3 years and 11 months in office, longest term in office
Get support from players through systematic training
There are also loopholes in the evaluation… Complementary work
Paulo Bento (53, photo), who is aiming to advance to the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, is also maintaining his own strong football philosophy. This is the so-called ‘rear build-up’.
Starting with the goalkeeper, the attack progresses step by step from the forward to the forward striker. It pursues a speedy attack by adding a fast pathwork without giving the opponent a chance to counterattack with a stable attack. Coach Bento has received strong support from players for his systematic training, explanation, and instruction. Although he does not have a close relationship with the media like Guus Hiddink or a soft and friendly image like coach Uli Stilike, the support of the players seems certain.
That’s what the results tell you. In any case, Bento passed the Asian final qualifier for the World Cup, which always seemed like a thorny road, surprisingly comfortably. The national team secured a ticket to the finals with 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss (23 points) in Group A of the Qatar World Cup Asian final qualifying round. Although they were defeated by 1st place Iran (8 wins, 1 draws, 1 loss, 25 points), they widened the gap with third place UAE (UAE, 3 wins, 3 draws, 4 losses, 12 points) with 13 points.
At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which advanced to the round of 16 in the finals, they were first in the qualifying group, but the difference between the second place and the second place by 4 points was not large. At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, they managed to qualify for the finals by finishing 2nd in the group by one goal difference from 3rd place in goal difference, and advanced to the 2018 World Cup in Russia by 2 points and 3rd place. In comparison, this is a remarkable result.
However, the national team did not enter a stable trajectory in a short time. In fact, I was nervous before the final qualifying round. It’s because the tactics didn’t take root. So many criticisms poured in, but coach Bento firmly insisted on his football. Eventually, over time, his tactics took hold, and the national team made it through the Qatar World Cup Qualifier Group A more easily than ever. In particular, in the 9th game in March, they defeated Iran 2-0 and broke the chain of 7 consecutive wins (3 draws and 4 losses) against Iran for the first time in 11 years.
Bento also quietly set several records. After being appointed to the national team in August 2018, he had completed three years and 11 months, which is the number one single tenure as the head coach in history. The longest tenure was former coach Stielike, who held the baton for two years and nine months from September 2014 to June 2017. Bento also maintains the most wins in the history of the manager, writing 30 wins, 11 draws and 6 losses (win rate 63.83%) during his tenure. The previous record for most wins was 27 wins, 5 draws and 7 losses (win rate of 69.23%) as former manager Stielicke. However, coach Bento exposed his problems in the 4 evaluation matches in June and had a homework to solve. The national team lost 1-5 to Brazil, a 2-0 victory over Chile, a 2-2 draw with Paraguay, and a 4-1 victory over Egypt. He couldn’t cry and showed a loophole in the air connection and defense. It seems that Bento’s leadership will be reevaluated depending on what supplements Bento prepares for the remaining four months until the World Cup.
Reporter Heo Jong-ho sportsher@munhwa.com
