Nat'l football head coach expects active role for assistants
New assistant coaches for the Korean men's national football team Tiago Maia, left, and Joao Aroso stand in front of a photo wall during their introduction at the Korea Football Association House in Jongno District, Seoul, Aug. 26. Yonhap
The two new Portuguese-born assistant coaches for the Korean men's national football team said Monday they are willing to do whatever it takes to help their new team find success.
And their bench boss is ready to challenge them.
For the first time since they were named to Korea's backroom staff last week, assistant coaches Joao Aroso and Tiago Maia met with the media on Monday in Seoul. After head coach Hong Myung-bo announced his 26-man squad for the September World Cup qualifying matches against Palestine and Oman, the two Portuguese coaches said they were honored to be part of the Korean squad.
"I am here to do the best I can to achieve our objectives. I am here to help with everything," said Aroso, who once worked under former Korea boss Paulo Bento for the Portuguese men's national team. "Watching players in the K League and in Europe, help in training, in game preparation, practice strategies ... everything I can be of help, I will be here to do it."
Maia, former chief scout for the Portuguese club Sporting CP, said he was "grateful" for the warm reception he has received, and he will try to help Korea qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 2026.
Aroso will be serving as the top assistant and tactical coach and Maia will handle tactical analysis, according to the Korea Football Association. Because they only arrived in Korea last week and watched just a couple of K League 1 matches, Hong said Aroso and Maia didn't have much of an input on the squad selection this time. But that will change in the near future.
"They were only able to get a sense of the quality of the K League and players here," Hong said. "So they just got their feet wet this time. They will play more active roles in player selections in the future."
Specifically, Hong said he wanted the two European coaches to help scouting Korean players in Europe.
"Other than the ones we can easily watch on TV, there are a lot of young players all across Europe. Developing them is crucial for Korean football," Hong said. "We want these coaches to stay in touch with them, go watch them in training sessions, and talk to their coaches. Their role is to keep monitoring those players and bring valuable information back to the national team." (Yonhap)