Once again, Klinsmann failed to find his first win. It’s been five games now. The draw also gives Jürgen Klinsmann the dubious distinction of being the longest winless foreign coach of all time. And that’s just the worst of it.
Along with many external controversies such as ‘frequent traveling abroad’ and ‘indifference to the K League’, the buried performance issues have once again surfaced. Against Wales, the football that Klinsmann wants to play was nowhere to be seen, and the players who are excelling all over Europe were nowhere to be seen. The phrase “soccer is a manager’s game” was on full display.
This is not to say that the team played poorly. The point is that Klinsmann’s own brand of football is fading with each passing game. It’s a stark contrast to his predecessor, Paulo Bento, whose colors grew stronger as time went on.
Klinsmann made his footballing philosophy clear in a press conference upon his appointment. He vowed to bring “attacking soccer” to South Korea, a style of play that seeks 4-3 victories rather than 1-0 wins. In fact, Klinsmann played a refreshing style of soccer in his debut against Colombia, with strong forward pressure and quick attacking moves. It was a game that gave us a glimpse of the kind of football Klinsmann wants to play, although some said it was only possible because the colors of Bento were still there. 토스카지노
However, the colors are gradually fading. Klinsmann’s brand of football was nowhere to be seen against Wales. Son Heung-min, who had just scored a hat-trick against Burnley in the Premier League, was silent, and the influence of Lee Jae-sung, Hong Hyun-seok, and Cho Kyu-sung, who have been key resources for their respective teams since the beginning of the season, was completely absent. Hwang Hee-chan, Hwang Eui-jo, and Yang Hyun-joon, who were subsequently brought in to relieve the stifling offense, also failed to make much of an impact. South Korea had four shots on goal on the day, but only one was on target.
Unlike the previous matches, the organized pressing was gradually disappearing. The attacking and midfield lines seemed to move separately in the opponent’s rear buildup without the promised pressing system. As a result, the 4-4-2 formation, which relies heavily on maintaining tight spacing, was not as effective, and the gaps in the defense resulted in several chances.
Klinsmann was also disappointed with his tactical flexibility. On the day, Wales deployed four midfielders and one striker up front when pressing, disrupting South Korea’s buildup in the back. For this reason, Park Yong-woo, who played as a de facto defensive midfielder, was under a lot of pressure in the center of the field and was not able to play a good role as an attacking link in the third area. Although there were a few occasions when Son Heung-min and Hwang In-beom dropped down to the lower areas to help build up the back, it was clear that the lack of numbers in the midfield resulted in monotonous build-ups. Despite this, Klinsmann did not make any tactical changes.