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| 'Winning the World Cup Is Possible' |
| [Interview] Assistant coach Afshin Ghotbi discusses the Korean team's chances |
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John Duerden (internews)  |
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Published 2006-03-21 11:18 (KST) |
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Afshin Ghotbi is an assistant coach of the South Korean national team and was part of the coaching staff under Guus Hiddink in the 18 months leading up to the 2002 World Cup. A forward-thinking 42-year-old, his talents have been in demand around the world, but he chose to return to East Asia. This interview was conducted in Seoul last week.
Why did you come back?
The main reason is the 2002 experience -- one of the greatest football experiences of my life. Number two, I really believe in the Korean players. I feel that Korean football players are a dream for a football coach, because they always want to fight for you -- they are always willing to do their jobs. Thirdly, I believe that we can achieve something, and I really wanted to work with Mr. (Dick) Advocaat and Pim (Verbeeek).
When you saw the players again before the Iran game, what were your initial impressions?
I think the moment we arrived in training camp we felt that the mood changed immediately. Because of our relationship with the players and Korean football, there was an immediate trust from the players.
Our first goal was to change the atmosphere in the team and the group, and we were very successful with that -- it was immediately visible from the first training session.
How was the atmosphere before, do you think?
We like to have players who are ambitious, players who play within an organization -- where everybody is very aware of their role in the group. We felt that when we came to Korea, the group was very disjointed -- it lacked direction and coordination.
Why do you think that was?
I saw this in 1994. In the '94 World Cup the U.S. had done reasonably well, and from '94 to '98 some of the players had become popular and had become icons, the league was created, and the players were put on different teams, and those players were given very good salaries; they almost had the power to run the team.
I think a similar thing happened with the Korean players and the success they had in 2002. Maybe they became complacent; maybe they lost their edge.
The key should be to enlarge the pool of players, to create competition in a group where everybody is fighting for their position, and when that doesn't exist then players have a tendency to lose their form -- that's one of the reasons. The other ones would be a very long discussion, and it's not important to name names.
Do you think it's hard for players to maintain the same levels of intensity between World Cups? Playing Vietnam and the Maldives doesn't have the same feeling as Italy, Spain and Germany.
Yes and no, because it depends which players you use in those games. If you use young players and experienced players and constantly create competition, they will constantly be challenged -- they have an opportunity to show themselves. Then even the experienced players are looking over their shoulders and then even the Maldives game becomes an important game.
After leaving in 2002, how much did you know about what was happening with the Korean team?
Korea's become almost my home, it is home to me. I was always on the Internet, having telephone conversations, keeping in touch. When I went back to LA Galaxy, Hong Myung-bo was still playing there. We had a lot of stories to share and discussions.
I was very interested not only in the national team but also the K-League, because I stayed with Suwon Samsung for two years.
Do you feel there is a difference in the attitudes of the media and public compared to four years ago?
I think that the media is more experienced and the public is just as excited as 2002, maybe even more educated about the game. They realize that football has a big influence, not just on the pitch. The success of the national team in 2002 really impacted Korea, economically and culturally. It had a ripple effect around the world. I don't think there was any person in the world after 2002 who had any question about what Korea is, what Korea is about.
What were the main good points of the recent overseas tour?
The best thing was the opportunity to play opponents of different tactical organizations in different environments with different players. We were able to use a lot of different players and change line-ups. We were able to use mostly younger players in the group playing in the K-League.
We now know exactly what those players are capable of doing, and I think that those players improved by being part of that group. That helped our selection process and also helped those players in the group to improve as football players. Maybe now they are clearer about what we want from them.
We're very pleased, and the good results were the icing on the cake. Not many teams walk into the LA Coliseum with 70,000 Mexican fans and beat Mexico, ranked number six in the world, with only domestic players, and not just beat them but outplay them.
The Mexican press said that we were physically, technically, tactically, and psychologically superior.
One problem on display in that game was Korea's difficulty with converting chances into goals. It's no secret, but how much can you improve that when many people say that goal scoring is an instinct?
| | | Afshin Ghoti's Career | | | |
2004~2005: Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) -- Assistant Coach
2002~2004: Samsung Bluewings (K-League, Korea)- Assistant Coach
2001~2002: Korea National Team & 2002 World Cup (4th place) -- Analyst Coach
1998~2001: Technical Consultant -- Clients included Ajax (Netherlands), LA Galaxy (USA), Omiya Arija (Japan), KFA (Korea), Chinese Football Association
1997 ~1998: USA National Team & 1998 World Cup -- Technical Staff / Chief Scout
1988~2001: American Global Soccer School -- Head Coach and Technical Director
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I read a book called Blink, and it said that when the heartbeat is very high and you are under stress, your perspective really decreases. A lot of athletes lose their calmness and they don't make the right decisions -- that's probably why goal scorers are the highest paid players. It is a gift, it's a quality that is very difficult to instill in a player. We feel that we have a few players who, if they hit the right form, then they can score and finish but, unfortunately, they didn't find that in the tour. But that was the preseason -- our tour was just after the winter break. We didn't have our foreign players, to see if they could help us. The final part is to practice it in training to give players the chance to improve it by one or two percent.
Our job as coaches is to pick the right players and give them the right system to be in positions with the chance to create as many chances as possible. It's simple -- you score more goals -- then you win games.
It's a problem in the K-League when most teams have Brazilian strikers ...
We had this discussion a few years ago, that when you look at most of the final passes and touches in the K-League, they are made by foreign players, though of course there are exceptions, but that's something that needs to change. Part of finishing has to do with feeling, one of the things that happens is that our players try to hit the ball too high when they get an opportunity, instead of just picking their spot.
How many goals are scored inside the 16 m box and the inside channel? I did some research at the 2002 World Cup -- 75 percent of the goals were scored inside the 16 m box in the center channel. Most goals were scored in the area from the penalty spot to the six-yard box. Think about training. How many coaches from all over the world are creating training that focuses on scoring from that range? -- Not very many.
Strikers like Lee Dong-gook and Ahn Jung-hwan are very talented and score spectacular goals but are guilty of missing easy chances.
They are very classic strikers, but sometimes the guys who are willing to score ugly goals do it by sweating and running around the six-meter box looking for anything. There are strikers who are looking to score unbelievable goals -- that's their style. Gerd Muller scored very few beautiful goals, but he scored a ton of goals. Those are discussions that we are having with players, those are qualities we're looking for, and we do believe that we have to find the right balance.
One striker often in the news is Park Chu-young. Dick Advocaat said at a recent press conference that he needs to do a little bit more; Pim Verbeek said the same thing to me a few months ago. What are your thoughts?
I think he's a born goal scorer. He has qualities that you can't teach. He looks behind the defense often; he gets himself in scoring positions. He has shown that he can score in the K-League and he has shown that he can score against Angola, Finland, and Greece.
Can he be better? Of course. We feel that he can be a much better footballer between the midfield line and the defense line. Those places where he comes to receive the ball, he can combine much quicker and can make better tactical decisions. He's 20 years old -- he's a young boy. Does he have the tools to become a top international striker? We think so.
Yes -- we've been critical of him because we feel that he can do more. One of the things that I was really impressed with was that he was urged to do more, and, against Angola in the first half, he was very good.
Park seems to be the only player who receives these kinds of comments.
You know about us -- we are honest about players' performances. There are some things we do in-house and some things we do on the outside. We sometimes throw these little pieces of information out just to see how players will react. It was not done by accident.
How much of the squad is decided now?
I think it has not been decided. The discussion is only about the pool of players, the possibility about how we are going to play. We want to leave it open so the players for the next two months for their club teams feel challenged and keep improving. I think the final selection will be based on who is in the best form and based on what we saw in the last two months in the training camp.
Some players didn't go to the training camp and aren't playing for the clubs. How much of a problem is it that Ahn Jung-hwan, Cha Du-ri and Seol Ki-hyeon are not getting much playing time?
I think it's an important issue. It's important for players to play in their club. It's difficult to bring players in that are out of form because they are not match-fit. At the same time, we are constantly looking at them -- every game is analyzed. My feeling is that we keep an eye on them every chance we can.
We are communicating with them, pushing them to get into the first teams, but sometimes it's a risk you take when you go overseas, because if you don't play, you reduce your chances to qualify for the national team, and if you stay in Korea you don't have the experience of playing at the top level.
If you look at Seol Ki-hyeon, he hasn't appeared in the last four games for Wolves, and people like Chung Kyung-ho and Lee Chun-soo had performed pretty well for the national team. If the situation continues, will it be possible for Seol to start in the World Cup ahead of these players, even though he's not playing for his team?
First of all, the decision becomes a more difficult decision to bring a player into the team who hasn't played at all in the last four or five months. The second issue is that if you do bring him in, what form will he be in? My feeling is that if a player is an unknown player and a player is experienced and has done well overseas before -- you have to consider all of that.
It makes the decision tougher, as we all know, that when a player isn't playing, his form drops. We all know that football is not something that you can turn on and off. It's the World Cup, you need the build-up, you need the preparation.
It's something that we are concerned about. We are logging the minutes that they aren't playing and wondering why they are not playing for the first team.
In the past, some people referred to you as an analyst. Does that bother you?
People are very quick at categorizing -- I've been a football coach for years and I feel that when I took the job in 2002, I was coming as a coach, and my duty was to analyze the opponents with the most modern technology.
It was a mistake I made in my negotiations, but I learnt from that. I don't look back on it with regret as it was an amazing experience, I learnt a lot from it and I achieved a lot, but from then on, I would never make that same mistake. It's important in football and any other job to have a title. My job now is as an assistant coach, I'm on the pitch with the players, I have a role in the group. On top of that, I also use technology, which I think every coach should do anyway. Coaches are analyzers; that's one of their first jobs -- to analyze.
When analyzing a team on video, have you ever thought "this team is too good -- I want to turn it off!"
I would never turn it off; in football there are always possibilities. I can tell you that the Italian team was a very good team in 2002. When you look at the French team in the buildup to 2002, that was a fantastic team.
There are teams that are so good, but that is what makes this game so special. On any given night, you can have one chance against 20 chances and finish your chance and win the game. I truly believe that's why it's the number one sport in the world. There are always possibilities to find weaknesses, as I don't think there's a perfect team in the world.
Moving on to 2006, when you saw the World Cup draw in Leipzig, what was your initial reaction?
Our reaction was positive; the group could have been worse, it could have been easier. My feeling is that there are no easy games in the World Cup any more -- all teams have to be respected but not feared.
When you think with your logic hat on, not your football hat, then France should be the favorites, and it will be between Korea and Switzerland. Togo is unknown, but with the qualities of African players, the physical qualities, the pace and individual technique, anything is possible from them. So my feeling is that we're happy with the group -- we need to practice our French.
There's no real, real easy group. The German group is the only one you can say is easier than the rest. The Argentina group is very difficult.
Will you make targets? Tell the players, this game we need three points from this game, a draw here, a draw there.
We will go in one game at a time -- our goal is to earn three points against Togo -- that will be the key. Our emphasis is on selection of players, picking the right players and also finding the perfect system for our players. We like to play a system that is flexible, one that brings out the best in the players.
Is it a good thing to play Togo first?
You have to play all of them anyway. I think that if you win the Togo game then it's a good thing. We try not to think too much about those kinds of things, you will drive yourself crazy. We try to think, "How can we maximize the performance of this team?" These are things we can control, the other things we can't control.
When you talk about maximizing performance, are there some things you can change, improve, and some things you can't?
The best thing you can do is use players' strengths. We can't change players in international football, it's not realistic. We can use their strengths in the team. We can improve players; we are all teacher-coaches. We feel that we will try to improve them in every way possible.
What are the usual strengths and weaknesses of Korean players?
In general, Korean players are very technical, very athletic. The speed that they can play is probably top-notch. On the psychological side, they are very tough, they will fight from the first moment to the last moment, for the coach, for the team, for the country. Their willingness to work as a unit because of their cultural influences is a big strength in the World Cup. In international football, we see a lot of stars coming together to play, and they get one month to prepare, sometimes they are not all on the same page. First, they think of themselves and then the team, but the Korean national team thinks first of the team and then of themselves, and that is a huge advantage.
The weaknesses that have always been for us are the practical decisions they take on the field. Do they have football solutions to football problems? A typical, general Korean reaction to a football problem is to use physical force. We think there has been a great improvement since 2002, and since we've been here, we're trying to improve it more.
Also, there seems to be a lack of talking on the pitch between players.
That is something that we addressed in 2002 -- the hierarchy in the group. The younger players had a difficult time speaking to the older players even if the younger player was a better football player.
It's better now. For example, when you sit with the Korean players for a meal, the discussions are going on among the tables and the volume is much higher. There's a lot more discussions of young players with other, older players. There's much more personality.
In the 2002 World Cup we would have moments when there was absolute silence. Now it's changed, the younger players feel freer, there's more personality. It's improving, though it's not as good as it should be.
One difference now is that in 2002 there was only Ahn Jung-hwan and Seol Ki-hyeon playing abroad, but now there are many players. Does that make it more difficult to create a feeling of team spirit?
The character of the Korean players doesn't really change -- to serve the team, to serve each other and be part of the national team. That doesn't change even if you go and play on Mars -- that's one of the special qualities of Korean players.
If you look at the 2002 team and the 2006 team -- and it's not good to compare -- but the younger players are better and the older players are more experienced, so I feel in general that it's a better squad.
The only difference is that we're playing away from home, and we don't have as many Korean fans cheering us on.
I promise you that all of us, the players and you as a journalist, always feel the need to defend the Korean team from people who say, "Oh, you played at home and had the referees." I feel that it is a competitive challenge for everyone to see that 2002 was not a fluke. It was a team that was well organized, they played very, very well and they deserved the results they got.
Do you think that this time other teams will be ready for Korea and will know what to expect?
In some ways, but how do you prepare to play against a team that is running at you from all directions at an unbelievable pace and not for 20 or 30 minutes but for 90 minutes plus? I think they expect to face a hard-working team, but, at the same time, that's not so easy to prepare for.
Why was Korea so successful in 2002?
The main reason was we hosted it -- that gave the confidence, the inspiration, the energy. It was the right setting for the players to do their best.
Second, I think the KFA and the leadership of Mr. Chung. They were bold, they made a massive plan by bringing in a foreign coach, coaching staff, and a lot of training camps, suspending the K-League and giving us a six-month preparation.
We prepared like a club team, so we had a huge advantage against a lot of national teams. We trained every day and played games like a club team, it improved the players and made a cohesive group.
The combination of the staff -- the technical staff, the administrative staff, and the players we had -- it was a perfect balance. In football, you score the first goal against Poland and the energy changes.
Everybody who was a part of the team realizes that the Scotland game, the 4-1 win, was a turning point. That gave the team the confidence that they could do it.
Do you think Korea could have won the World Cup?
Everything was possible once we got out of the first round; the moment we beat Italy, the energy and confidence in the group was unbelievable. I was very disappointed when we lost to Germany. It's not often as a player or coach that you're going to be 20 minutes away from the final of the World Cup. We were better than Germany, even though we didn't really show it on that night.
What would satisfy you in the World Cup -- second round, quarter-finals?
Winning the World Cup would satisfy me. Dick Advocaat, Pim Verbeek, myself, and all the players have always gone to every tournament with the intention of winning. I truly believe it's possible.
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©2006 OhmyNews
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