While the Taeguk Warriors, who were eliminated from the Asian Football Confederation AFC Asian Cup after a poor match, bowed their heads and apologized, the coach who should be responsible for the failure is smiling alone.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, was eliminated after losing 0-2 to Jordan in the semifinals of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup on the 7th.
Coach Klinsmann, who returned home empty-handed on the 8th after consistent absence of tactics throughout the tournament, said in an interview at Incheon International Airport, "I advanced to the semifinals of the Asian Cup, and I don't think I can say this is a failure."
"I know well that bad results are criticized. But you have to live with it and accept it. What's important is the positive things, the process of growing. I think we're growing in the right direction," he added.
At the same time, he said that the players' performance was poor in the poor match against Jordan, let alone apologized, and he seemed to pass the responsibility on to the Taegeuk Warriors.
While the head of the Asian Cup avoided responsibility, the Taegeuk Warriors bowed to their fans and apologized.
Son Heung-min Tottenham, who returned to his team immediately after the final failure, said on his social networking service SNS on the 8th, "As we played the Asian Cup, which many people had been looking forward to, we were too focused on the game, so we were too late to say thank you. I felt heavy and sad when I came back to London after the game, but I arrived safely. I think I wasn't good enough as captain and didn't lead the team well." 토토사이트
"I was so proud to be a Korean soccer player because so many people gave me and supported me despite this situation. Thank you and I'm sorry," he added.
Defender Kim Min-jae Bayern Munich, who had to watch the complete defeat against Jordan outside the ground due to accumulated warnings, also apologized on social media on the 9th, saying, "I apologize and thank the players, the coaching staff, and the fans who always supported us during the long tournament," adding, "We didn't bring the results that everyone wanted. I'm sorry that I couldn't show you as good as the fans supported me."
"As a player who plays for the national team, I feel a great responsibility and as I play for the national team, I feel that I need to improve the more I play for the national team. I will try my best to produce as many results as you support me," he said.
Striker Hwang Hee-chan Wolverhampton also said on SNS on the same day as Kim Min-jae, "I wanted to show a good performance as a result of the victory, but I'm sorry and sorry that I didn't help much at the most important moment," adding, "As I played this tournament, I felt a great responsibility and thought a lot about it."
Lee Kang-in Paris Saint-Germain also vowed, "I think many fans will be disappointed, but if you trust and support our national team as you have done so far, we will work hard to become a team that can show more advanced plays on the field and further become a competitive team on the world stage."
He added, "I will try to be a player who is dedicated and takes a step forward for the team's victory both in my team and in the national team."