(Nuri Ilbo) Paulo Bento, men’s national team coach, admitted his defeat in Japan and Korea.
The men’s national team, led by coach Bento, lost 0-3 in a friendly match against the Japanese men’s national team held at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, Japan at 7:20 on the evening of the 25th. The Bento, who struggled with Japan’s aggressive play throughout the game, lost only one valid shot.
At a press conference held after the game, manager Bento admitted his defeat, saying, “There is no excuse for losing today.” He revealed that the strategies and tactics he had prepared did not work well, and expressed his determination to seek improvement from defeat.
-Your performance improved in the second half. What did you give in the halftime?
In today’s game, we couldn’t play the game we wanted. A lot of mistakes were made. In particular, there were a lot of scenes where the ball was stolen in a dangerous area, and we faced a lot of crisis situations. In the second half, I tried to go out a little more aggressively. However, the opponent showed better performance than us. There is no excuse for defeat today.
-What kind of game did you want?
I accepted it because I thought it would be a good game when an offer came in between Korea and Japan. At that time, I thought about a lot of preparations, but as time passed, difficult parts arose. There were also many changes from what was planned. It is true that we didn’t have a good game. We knew the meaning of Japan and Japan well and wanted to prepare well, but today’s match was better than us. The better opponent won. It was an opponent who deserved to win. We need to think about defeat today and improve what needs to be improved. You have to think about and prepare for what to do in the future.
-What is the background for choosing the zero-top tactic of placing Lee Kang-in in the front?
It was a tactical choice. I tried to crack the opponent’s defense line. I thought that if the opponent’s defense could be pulled out when the opponent was under pressure, both wingers and shadow striker Nam Tae-hee on the 2nd line could infiltrate into the back space and create an attack opportunity. However, this scene did not come out well. It improved a little in the second half, but overall the intended strategy didn’t work. It was chosen through relative analysis, but I admit that it didn’t go well.
-Would the results have changed if there were foreign players who could not join?
I don’t think so. I don’t think it is appropriate to say so. It wasn’t fair to the players here, and I wasn’t honest with myself. I am responsible for defeat. There were a lot of difficulties at the convocation last November, and these things lead us to think about our playstyle and direction.