Manager Jurgen Klinsmann still did not seem to know Son’s strengths.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, lost 0-2 to Jordan in the semi-final of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Alayan, Qatar, at 0 a.m. on the 7th (Korea time). As a result, South Korea failed to advance to the final and finished its journey in the semifinals.
Klinsmann opted for a change from a 4-4-2 formation to a 4-3-3 formation in the latest match. Since the team was pushed out of the midfield battle in the last group match against Jordan, it decided to exclude striker Cho Gyu-seong and increase the number of midfielders. It was a change that was understandable. Without Cho, Son Heung-min moved one step forward and became a striker.
It is important for the team to have one direction, but if Son Heung-min went to the front line, of course, he should have used it in a different way than Cho Kyu-sung. The advantages of Cho Kyu-sung and Son Heung-min as strikers are completely different. If Cho Kyu-sung is a player who has strength in height and pressure, Son Heung-min has strength in speed and goal determination.
However, Son Heung-min was at the forefront, but the way the ball was delivered was too clunky. There were few passes from Lee Kang-in or Hwang In-beom’s toes to Son Heung-min. Even if Kim Tae-hwan or Seol Young-woo came out of the overlap, there was no cross itself to Son Heung-min. Park Yong-woo, Kim Young-kwon, and Jung Seung-hyun delivered the ball directly to Son Heung-min at the end of the Daebudunu. Because the way the ball was delivered was a long pass, Son could not take advantage of his strengths at all.
Son Heung-min tried to get the ball by penetrating between the defense and the side, but he tried in various ways, but he has little memory of South Korea having fun with Son Heung-min’s penetration into the space. Jordan was not even playing defensive soccer without intention, so if Son Heung-min’s advantage was saved by pattern play or promised movement in the second line, he could have created a better scene.
Former Tottenham manager Antonio Conte, who was criticized for using Son as a midfielder in the 2022-23 season, also did not use Son like this. Conte often did not play what is commonly referred to as “pull soccer” when putting Son on the front line. Rather, he rather used Son, who lowered the defense line deep, attracted the opponent, and quickly hit into the space. 라바카지노
It is a criticism that the tactical role instructions left to the player are not correct from the beginning of manager Klinsmann. The appointment of Lee Soon-min and Jung Woo-jae also created a question mark for K-League fans. The Jordan disaster was once again a game that showed that manager Klinsmann’s tactical capabilities were very lacking.