Bonfrere Speaks Out Against KFA
Oh My News has an interesting interview with former South Korean soccer coach Joe Bonfrere. Bonfrere provides some really interesting insights into what has gone wrong with the South Korean soccer team. Judging by the article it appears there is more wrong with the South Korean soccer team than just the coach:
That started a long time ago. They believed that they are No.4 in the [2002] World Cup and that they can easily win all the games. And that didn’t happen. After the 2002 World Cup they started to believe and to dream and to sleep — we are good, we don’t have to do anything anymore. Until the Maldives game that was 0-0 [the former national coach Humberto Coelho’s last game with Korea in March 2004]. Then they were shaken up. But then it was almost too late, because they went and played on with the 2002 World Cup players and you know that if you don’t renew some players sometimes, some players get sleepy, get lazy, ambition goes down — like France has done — and the team collapses.
So then I came and I had to start over, build up the team, look for new players, play a new system and do the qualification games. Then if you had seen 2002, Korea played [defensively] against Portugal, against Germany, which is normal when those teams are stronger. Then Korea can do the counter attack. But we cannot play counter-attack against Lebanon, against Vietnam, against Kuwait — which was playing 10 players in defense [the Asian teams mentioned are relatively weak and when playing Korea, often defend in great numbers] — so we had to change the system. And then they say, yeah, but this is not our philosophy, because our philosophy is counter-attack.
Basically Bonfrere was trying to bring in some different players then what was used in the 2002 World Cup and create a system suitable for those players. His changes ruffled feathers with the KFA who wanted to keep the system and players Korea used in the 2002 World Cup. Eventually the KFA wanted Bonfrere gone and may have according Bonfrere interfered with game preperations by not giving him up to date video tape of opponents.
Bonfrere also discusses the the weak state of the K-League in Korea and how players for the national team would show up for practice two days before a game and then expect to compete at a high level.
Once again interesting reading worth checking out. However, I don’t envy the next South Korean soccer coach.
