Coach Jürgen Klinsmann and his coaching staff waiting for the game to start
Klinsmann said, “It was a tricky game. The Chinese referee gave too many yellow cards too early, and that affected the game. As a coaching staff, we had no choice but to consider substitutions early.”
The excessive ‘yellow cards’ started from the beginning of the game.
About 9 minutes into the game, Park Yong-woo (Al Ain) received the first warning for a rough foul on Ali Madan. In the 13th minute of the first half, Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), the key defender, also received a warning while defending against Mohammad Marhoon. In the 28th minute of the first half, fullback Lee Ki-jae (Suwon) also received a warning.
In the end, Klinsmann substituted Lee Ki-jae with Kim Tae-hwan (Jeonbuk) in the 7th minute of the second half, Kim Min-jae with Kim Young-gwon (Ulsan) in the 27th minute, and Park Yong-woo with Park Jin-sub (Jeonbuk) in the 37th minute.
Klinsmann’s team received a total of 5 yellow cards that day.
Klinsmann said, “Players with yellow cards can be sent off for even minor fouls. That’s why I took Kim Min-jae and Lee Ki-jae out of the match early to prevent them from getting another warning. Too many yellow cards were handed out from the start of the first game. This is something that we have to think about. We have to do better, but it seemed the referee was too easy with the yellow cards.”
Coach Cha Du-ri delivering Klinsmann’s tactics
(Doha=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Do-hoon = On January 15 (local time), the 2023 AFC Asian Cup Group E match between South Korea and Bahrain took place at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar. Team coach Cha Du-ri is signaling to the players. 2024.1.16 superdoo82@yna.co.kr
Klinsmann complemented Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), who scored multiple goals and showed a great performance.
He said, “If you score two goals in the opening match of the Asian Cup, you naturally deserve to be selected as the man of the match. He showed a very good performance. But he should not get carried away and needs to keep working hard.”
Lee Kang-in, who scored the winning goal with a powerful left-footed long-range shot in the 11th minute of the second half, making the score 2-1, also scored another goal 13 minutes later, receiving a pass from Hwang In-beom (Red Star Belgrade) and shaking off the opposing defenders, showing a perfect performance.
Klinsmann has been motivating Lee Kang-in, who is currently the most popular among Korean players, to develop as a ‘soccer player’ rather than a ‘pop star’.
After watching the Korean fans cheering for Lee Kang-in in a match against Tunisia at Seoul World Cup Stadium last October, Klinsmann said, “I’m not sure if the fans’ cheers focused on Lee Kang-in would help the player.”
At that time, Klinsmann also pointed out, “Lee Kang-in can develop further, but he needs to be more humble and hungry for success. As a coach, we need to create an environment where he can focus on soccer on the field.”
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