Paulo Bento, coach of the Korean national football team. [사진 대한축구협회]
Paulo Bento (53, Portugal), the coach of the Korean national football team, finished the World Cup final qualifiers by dispelling the ‘hard theory’ with build-up soccer.
The national team lost 1-0 to the UAE in the Asian final qualifying round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, which ended on the 30th at Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Bentuho, who was running undefeated (7 wins, 2 draws) in the final qualifying round, suffered their first defeat in the final match. Korea (23 points, 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss) finished the final qualifier as 2nd in the group following Iran (25 points, 8 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss).
It was the first time in 16 years that Korea lost to the UAE in a friendly match (0-1) in Dubai in January 2006. Although the match stopped six consecutive victories, their career record is still superior with 13 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses. Korea dominated the game in possession of the ball (77.1%-22.9%), shot attempts (9-5), and corner kicks (16-0), but failed to penetrate the UAE, which was ‘all-power defense’. With just one counterattack, he conceded the winning goal to Harib Abdala Suhail.
After the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Bento took over as the head coach in August 2018. It was a pleasant start. In his first official match as manager of the national team, he won a friendly 2-0 once morest Costa Rica. On January 25, 2019, they were undefeated in 11 consecutive matches before losing to Qatar (0-1) in the quarterfinals of the AFC Asian Cup. South Korea also captured strong teams in South America such as Uruguay and Colombia.
Reviews of Bento were mixed. He was criticized for being too conservative in the recruitment of players. He insisted on the ‘starting squad’ even in matches where the burden is not too high, such as matches once morest weak teams or friendly matches. Heung-min Son (Tottenham) and other foreign players were convened in the 6 friendly matches played in 8 months since March 2019. It was difficult for the overseas group to manage their condition as they returned home following a long flight following completing their team schedule.
Build-up football was also criticized for undermining the diversity of tactics. Coach Bento plays soccer to unlock the game by increasing his possession of the ball with a passwork from the rear. The foundation of build-up football is organization. Therefore, Bento almost fixed the starting squad centered on Son Heung-min. There were criticisms that ‘the tactics are not diverse’ and ‘there is no plan B’.
After the 0-3 loss once morest Korea and Japan in March of last year, ‘Bento hardship’ came to the surface. It was an expedition to Japan, which was played with a squad that lacked key players such as Son Heung-min, but the performance was not so good. Then, in the first two matches of the World Cup final qualifiers held at home in September, they drew with Iraq (0-0) and beat Lebanon (1-0), making Bento’s position even narrower.
Still, coach Bento firmly emphasized build-up football. After a 1-1 draw with Iran, which is called the ‘hell of the away team,’ in the fourth leg of the final qualifying round, the national team showed an overwhelming performance. Heung-min Son and Hee-chan Hwang (Wolverhampton) missed Lebanon (1-0) and Syria (2-0) until the 7th and 8th rounds of the final qualifiers, and the criticism surrounding Bento subsided. During the January A match period, new players such as Jo Gyu-seong (Kimcheon Managing Director) and Kim Jin-gyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai) were discovered.
The ninth game of the final qualifier once morest Iran was the highlight. At the Seoul World Cup Stadium where 64,375 people gathered, they defeated Iran (2-0) for the first time in 11 years thanks to Son Heung-min’s winning goal. With the victory over Iran, Bento set the record for most wins (28 wins) during his single tenure as the national team manager. Bento lost to the UAE and failed to break the highest win rate (75%, 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss) set by former coach Beom-geun Cha in the final qualifying round of the 1998 World Cup in France.
Bento’s eyes are on the finals. It is important which team to meet in the draw for the finals scheduled for April 2nd, but it is unclear whether build-up soccer will be successful in the finals where the strongest players gather. The teams that made it to the finals are stronger than the UAE in dense defense and counterattacks. Bento said, “(UAE and performance) were not normal. He thinks of it as a kind of ‘signal’. There may be problems in the future.”
By Kim Young-seo, staff reporter kim.youngseo@joongang.co.kr