Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Korea Republic assistant coach Park Tae-ha believes the national team in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011 finals in January this year was the best in terms of working as a unit.
Speaking during his presentation at the AFC Asian Cup 2011 Conference in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, Park said:
“This Asian Cup gave us a lot of opportunities to show the world the new possibilities of Korean football. The 2011 Asian Cup has also allowed us the opportunity to change the face of football in Korea.
“Younger players, such as Koo Ja-choel and Ji Dong-won, have proven their potential during the Asian Cup.
“Overall, the team was stronger than in any other team in this Asian Cup in terms of their ability to work as a unit.”
The former assistant coach for K-League club Pohang Steelers also dissected Korea Republic’s performances in the third-place match against Uzbekistan whom they beat 3-2.
“In terms of defence, the team line-up was 4-3-3 and we had changed the players’ positions. There was good defence organisation in the first half but after scoring three goals, some players lost their concentration.
“The defence broke down in the second half.”
“Attacking wise, the team started very well and scored goals early and this was helpful in the play. There were good movements and touches of the ball to score, for example, by Koo and Ji.
“There were attempts to attack with various options but the players got tired because of the previous tough two matches against Iran and Japan.”