Image: Reuters Berita 24 English -Despite a 5-1 hammering at the hands of Brazil in a friendly, former head coach Guus Hiddink claimed he f...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English -Despite a 5-1 hammering at the hands of Brazil in a friendly, former head coach Guus Hiddink claimed he favored South Korea's younger, more offensive style of play and urged the team to stick to their guns.
On Wednesday, Neymar scored two penalties as Brazil dominated in an often one-sided match in which Hwang Ui-jo scored the sole goal for South Korea.
South Korea should "maintain their style of play" and pay attention to the finer aspects, rather than making a substantial adjustment to their approach, according to Hiddink, who guided the Korean national soccer team to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup.
"If it doesn't happen, players become a little bit insecure," Hiddink said during a Korea Football Association press conference on Friday. "You must, above all, keep to your own style of play. You must improve your attention to detail.
"I don't want Korea to revert to their previous ways of playing with five or even six defenders, always defending their own box. I prefer the current style of play to the previous one."
South Korea captain Son Heung-min expressed hope that the defeat would serve as a learning experience for his side, which is preparing for the World Cup.
Hiddink agreed with the Tottenham Hotspur attacker, saying, "Hopefully, they will take this as a lesson.
"You're in trouble if you become a little foolish and lose your possession just adjacent to your box. The goal is to avoid making dumb mistakes. But keep in mind that you were up against one of the world's top two or three teams."
South Korea will play Chile, Paraguay, and Egypt this month as part of their preparations for the World Cup finals in Qatar later this year, which will be their 10th consecutive attendance.
