From a Star Player to a Competent Coach

Cha Boom Has Changed-

There is a common belief that a star player can never become a competent coach. This stems from people’s high expectations. Since many people pin high hopes on a good player, they get easily disappointed when the player-turned coach does not produce good results. Sometimes, the coach’s excessive ambition for quick results leads to the opposite result. Cha Beom-geun, the coach of Suwon Samsung, was no exception.

“When I was young, I was full of ambition and liked adventures. As time passes, I began to see what I couldn’t see in the past. Now I decided to take things seriously after giving much thought on them,” said Cha.

Cha admitted that he had changed. As soon as he took the helm of the team in 2004, it won the K-league title. Though it played poorly in 2005, it ranked in second place in 2006, and got good results this year.

Behind the continuous success is the power of change. His efforts gave a boost to his team. Cha coaches his players at their level. Lee Yong-soo, a sports announcer of KBS, a Korean major network, said, “He became soft and looks relaxed.”

His Passion for Soccer-

“Without speed, you cannot draw fans. Why are the matches of Premier League interesting? Because they show speedy plays that attract spectators,” said Cha.

Cha emphasizes a speedy tempo. He urges his players to stand up and run immediately, even after they are tackled and fall. Those who intentionally delay matches are heavily admonished. His training focuses on speed just like a real match. He thinks good play is a courtesy for fans that buy expensive tickets to see their matches.

He spends time analyzing and applying European-style soccer to his team from soccer magazines and watching matches on TV and video. His computer is full of data related to soccer.

Soccer For Fans-

“For whatever reason, Ahn Jeong-hwan made a mistake when he jumped into the audience’s seats. Players should run for their fans. It was an unusual condition that he heard some fans swearing because the stands were empty. In Europe, most stadiums are packed with fans so you cannot hear such swears. Moreover, there are no fans in Europe who criticize players for reasons unrelated to their play.”

He lured Lee Kwan-woo, Paik Ji-hoon, and Ahn Jeong-hwan to his team to make fans happy. Fans are happy when they can see star players in matches. If star players show their offensive play, the stadium will fill up automatically, Cha believes.

“I want to see the day when 30,000 come to see soccer matches. Today, there are 22,000. The number is about the same in Germany when I first played in Frankfurt in 1979. Players need motivation. They get motivated when fans cheer for them, and vice versa,” said Cha.

Conditions For the Prosperity of the K-League-

“A few star players do not guarantee a strong team. To be honest, Korea has only a few good players. If one or two good players are lost to injury, there is a huge problem with the power of a team. FC Seoul is a classic example. Since there are a few star players, the gap among teams is not as wide as European teams. If you have competent foreign players, a weak team turns into a strong team. The best training is encouraging national soccer team players to join the K-League. Running a national soccer team based on the K-League can bring advances in South Korea’s soccer,” said Cha.

He put emphasis on the youth soccer system.

“I emphasized the importance of youth soccer system 17 years ago when I created soccer classes. Now professional soccer teams are realizing the significance. I cannot believe that South Korea ranked fourth in the World Cup with 25 years of pro-League history,” lamented Cha.

Coach Cha has played a critical role in the development of youth soccer since he created Cha Beom-geun soccer classes in 1990. About the speculation over inflated players’ salaries, he said, “It is the market principle. As there are only a few star players and teams want them, the salaries are sure to go up.”

National Soccer Team Coach? Not Yet -

“It doesn’t seem possible to become national team coach again,” said Cha.

The specter of his sudden dismissal back in the 1998 France World Cup still haunts him. In the second round of matches, Korea lost 0-5 to the Netherlands and he was fired abruptly before a match against Belgium.

“To be national team coach is everyone’s dream, if you are a coach. But I don’t want it now. I am satisfied with making fans happy in Suwon Samsung,” he said.

The Soccer Family-

Coach Cha indulges in Internet video chatting with his grandson, Jeong Eui-young (2 years old), his daughter’s son.

When my grandson living in Hong Kong calls me ‘Grandpa’, he looks so adorable. He recently joined a soccer club. All three generations of my family are playing soccer. He added, “I want my second child Duri (German Coblenz team) to get married but he said he never thought about it”

Cha will have to spend this Chuseok, with his players because his wife went to Germany to take care of Duri, their second child, who recently changed his team, and Sezzi (21 years old), his third child, is now in Switzerland.

“The biggest pleasure of a coach is leading players. I will have a great time with players during these Chuseok Holidays,” he said.

He looks happiest when he talks about soccer.

yjongk@donga.com