Klinsmann desperate for first win
wants to travel to Europe next month
Hwang Sun-hong, 55, the head coach of the Asian Games soccer team, is in trouble ahead of the start of the Hangzhou Asian Games.
바카라 He is determined to win a third straight men’s soccer title, but he is not getting the help he needs from within and without. Lee Kang-in (22-Paris Saint-Germain), who is expected to lead the team to a gold medal, is facing problems not only with his club’s permission but also with the call-up of the A-match, which will be held just before the Asian Games.
“In principle, Lee Kang-in’s priority is to play for the national team, not the Asian Games,” a senior official from the Korean Football Association told reporters on Friday, adding, “We are still working on this issue in September, when the Asian Games will be held.”
National team coach Jürgen Klinsmann is determined to field a full squad, including Lee Kang-in, for the September A-Match (April 4-12) in Europe.
Klinsmann’s A-match record is two draws and two losses without a win. With the slowest debut win of any foreign coach in history, he is reported to have argued that the national team cannot afford any slack if it is to succeed at the Asian Cup next January. In addition to Lee, the rest of the overseas players, including Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) and Hong Hyun-seok (Ghent), who have been confirmed for the Asian Games, as well as some domestic players, are also on the list.
The expectation that Hwang would give way to the national team for the two A-match series in June and get help in September was dashed. If Klinsmann remains stubborn, the entire Asian Games preparation plan will be thrown out of whack.
Hwang had revealed a plan to have 22 players, including overseas players (and a possible replacement for Lee Sang-min, who was suspended for a drunken-driving controversy), train during the A-match in September before traveling to Hangzhou, China, where the Asian Games will be held on Sept. 13. This is especially disappointing as the association has been in close talks with Lee’s club, Paris Saint-Germain, for his participation in the Asian Games as well as his early recall.
This is not the first time we’ve heard of a player being called up ahead of the Olympics or Asian Games. Every coach wants to take their best players with them, which leads to friction, but the federation’s coordination helps to avoid disruption. At the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, Son Heung-min (31, Tottenham) chose to play in the Asian Games instead of the A-match after mediation by former KFA president Kim Pang Gon. He even thanked Kim after the tournament, citing the issue as one of the keys to his gold medal.
This time around, however, there is no one who is more of an orchestrator than Kim. It is widely believed in soccer circles that Reinforcement Commissioner Michael Mueller, who was expected to play the same role, is being pushed aside by Klinsmann.
One coach, who asked not to be named, said: “Those in authority have to move. Klinsmann broke his promise to live in South Korea, and we need to make a strong statement and convince him.”
The association is equally serious about the issue, but is also preparing for the worst. They are looking at both Plan A, in which Lee makes the Asian Games team with Klinsmann’s concession, and Plan B, in which Lee plays an A match.
“There is still time. We will coordinate with Mr. Klinsmann and find a way to make both national teams smile.”