Iran coach Afshin Ghotbi (left) talks to Korea coach Cho Kwang-rae after the match. (Yonhap News)
“I’m proud of Korean soccer,” said Iranian manger Afshin Ghotbi, a former assistant with Korea, after watching his side defeat Korea 1-0 at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
Ghotbi was seen running with his arms raised in the air and jumping with joy when Masod Shojaei of Spanish side Osasuna found the back of the net in the 34th minute, scoring the only goal of the game.
“Korea didn’t play very well today. But they are a good side,” he told reporters afterward.
There was reason for his delight on Tuesday night as his last visit to Seoul was painful -- Park Ji-sung’s late equalizer dashed Iran’s 2010 World Cup dreams.
This time, however, the 46-year-old Iranian-American gave the Koreans something to think about. Korea remained almost silent throughout the night, firing only two shots on target despite having more possession.
The lack of finishing touch doomed Korea’s chances of scoring, Ghotbi pointed out.
“I think, like always, Korea needs more chances (than other teams) to score at the international level. That is always going to be a problem for them. The attackers need to be sharper,” he said.
Ghotbi added that the East Asian side has to be better organized, saying, “They give away too many balls, allowing space for counter-attacking.”
Ghotbi had a two-year tenure as a technical analyst for the Korean national team under Guus Hiddink and continued another four years as an assistant coach for the team until 2007.
“Korea has been playing fantastic soccer. I’m proud of Korea,” he said.
Korea’s Ki Sung-yueng rises for a header against Iran. (Yonhap News)
Asked to give some advice to the newly appointed Korean manager Cho Kwang-rae, the Iranian manager said it was too early to judge his side, but claimed Korea should stick with what they are good at -- powerful and energetic soccer.
“I know Cho wants to play beautiful soccer, total soccer, with short passes, but my advice is don’t lose the strong side but add what he thinks,” he said.
On Tuesday, Cho made three changes from the side that beat Nigeria 2-1 in its previous match. Right-back Hong Jeong-ho started in place of Kwak Tae-hwi, while Lee Chung-yong was recalled to the midfield in place of Cho Young-cheol. Also, goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong started in place of Lee Woon-jae, who retired from the national team last month.
As he promised earlier, Cho deployed a new 3-4-3 formation with Park Chu-young in the middle, while Bolton Wanderers winger Lee took the right flank as a shadow striker with Manchester United winger Park Ji-sung on the left. But it didn’t work out.
The hard-nosed manager blamed poor field conditions for the loss, citing that the damaged turf prevented them from playing their fluent passing game.
But he admitted that his forwards need to work harder, saying, “The forwards need to study how to play inside the box."
The 55-year-old manager, who took over the Korean national team job in July, said that he is aiming to win the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar in January -- ending Korea’s 40-year trophy drought.
However, judging from Tuesday night‘s performance, Korea still has a long way to go. The Asian Cup is scheduled to take place in January. Korea is in Group C with Australia, India and Bahrain. But a more immediate challenge lies ahead when Korea faces archrival Japan on Oct. 12.