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Soccer Coach Confident of World Cup Prospects

Posted April. 22, 2010 06:33,   

한국어

National soccer coach Huh Jung-moo yesterday expressed confidence in his team 50 days ahead of the World Cup soccer finals in South Africa. He looked different from his usual stance of being more cautious and his habit of saying, “No team is weak.”

“Greece, Argentina and Nigeria in Group B are not easy opponents. Objectively, our capacity lags beyond those of our rivals but we are trying our best to give our opponent a hard time,” Huh said.

The coach, however, hinted at the possibility of creating a new chapter in Team Korea’s history by advancing to the round of 16. “I wish we can win. Our team players are ready to make a stir,” he said.

He said he is focusing on communication between players since they have no chance to attend a training camp like they did for the 2002 World Cup.

“More than a few things must be improved until the World Cup finals. The biggest practical problem is communication between players, however. Since players are concentrating on playing in their respective pro leagues, they lack the ability to communicate through their eyes,” he said.

Huh plans to put top priority on communication once he announces early next month the final 23-man roster and assembles them. Rather than intentionally stressing communication, he said he will get players to trust each other naturally through exercise.

“Trust between the coaching staff and players is important, but trust between players themselves is also important. When players trust each other while playing, they can generate true teamwork. Our coaching staff’s top priority is to ensure players build their teamwork centered on captain Park Ji-sung,” he said.

“To win a game is important, but I’ll try to help our players to play confidently and cheerfully,” he added, mentioning the strategy of “cheerful exercise” for the team.

“Players are always ready to entertain people and make them happy. Now, it is the fans’ turn to cheer up the players. We’ll work hard to prepare and repay our fans’ support without fail.”



yjongk@donga.com