Son backs call for more aggression as training under Klinsmann begins

Football

Published: 21 Mar. 2023, 17:02 Updated: 22 Mar. 2023, 08:54

Son backs call for more aggression as training under Klinsmann begins

The Korean national team trains at the Paju National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Son Heung-min backed new Korean national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann's aggressive approach on Tuesday, telling reporters that it's important the players adapt to the gaffer's style as quickly as possible.

Son joined national team training at the Paju National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi on Tuesday after flying in from Britain. Training started for all available players on Monday with Klinsmann taking the helm for the first time after being appointed last month.

“Fitting the manager’s style fast is the most important thing,” Son said. “We, the players, have to understand quickly what kind of style he is looking for as we train.

“Since the manager said he wants to play aggressive and proactive football, I hope the players fit that style and play the football he wants.”

Son Heung-min speaks to reporters following his arrival at the Paju National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

While Son and the squad are keen to adapt the new playing style as soon as possible, Klinsmann himself suggested a slower shift might be better, at least in the early days.

“I hope that you see a little bit of my approach,” Klinsmann said Monday. “You cannot change too much. Step by step, I would like to put more of my influence on the team and hopefully it is a very positive way.”

Klinsmann was appointed as the Taeguk Warriors new manager last month and called up the exact same squad that went to Qatar for the World Cup last year for the two upcoming friendlies against Colombia on Friday and Uruguay on March 28, with the exception of two changes due to injury. Oh Hyeon-gyu of Celtic and Lee Ki-je of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings are the two new names on the roster.

Like the headline-dominating striker he once was, Klinsmann said at his first press conference on March 9 that he wants to play aggressive football with the Taeguk Warriors, and that he would rather win a game 4-3 rather than 1-0.

Jurgen Klinsmann speaks to reporters ahead of his first training with the Korean national team at the Paju National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi on Monday. [YONHAP]

The German manager plans to analyze every player meticulously in order to bring the team together.

“Maybe one of my strengths is to know what goes on in players’ minds,” Klinsmann said on Monday. “For me, the main work is to understand what they have at the situation and then help them to step it up again even more hopefully.”

The rest of the squad appear to be on the same page.

“The manager’s finishing was excellent and I want to learn those skills,” said Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors' Cho Gue-sung on Monday.

Cho Gue-sung, center, trains with the Korean national team at the Paju National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Klinsmann was a prolific goal scorer when he was a player, scoring 79 goals in 156 games at Bundesliga club VFB Stuttgart in the 1980s, before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in the early 1990s. For a fiery young starter like Cho, who rose to prominence in Qatar when he became the first Korean footballer ever to score more than one goal in a World Cup game — two against Ghana — Klinsmann is a particularly exciting role model.

With Wolverhampton Wanderers' midfielder Hwang Hee-chan currently sidelined with an injury, both Cho and Oh could see more action with the national team over the next week than in previous games.

Meanwhile, veteran defender Kim Young-gwon also joined the squad for training, although he had a few problems with Klinsmann's 4-3 over 1-0 comment.

“I will work to make it 4-0 rather than 4-3,” Kim said.

Kim, who has 100 caps, is one of the most experienced players in the national team. He played crucial roles in the past two World Cups, scoring a goal against Germany in 2018 and another against Portugal in 2022.

“The manager was a really famous player and I am looking forward to seeing what kind of football he will show us,” Kim said.

Klinsmann’s first objective, as he said in an interview earlier this month, is to win the AFC Asian Cup in January next year.

“We saw potential at the World Cup,” Kim said. “I think the manager gained confidence that we could win the Asian Cup from that. The players also have to believe that. Winning the Asian Cup is not impossible.”

Klinsmann’s debut game against Colombia will take place at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan on Friday.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]