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[스포츠서울 | 정다워기자] No more doubts.
It was September of last year. The soccer team, led by coach Paulo Bento, struggled through the first and second rounds of the 2022 Qatar World Cup Asian final qualifying rounds. At home, they drew only 0-0 with Iraq, and then managed to win 1-0 in Lebanon. The result was not very positive, and the public opinion was negative because Bento’s football had not been completed until then.
There was a lot of talk within the Korea Football Association. In particular, some officials who are stingy and conservative about foreign leaders raised strong doubts about Bento’s management. As an extreme opinion, there was even an argument that the director should be replaced according to the following results. Prior to this, the conservative domestic football world had not been looking forward to Bento. Among the leaders, there was especially strong skepticism about ‘build-up’ football. It was a different atmosphere from the players who supported Bento’s detailed training and game guidance method.
The final decision maker, Mong-gyu Chung, president of the Association, raised the hand of coach Bento. He left the opinions of some footballers behind and left the message “I go to coach Bento to the end”, letting the disagreements sink to the bottom of the water. Bento’s ‘Shake’ was a decisive moment that did not gain strength.
Coach Bento proved his skills with perseverance. Although he continued to be criticized for player selection and substitution, the more he played, the more his level of perfection increased. Even though the call-up period is short, you can feel your performance improving every month. While the clear power of Plan A has been gained, it has steadily secured backup resources such as Jo Kyu-seong and Kim Jin-gyu. Two-top, three-back, and various tactics were extensively tested, and even Plan B was prepared.
Here the results follow well. They had the most comfortable final qualifier ever and confirmed their advance to the finals early. He escaped from the past, where he barely managed to win a ticket to the World Cup finals every time. They even improved the FIFA rankings and entered Port 3 to expect an easier group schedule than before.
Coach Bento is still changing the remaining question marks to exclamation marks. The style of football that dominates the game through short passes pursued by coach Bento raises concerns that it will be difficult for a strong team to pass. It’s the only doubt about Bento’s coach. However, the national football team dispelled these concerns in Game 9 against Iran. It was a perfect match to beat Iran, a team that could meet in the World Cup.
Now, there is only one task left to achieve in the World Cup. We still have a long way to go, but looking at our progress so far, we are more excited than worried.
weo@sportsseoul.com
