Coach Stielike calls for a ‘new journey’

The new head coach of the South Korean men’s football team called for “a new journey” Tuesday as he opened his first training camp in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, ahead of two friendly matches.

Uli Stielike, a former German international named South Korea boss last month, called up 23 players for training at the National Football Center in Paju, north of Seoul. They’re preparing to first play Paraguay on Friday in Cheonan, about 90 kilometers south of Seoul, and then face Costa Rica in the capital next Tuesday.

Stielike’s first roster features some familiar faces, such as Bayer Leverkusen winger Son Heung-min, veteran K League Classic striker Lee Dong-gook, and Swansea City’s midfield stalwart Ki Sung-yueng.

The German coach also enlisted up-and-coming forward Kim Seung-dae, who helped South Korea win the gold medal at the recently concluded Asian Games, and defensive back Jang Hyun-soo, captain of the Asian Games team.

“Today, the South Korean national team embarks on a new journey,” Stielike told reporters as he arrived at the NFC. “I hope the coaches and players will bring new attitudes to the table so that they can all create positive effects.”

Stielike is taking over an underachieving squad that has fallen to No. 63 in the FIFA rankings, its lowest position to date, on the heels of a disappointing, winless World Cup campaign in Brazil.

Though he only has a few days to prepare for the upcoming friendly matches, Stielike said he will train his players so that this particular squad will be different from previous national teams.

“It will be difficult, and I hope the players will be able to keep up,” the coach added. “They will have to work hard at every practice and try to win every match to reach the hearts of our fans.”

Asked about his formation, Stielike said he will likely deploy different tactics for the two upcoming matches.

“In modern football, it’s important to have flexibility with tactics,” he said. “The key is for our players to make adjustments. They’re all smart players and I have confidence they’ll be able to follow.”

As for his first impression of the players, Stielike said he was pleased to see everyone arrive at the camp on time.

“It means they all understood the importance of playing on the national team,” Stielike said. (Yonhap)