Middle East-based Lee Keun-ho, Cho Young-cheol and rookie Lee Jung-hyub.

This selection for forwards ― less physically imposing veteran Lee Keun-ho and under-experienced duo of Cho and Lee Jung-hyub ― raised concerns that they do not seem to be formidable enough to solve Korea’s long-lingering problem of indecisiveness.

Stielike hinted that he would give Cho, who rose as a trustworthy man of the coach, in the role of a “false nine,” which refers to an unconventional striker who drops deep into midfield and creates more space and chances to wingers and attacking midfielders.

That stirs expectations that Bolton Wanderers’ Lee Chung-yong and Bayer Leverkusen winger Son Heung-min, who is showing his scoring ability at the Bundesliga this season, will be given more offensive roles.

However, the coach neither denied nor confirmed the expectations, but said “I will not put Son into the striker position, if he does not want to.”

During training at Macquarie University Sports Fields, Monday, the Koreans trained freely, not being confined to a certain formation.

The answer to the question could be given on Jan. 4. Before playing Oman, the Koreans will face Saudi Arabia of Group B in their final tune-up match.

After taking on Oman, the Taeguk Warriors will play Kuwait on Jan. 13 at the same stadium in Canberra and the hosts on Jan. 17 at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.