Quite some changes this time around: captain consistency Ki Sung Yong had a bad game. Son HM didn’t score but played damn well. Ji DW, still unable to get on the scoresheet, now has to settle for bench appearances. The injury of Mainz’s first choice CM has allowed Park JH to come back in, but Koo JC didn’t play at all this weekend. Kim Bo Kyung finally scores his first goal and by coincidence, scores against Blackpool, which if I remember correctly, was the team he scored his first goal with Cardiff against (or maybe it was his second Cardiff goal).
[table “” not found /]KBK’s goal and assist:
And that’s about it for this weekend!
May Ki Sung Yueng continue to score in the EPL but stop doing it against United ffs 🙂
Being a fan of Man United, I agree.
Interesting article posted in the twitter section by ‘Koream’ regarding KNT Manager’s take on the lack of creativity of Korean players.
Thanks for tracking and posting that.
Yeah, I read the original report on Naver and I found it very interesting. I like the fact that Stielike is willing to truly speak his mind. It’s a breath of fresh air.
a bit of a litmus test for me in some ways.
im a bit impressed actually that Stielike has the perceptiveness and gonads to bring it up so early in his tenure.
Is it? I don’t think it’s new. Many (including Hiddink) pointed out or made similar complaints (basically any foreign manager managing in Asia).
I personally don’t get the double standard. When HMB said “European based players are better”.. there was huge backlash. Stielike made similar statement but he is “respected”.
Hong Myung-Bo or Choi Kang-Hee would never say “The strict education system is why Korean football is struggling.” Foreign managers speak their mind more, in my opinion
Read the original Spanish interview Tim (or see my comment below). He doesn’t say that.
Ah, I didn’t see the spanish article, would’ve tested my spanish “skills” (elective)!
Thanks for the clarification.
Im trying to remember if Hiddink made those comments before the WC camaign or not because he made those hoobae/sombae comments afterwards I think.
And all of the foreign managers who’ve been hired for us have said the same thing about our teams consistent lack of creativity? I could see Pim or Advo saying that sort of stuff since they were longer term. The others though?
All I meant was that it was good that Stileki is making these observations 5 months into his tenure. Although I guess its not exactly an “Eureka” moment with our woeful scoring prowess. Im still trying to tie the ends of how a strict education system limits one’s creativity.
I still think the stricter seniority ranking and the cultures reliance of ‘no questions asked’ ‘do as your told/never jump above me’ system has more to do with this problem.
(interesting random fact I wasn’t aware of: Stielike stepped down from the Ivory Coast job prematurely because his 23 yo son was dying and eventually died soon after when a lung transplant candidate couldn’t be found in time….brutal)
His comment isn’t new. Perhaps this is where Stielike is smart, he understands his political capital is high and he can make such comments without a huge backlash. Hong, if I recall correctly, made such comments after the World Cup when his capital was at an all-time low.
I also think, with respect to Steve, that the title of the article and one of the premises is misleading. Stielike simply refers to the ‘education’ of the players (“Lo que nos falta, y es debido a la educación de los jugadores, es mayor creatividad.”), which I take to mean their footballing-education. While there is likely a link, I think it’s a bit of a stretch to say “Stielike Questions Korean Education Over Players’ Lack of Creativity”.
Absolutely Jae. The timing of when the comments are made is crucial imo, more than who said it although with our peeps, I can definitely see double standards bountiful.
Actually, HMB made his comments during the final 23 selection process for 2014 WC. It was his justification for the selection if I remember correctly.
I personally find the comments from Stielike to be annoying. He doesn’t have enough knowledge of KNT players (nor the leagues in Asia.. it’s obvious he doesn’t know a damn about J-league) to make such statement (2 from England, 4 from Germany.. what??). Honestly, I firmly believe (excluding LJH he selected after watching few K-league games) the Asian Cup squad was selected from limited pool of players listed to him by KFA.
Did he? I thought he also said it after he quit. Either way, Hong’s political capital wasn’t high enough to make such a damning comment (albeit true) about the domestic league.
His comments annoy me too, but the reasoning is far too long to list in these comments. (see soon to come SKS blog post)
I’m still annoyed with how Stielike managed the final of Asian Cup, especially in extra time. Instead of playing flat 4 with 4 CBs, he opted to play the long-ball and switched players around in various positions (seriously, when did KTH become Grosskeutz of KNT??). Seriously, if players are tired.. the object should be to keep possession. Not confuse them…
that is one thing Id like to know more about. KFA has laundry list type reputation for “influencing” foreign managers on selection picks. i wonder how much of that is still going on.