Plan A that has already been hardened… No starting position
Experts “I don’t understand why you neglected to use the ‘Express Joker'”
The view of “Public opinion rather grabs Lee Kang-in’s ankle”
With less than two months left before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, ‘Golden Boy’ Lee Kang-in (Mallorca) has emerged as the ‘hot potato’ of Korean football.
Kang-in Lee was named on the national soccer team call-up list announced ahead of the September A match.
It was the first time in one year and six months since the evaluation match against Japan (0-3 loss) in March of last year.
However, coach Paulo Bento did not give Lee Kang-in a chance to play for even a minute in two evaluation matches (Costa Rica and Cameroon) in September.
Kang-in Lee showed his skills by accumulating attack points (one goal and three assists) in four consecutive games in the Spanish La Liga, which is considered one of the world’s three biggest leagues this season, so his waiting on the bench made fans tilt their heads.
It is known that coach Bento tried various methods of using Kang-in Lee during training during this call.
Kangin Lee is said to have raised several attack points in a closed practice match.
Even so, Bento finally turned his back on him.
After the game against Cameroon and against Costa Rica, Kang-in Lee, who had been sitting on the bench for ‘180 minutes’, showed a disappointing expression on his face.
Fans who have high expectations for Lee Kang-in’s ‘genius’ are criticizing Bento, saying, ‘If you’re not going to use it, why did you call it?’
Some ignorant fans also left malicious comments on the SNS of players in positions overlapping with Lee Kang-in.
◇ Plan A for Lake Bentu already hardened… narrow space
The central axis of the Bentu attack is Hwang In-beom (Olympiacos), who is considered the ‘leader of the midfield’.
“Big” Woo-Young Jung (Al Sadd) or Jun-Ho Son (Taishan Shandong) act as the first line of defense in the defensive line, and in front of it, In-Beom Hwang delivers accurate passes to the forward strikers at a fast tempo, the sketch of Bento soccer.
Kang-in Lee’s role, classified as an attacking midfielder, overlaps that of In-beom Hwang.
The time until the World Cup finals is too tight to complete the tactic of using Kang-in Lee as the starting pitcher instead of In-beom Hwang.
Coexistence of the two is difficult.
Coach Bento puts ‘little’ Woo-Young Jung (Freiburg) or Jae-Sung Lee (Mainz) with a lot of activity next to In-Beom Hwang to balance the ball in the second line.
Kang-in Lee is not active enough to take on this role.
It is also not a way to properly utilize Lee Kang-in’s talent, whose creative path is his strength from the beginning.
From the Bento’s point of view, it can be difficult.
If Lee Kang-in had shown his current performance in his team even from the second half of last season, the ‘picture’ may have changed.
Park Moon-seong, a soccer commentator, said, “Bento did not even give a player who had proven his skills in La Liga a chance to prove his skills in the national team.
Even if there was no way to utilize Lee Kang-in in basic tactics, he was able to find a way to use it as a replacement agent at the last minute.
Kang-in Lee has a remarkable ability to change the flow of the game at once with one pass on a trajectory that the opponent does not expect.
Moreover, this ability has been proven in ‘La Liga’.
Experts generally evaluate that Kang-in Lee is full of talent as the ‘excellent joker’ of the Korean national team.
Commentator Han Jun-hee said, “It is the coach’s authority to appoint players and choose tactics, but it’s a pity that Kang-in Lee, who can make an unpredictable attack in a desperate moment, didn’t get a chance at all.
Kang-in Lee is clearly a different type of player from the existing national team players,” he said.
Commentator Kim Dae-gil also commented, “If Lee Kang-in was in a situation where he could not play for his team like last season, he could understand Bento’s choice, but not now.” , and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) should have checked at least once in practice,” he pointed out.
◇ Footballers “Public opinion rather grabs Lee Kang-in’s ankle”
There is also an analysis that the public opinion that ‘Lee Kang-in should be used even now’ has rather caught Lee Kang-in’s ankle.
This is a story that comes from among soccer players from the national team.
The primary goal of all national team players is to compete.
He pays keen attention to whether he will start as a starter or how many minutes he will play if he is a substitute.
However, not all players are given equal opportunities, and dissatisfaction is bound to arise.
Otherwise, it can lead to a decline in teamwork.
It is the national team coach’s job to grasp the desires and complaints of the 20 or so players who are the best in football in a country, and to control every situation so that there is no ‘incontinence’ in the system.
If a signal is given to the players that the manager’s choice is influenced by ‘external opinion’, the coach’s control of the team will be greatly reduced, which may lead to ‘the collapse of the system’.
Foreign managers who have to lead a team in a country where they do not speak the language are more sensitive to these issues.
It may be difficult for fans to understand, but from the point of view of coach Bento, it may have been a natural choice to not use Lee Kang-in regardless of tactics or football style.
A soccer player who has been playing for the national team for a long time said, “If you put in Lee Kang-in in the atmosphere yesterday (against Cameroon), you can give other players the impression that the manager is being swayed by public opinion. The decision was made to strengthen the unity within the team.
“I gave the team a sign saying, ‘I control this team 100%,’” he explained.
He said, “You just have to understand what Son Heung-min said after the game in the same context.”
Bentuho’s ‘Captain’ Heung-min Son met reporters in the mixt zone after the game and said, “Lee Kang-in is a really good player and he’s doing well in the league, but I don’t think (the national team) should be a team just for him.” I think there must be a reason for making that decision.”
◇ Can Lee Kang-in be selected for the final entry in the Qatar World Cup?
What remains to be seen is whether Bento will include Lee Kang-in in the final entry for the Qatar World Cup.
It is not easy to bring a field player who has not been used properly in the real world to the World Cup finals.
Although the number of entries in the finals has increased from 23 to 26, this is why many experts predict that there will be no place for Lee Kang-in.
Commissioner Park Moon-seong said, “The situation reminds me of the ‘Yoon Jung-hwan controversy’ during the 2002 World Cup.
Before the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, there was a controversy among soccer fans that Guus Hiddink did not appoint Yoon Jung-hwan (currently Jeff United) as the starting head coach of the national team.
At that time, Yoon Jung-hwan was considered the best attacking midfielder, but Hiddink chose Kim Nam-il (former Seongnam FC manager) with good defense.
The result was a great success.
The World Cup is still two months away.
Kangin Lee’s trip to Qatar has not been completely canceled.
If you do not give up and consistently show good performances in your team, it is not impossible to receive the final choice of coach Bento.
Kim Dae-gil said, “Lee Kang-in must have been hurt a lot in these two games, but he can develop further by using that as a driving force.”
/yunhap news