Cho Hyun-woo, who doesn't even compete, Kim Young-kwon, who has fewer seats to stand...Will there be
Last updated
Last updated
Cho Hyun-woo (32) and Kim Young-kwon (33, Ulsan Hyundai) are shaking their positions on the Korean national soccer team. Cho Hyun-woo's position, the goalkeeper, seems to have lost competition at all, and Kim Young-kwon is also threatened with Kim Min-jae's (Bayern Munich) partner position. With both games missing in the A match in September, attention is focusing on whether the A match in October can achieve a "reversal."
Cho Hyun-woo has been sitting on the bench for four consecutive A matches since the match against Uruguay in March. Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany) used Kim Seung-gyu (Al-Shabab) and Cho Hyun-woo alternately in March, but left the goal only to Kim Seung-gyu in all four matches in the June and September warm-up matches. With Klinsmann's appointment, competition for goalkeeper also seemed to return to square one, but Kim Seung-gyu seems to have completely chosen the starting position early on.
Competition for the main goalkeeper between Cho Hyun-woo and Kim Seung-gyu has been fierce since the last coach Shin Tae-yong. Cho Hyun-woo seemed to be the new goalkeeper as he played as a main player at the World Cup in Russia, but under Bento's system, Kim Seung-gyu became the main player in major tournaments such as the Asian Cup and the Qatar World Cup. In the process, coaches at least gave them an even chance to play, igniting competition. It is similar not only in Korea but also in other countries, but it is a different trend than director Klinsmann.
From Cho Hyun-woo's point of view, it is also worth hurting his pride. Last month, he returned to Korea without stepping on the ground for even a minute after accompanying him on an away trip to Europe and returned to his team. With the launch of a new coach system, he was trying to compete for the starting lineup of the national team, but he is not even getting a chance to compete properly. If he fails to achieve a "reversal" during the warm-up match in October, he will have to be satisfied with the backup goalkeeper role throughout the period when coach Klinsmann takes the helm.
The position of Qatar World Cup member Kim Young-kwon is also rapidly decreasing. Of course, considering his age, born in 1990, there were calls for slowly finding a new partner for post-Kim Young-kwon and Kim Min-jae, but at once, they were only benched in two consecutive away matches in Europe last month. In March, he played in both consecutive games with Kim Min-jae, but he was out due to injury in June and missed two consecutive games in September.
Kim Young-kwon's absence was filled by his teammate Jung Seung-hyun. Under Bento's system, left-footed Kim Young-kwon was in charge of the left side of the central defense and right-footed Kim Min-jae was in charge of the right side, while Klinsmann is putting Jung Seung-hyun on the right side instead of placing Kim Min-jae on the left side. Jung Seung-hyun played in both consecutive games in June without both Kim Young-kwon and Kim Min-jae, and has been trusted by coach Klinsmann as he started until September. Four consecutive A-match starts recently. In the process, Kim Young-kwon's position seems to be narrowing.
It is true that Jung Seung-hyun has not been steadily given opportunities in his team recently and his performance remains questionable, but it is not expected to be a big consideration for coach Clinsman, who does not pay much attention to the K League. Since they played two consecutive scoreless games in September, the combination of Kim Min-jae and Jung Seung-hyun is likely to be chosen first in the October A match. On top of that, if young center backs such as European players slowly take their place, Kim Young-kwon is likely to stand.
Klinsmann, head coach of the South Korean national soccer team, watches the players during a training session at the National Training Center (NFC) in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on the afternoon of the 11th. The national soccer team, led by head coach Klinsmann, will hold two warm-up matches against Tunisia and Vietnam on the 13th and 17th, respectively. Paju = Reporter Kim Min-gyu Against this backdrop, the two consecutive warm-up matches in October against Tunisia on the 13th and Vietnam on the 17th are expected to have important implications for both Cho Hyun-woo and Kim Young-kwon. With coach Klinsmann already mentioning that there are about 8 to 10 players to form the skeleton of the national team, it is confirmed that he has been completely behind in the main competition if he does not have a chance to play in October following last month.
Perhaps it is the result of fierce competition, but looking back on the fact that both Cho Hyun-woo and Kim Young-kwon have not even received a proper opportunity since March, they are upset from the perspective of the parties. This is all the more so in that Clinsman's seven months in office is a time when infinite competition should take place. The atmosphere in which competition seems to have already disappeared is not very desirable for the national team and players.