Fans of the South Korean men’s national soccer team have had enough. Now it’s time for Jürgen Klinsmann to prove it on the pitch. The team has a number of international talents, including captain Son Heung-min (31, Tottenham), who recently scored a hat trick in the English Premier League (EPL). With one of the strongest squads ever assembled, it will be interesting to see what tactics Klinsmann uses to get his first win.
Klinsmann’s squad will face Wales in a 3:45 a.m. kickoff on Aug. 8 at Cardiff City Stadium in Wales, England. K League players, including coach Chaduri, traveled to the showdown on the 3rd and 4th, and the squad was completed on the 5th with the arrival of overseas players such as Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae (27, Bayern Munich), who played last weekend with Klinsmann.
The Korea Football Association released a video of the players warming up at the Cardiff International Sports Campus on Friday afternoon local time. The players moved in unison under the guidance of physical coach Werner Reutard and were all smiles as they massaged each other’s bodies. The cameras also caught Klinsmann talking to head coach Andreas Herzog.
For Klinsmann, the Wales game is not one to be taken lightly. Since his appointment in March, Klinsmann has failed to win any of his four A games against the likes of Colombia and Uruguay, drawing two and losing two. No foreign manager in history has ever failed to win after four games. Add to that the fact that he works from home abroad and has a second job, and he’s been criticized by fans. If he fails to win again, the criticism will only intensify.
While it’s unfortunate that second-choice Lee Kang-in (22-Paris Saint-Germain) was unable to make the squad due to injury, the foreign strikers provide Klinsmann with plenty of options. It’s especially encouraging to see that Son Heung-min has shaken off his injury and rekindled his goal-scoring instincts with a hat-trick in the EPL fourth-round away win over Burnley, where he started as a striker on the last two days. His ability to play up front in addition to his primary position of left winger is expected to add versatility to the team’s attack. Tottenham have benefited from the ‘nails’ card and have won three straight league games.
However, for now, pundits are leaning toward the “central free-roll” card, which allows Son to play as a shadow striker in a central attacking midfield position. This is because he can play anywhere up front, and it would be a waste to limit him to one spot. In fact, in Klinsmann’s first A-League game under him, against Colombia, Son scored multiple goals from this position.
Another benefit of the central free-roll card is that it 온라인카지노 allows Son to slip to the left or right, drawing the opposition defense out of position and allowing a secondary player or striker to cut in and score. For Tottenham, the nail card is also a meat-and-potatoes solution to the prolonged absence of established striker Heath Ledger.
For the national team, striker Cho Kyu-sung (25-Midtjylland) is expected to be a pillar up front, as he has been in good form in the Danish league recently. Cho has been playing in the Danish Liga
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