South Korea coach Jurgen Klinsmann is working against the weight of history. However, the German believes his squad can win the Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years ‘because we have so much quality’.
“I think we have a very strong team and the goal is to be here at the very end of the tournament and play in the final,” Klinsmann said while addressing the media yesterday.
Klinsmann took over as South Korea coach in February last year on a deal that takes him through 2026, replacing Paulo Bento who stepped down after leading the side to the round of 16 at the World Cup. Bento is now in charge of the United Arab Emirates for their Asian Cup campaign.
South Korea’s dismal Asian Cup record is a mystery for a team that has appeared at the last 10 World Cups. They lost to hosts Australia in the 2015 final and were bundled out by eventual champions Qatar in the quarter-finals four years later. South Korea last won the Asian Cup in 1960, defeating South Vietnam and Israel along the way.
Winning the title is an achievable task considering Klinsmann has a strong contingent of European-based players. Captain Son Heung-min is in great form, scoring 12 goals adding five assists so far this in the Premier League for Tottenham, just two more than compatriot Hwang Hee-chan at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae became the first Asian defender to be nominated for the FIFA Ballon d’Or in 2023.
“This team has the qualities, absolutely, to win the tournament but it will be a long, long battle, it will be a marathon. Every game will be a nail-biter, there will be drama, but this is what tournaments are about,” Klinsmann, who led the United States to the 2013 Gold Cup glory and is aiming to join a select group of coaches to win two different continental championships, said.
The 59-year-old is one of the best-credentialed coaches at the Asian Cup. As a coach he led Germany to third place at the 2006 World Cup, arguably helping lay the foundation for the team’s win in 2014, had a spell in charge of Bayern Munich and spent five years at the helm of the United States. That tenure that featured continental success, an appearance in the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup and an emphasis on development.
South Korea begin their title bid today against Bahrain. “Game number one is a very, very important game and you want to start well in any tournament,” Klinsmann said.
“Every game will be difficult. All teams that are here in Qatar deserve to be here and are strong,” said the legendary German striker, who won the World Cup as a player in 1990.
Hwang Hee-chan is also optimistic of their chances as the striker dismissed any talk about tiredness because of the rigours of the Premier League. “When we come to the national team we don’t speak about how tired or stressed we are, we don’t speak about how fatigued we are,” said the 27-year-old.
“We talk about what we can do to make the team better, what we can do to get the result that everyone wants back in Korea. We have been preparing well for the tournament and I want to go out there with everything and get the result that we want.”
Bahrain coach Juan Antonio Pizzi is under no illusion about the massive task that awaits them. “Of course we are very optimistic, we know that we have three tough matches ahead of us,” said Pizzi.
“Korea have great players but we’ll try to mitigate them and hopefully we’ll get a good result. We have the same optimism and the same ambitions and we want to take it step by step to realise our ambition. Right now our objective is to qualify for the Round of 16.
“Goals are always scored as a result of good performances. We have strong individual skills, we have a strong midfield and we will try to use our link up play to good effect.”
The 55-year-old Spaniard is pleased with how preparations have gone as he enters the second half of his first year with the Bahrain, but warned his charges that nothing short of full commitment will suffice against South Korea. “Our preparation period has been quite short but thankfully, the players have been implementing my instructions and ideas well. We know that we need to give more but we will stay the course and focus on the objective we set when I took over.
“We know they have elite players. In order for us to be able to compete, we need every player to give 100 percent. We cannot rely on one or two players, we need all 11 to deliver a great performance.”