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[스포츠서울 | 정다워기자] “You may have to spend more time defending in the finals.”
Coach Paulo Bento made a somewhat unexpected remark at a press conference held at the Paju National Training Center (NFC) on the 7th. In the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar, it was revealed that a different way of operation was needed.
When asked, ‘Will soccer like a qualifying match work in the World Cup finals?’, coach Bento said, “It’s not good to completely change the style you’ve always done. But you have to understand that in the World Cup you will be in a different situation. Preliminaries and finals are clearly different. We’ll keep our style as we evolve, but we may have to spend more time defending in the finals. Your opponent will come with more attacks. We will keep our style, but we have to take this into account.” In fact, it was a foreshadowing of a tactical change.
However, recently, the controversy over the World Cup build-up of the Bento is rekindling. Ahn Jung-hwan, MBC soccer commentator, posted on his YouTube, “How do we build up against Portugal and Uruguay in the World Cup? There are many players with good ball control and good technique. I think Bento will change his tactics. You have to go with several tactical plans for the World Cup.” It became a topic of discussion because it was a remark from a legend who experienced the World Cup three times.
Citing this in some media, they are producing articles with provocative headlines stating that the soccer that Bento is pursuing in the World Cup finals will not work. As if it were a new story, ‘build-up football’, often referred to as the nuance that Bento’s direction was wrong, is once again on the cutting board.
As Ahn remarked, coach Bento has already acknowledged and foretold that the game can be played more defensively in the finals. The idea of coach Bento is to improve and develop the defense method when the opponent attacks a higher level, while maintaining the style that the national team has done so far through short passes from the rear.
After taking office, Bento has led the national team with his own philosophy and perseverance. Despite the skepticism of domestic experts, he led the players with a consistent coaching method and raised the level of perfection of the national team. It is encouraging that it has reached a level that overwhelms Iran, an opponent that can be met in the World Cup finals as well as in the preliminary rounds.
Here, coach Bento is preparing for the final with an unexpectedly flexible attitude after the preliminary round. If Bento insisted he would stick to his preliminary style and challenge his powers head-on, it is natural for him to be concerned. However, he understands the walls of reality and is looking for solutions. Given the achievements that Bento has demonstrated over the past four years or so, it is more appropriate to give trust than to worry now.
weo@sportsseoul.com
