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[이데일리 박지혜 기자] ‘Benverji (Bento + father)’ Paulo Bento, the national soccer team coach of the Republic of Korea, was reported to have shown tears as he announced the end to the players.
Veteran defender Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan Hyundai), who scored an equalizer against Portugal in the third round of the 2022 Qatar World Cup group stage match against Portugal, appeared on YTN’s ‘News Rider’ on the 9th and said, “Before coach (Bento) left at the end, You said, ‘I think it’s really time to break up’, but the players cried a lot. The director also cried a lot,” he said.
Kim Young-kwon said, “I think that cry was the cry of regret that I had been running for four years. It was such a happy cry, and I don’t think I’ll be able to forget that moment in the future.” For the past four years, coach Bento, who has been with the national team players and kept his position for the longest time as a foreign coach, said goodbye after this World Cup.
Regarding Bento’s leadership, Kim Young-kwon said, “The most important thing is trust in each other.” In that respect, the players really appreciated it, so the players also believed in the coach with 100% certainty.”
Regarding the criticism of Bento’s tactics, Kim Young-kwon said, “It is true that I was very upset.”
He said, “Inside the team, the players have always said that trust should not be broken. No matter what anyone says, let’s not hate each other for our players and coaching staff.
National team midfielder Hwang In-beom (Olympiacos) also posted a photo taken with Bento coach Min-jae Kim (Napoli) and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) at a dinner party with President Yoon Seok-yeol and first lady Kim Gun-hee the previous day at the Blue House dinner, saying, “Thanks to Paulo and the coaching staff. I give you I will remember it forever in my heart.”
Not only the players, but also Bento’s neighbors regretted parting with him.
Recently, banners written in Korean and Portuguese, Bento’s native language, were hung in an apartment complex in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, where Bento lived during the contract period.
The banners read ‘Thank you, coach Bento’, ‘I’m proud to be Bento’s neighbor’, and ‘I hope all the memories with us will be precious memories’.
It was a message of gratitude from the residents who felt Bento’s affection for the Korean national soccer team as well as the achievement of advancing to the round of 16 at the World Cup.
Bento’s future move is also attracting the attention of domestic soccer fans.
Some foreign media outlets reported that Bento received a coaching offer from the Chinese Football Association on the condition of an annual salary of 2 billion won.
However, it is unclear whether the offer will be accepted because the treatment conditions, such as salary, are not much different from those provided by the Korean national team, and coach Bento has stated that he will return to Portugal for a while to rest.
In 2010, Bento was appointed as the manager of Chongqing Dangdai Lifan of the Chinese Professional Football League, but was dismissed after seven months due to poor performance.