National football team coach to explore new potential players

"I will organize the team with young players. I`m also considering selecting players from the national Olympic team."

This is the plan announced by Korea`s national football team coach Uli Stielike after returning to Korea on Wednesday. The team won consecutive games with the United Arab Emirates and Myanmar with five goals with no points lost. But the coach Stielike will again seek new faces to prepare for the East Asian Cup (South Korea, North Korea, Japan and China) that opens on August 1.

East Asian Cup is an A-match competition but is not included in FIFA A-match, meaning players in foreign football clubs can`t join. The national team has to be composed of K-league players. Stielike has constantly been selecting new faces since he became coach of the Korean national football team. They include Lee Jung-hyup (Sangju Sangmu) at the Australia Asian Cup in January, Lee Jae-sung (Jeonbuk Hyundai) at a friendly match with Uzbekistan and New Zealand, and latest nominee Lee Yong-jae (V-Varen Nagasaki). All of them have no experience playing in A-match games. K-League veteran Yeom Ki-hun (Suwon Samsung) was also summoned by Stielike for the first time.

And they pulled their weight. K-League second division leaguer Lee Jung-hyup has come to represent Stielike`s eyes. Lee Jae-sung scored goals at a match with the New Zealand team and the Myanmar team. Lee Yong-jae, who was playing for Japan`s second division league, also made his A-match debut goal with the United Arab Emirates team. Yeom also scored a goal boasting of his left foot free kick at the match with the United Arab Emirates team.

Why is Stielike looking for new faces even as he is often criticized as being too obsessed? An official at the Korea Football Association said, "Stielike`s basic direction is to find a hidden gem, and seek elaborate play in midfield and completion of set peace. In order to make possible the latter two, players need to equip a squad mindset that has no problem even when a player retreats. This is why he`s endeavoring to find new faces constantly. The team had difficulty when Ki Sung-yueng and Koo Ja-chul couldn`t play due to injury at the Asian Cup in Australia, and this also must have had effect."

Some analysts say the changes in entry members are to reap "competition effects." "It is true that feeling of tension declines even from the World Cup`s second preliminary match. Under these conditions, players will make no progress if they consider themselves as `built-in,`" KBSN commentator Kim Dae-ghil said. "Players should not be able to guess until they reach finals when they at last arm themselves with strong sense of rivalry. This is a very desirable direction."

When he was called to the first national team gathering, Lee Yong-jae had said, "I`m aware of the many critical voices against me. I will do my best for the coach who has chosen me even in such a situation." And he really practiced it, meaning that Stielike`s intentions hit the mark.

"Japan tied with Singapore without scoring. Korea can also fall prey to unexpected situations if it doesn`t come up with various tactics. Stielike should explore more new potential players so he can conduct more various experiments," the KBS commentator said.

why@donga.com