The Korean national team is currently in training for the upcoming two World Cup qualifiers against Palestine and Oman. Hong Myung-bo, the 55-year-old coach taking over the national team for the second time, shared his feelings during an interview and also discussed the issue of Son Heung-min.
For any coach of the Korean national team, the most pressing issue is how to utilize Son Heung-min. Hong Myung-bo pointed out, “Son Heung-min’s favorite position, and where he excels the most, is on the left side of the front line, making full use of the space up front. However, I believe that to maximize Son Heung-min’s abilities, we need to integrate him with the rest of the players. In addition, we must also consider the fatigue of the players (from club matches) and find ways to deal with it.”
Hong Myung-bo’s last participation in a Korean national team training session was back in 2014. Speaking about returning to the national team, he said, “The last time I stood on the sidelines as the national team head coach was ten years ago, so this time coming back, I am very excited but also a bit scared. I feel that this fear comes from having experienced it once before, and this fear is quite different from ten years ago.”
In the past ten years, Hong Myung-bo has coached teams such as Hangzhou and Ulsan HD, winning the K League title twice. On this, he stated, “I have reached this point because I continuously invested my time and effort.”
Hong Myung-bo emphasized that after taking charge of the team, the first concept he discussed with the players was “cohesion”: “Ultimately, we are involved in a team sport. If we have cohesion, each person’s talent can be better displayed. We will clearly convey our requirements from the perspective of the team.”