"My failure is a teacher." Hong Myung-bo, "It's completely different from 10 years ago."

"My failure is a teacher." Hong Myung-bo, "It's completely different from 10 years ago."

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"I met a lot of players over the past year, and I tried to listen to their stories rather than tell them my own. I understood what the players were thinking and what their personalities and characteristics were. I felt a lot over the past year like that. Now we have to build a good team based on that. The identification of players is over. It is different from 10 years ago."

This is the words of Hong Myung-bo, the coach of the Korean national soccer team, whom he recently met. The words he mentioned refer to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. It is his first World Cup as a coach, and the time that he wants to erase the most in his soccer career.

Korean soccer was in disarray ahead of the World Cup soccer finals in Brazil. Coach Choi Kang-hee, who was leading Jeonbuk Hyundai, the strongest in the K-League, won the ticket to the finals on the premise that he would return to his team after leading the team until the Asian qualifying round, but there was no right replacement for him. At that time, the firefighter was Hong Myung-bo.

Although there were great achievements such as the quarterfinals of the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, there was still advice and dissuasion that it was too early to take the helm of the A-team and stand on the World Cup stage, but there was no specific alternative, and Hong Myung-bo departed.

The result was disastrous At that time, the national team was eliminated due to poor performance of one draw and two losses, and Hong resigned in disgrace after being hit by public criticism.

Coach Hong Myung-bo said, "I've been in charge of the national team with a year left before the World Cup. At that time, I spent all my time just figuring out the players," and recalled that "I tested all the players in my own way, and as a result, they were the only ones who had the resources to choose (from the main competition)."

This is when criticism that "Hong Myung-bo's best 11 can be drawn with his eyes closed" and "only uses his favorite players" came out to be ridiculed as "loyal soccer."

Young leader Hong Myung-bo, who thought he could be competitive in the World Cup with the players he knew, including during the London Olympics, was ultimately wrong, and Korean soccer suffered greatly along with the choice. It was a moment when the national hero was turned into a traitor.

Since then, the time has passed, and the opportunity to challenge again has been opened in front of the middle-aged leader Hong Myung-bo. Faced with a situation that could be his second World Cup as a coach, he began by using his "failed self" as a counter-teacher.

As soon as he took office, he flew to Europe and met existing main members including Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, Lee Jae-sung, Kim Min-jae and Hwang Hee-chan, and also operated a radar network for young bloods who had just begun to challenge themselves in the small and medium-sized leagues such as Yang Hyun-joon, Bae Jun-ho, Lee Han-beom, Oh Hyun-kyu and Lee Young-joon. Players playing in the Middle East and Japan were also checked, and when he stayed in Korea, he visited the K-League stadium to cover up the jade.

It was a valuable time for the coach, as he played 10 actual games called Asian qualifiers while broadly grasping the main and supporting resources. As he said, "There is a big difference between watching him play in his team, calling up and training together, and putting it into the actual game," he prepared a pool of talent amid efforts not to repeat past failures.

"The most important thing is which player will show the best performance in June next year. I missed it 10 years ago (during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil)," Hong said after the final 10th match against Kuwait. "I will select the player who shows the best performance then. I will keep a close eye on the players for the rest of the year."

"No one can predict the situation of our players a year later. "There are players who have supported the team so far, and it is true that they are the main players, but the best members of our team have not been decided yet." He declared an infinite competition by sending a clear message to the players. 메이저놀이터

Coach Hong Myung-bo has fully understood what cards he can use and what combinations he can make. Ten years ago, he went straight to the finals after this process, but this time he will be given one more year. The final result is unknown, but it is true that he is more hopeful and has higher expectations than when he was in jeopardy even before going out to sea.