Pim Verbeek still carries Korea candle
Pim Verbeek is a name that will forever be remembered in South Korea. He was Guus Hiddink’s number two during the summer of 2002 when the team went on that magical run to the semifinal.
The Dutchman returned in 2005 as assistant to Dick Advocaat ahead of the 2006 World Cup. After that was finished, Verbeek took over as head coach until the 2007 Asian Cup, when the Taegeuk Warriors were eliminated at the semifinal stage.
After spells in charge of Australia and then Morocco’s youth team, the genial boss is in charge of Oman at the 2019 Asian Cup, currently ongoing in the United Arab Emirates. Now 62, there is not as much hair as before but the affection for Korean soccer remains.
He is also impressed with his former team so far and saw the victories over the Philippines and then Kyrgyzstan in the group stage.
“I think Korea is very good,” Verbeek told The Korea Times from his hotel in Abu Dhabi. “The central midfield players are very skilful. They are one of the favorites because of the quality of the team, the mentality and they have players who can make the difference.”
Verbeek does worry a little that there is too much pressure on the shoulders of star player Son Heung-min. The Tottenham star arrived in the UAE capital on Monday, just a day after appearing against Manchester United in London.
“The pressure will be there as it was during the World Cup,” Verbeek said. “I saw the Asian Games and he is doing very well in Tottenham at moment and they are going to miss him. He is one of 11 players but they do depend on him."
It reminds Verbeek of Park Ji-sung of Manchest e r United ahead of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. “He was injured when we started and he did not play any games before the tournament and we tried to get him fit. He felt a responsibility for the whole nation on his shoulders. At Manchester United, he was one of 20 players. He sometimes played, sometimes not but the stars were someone else. The pressure from Korea is not easy to deal with — we saw that with Son at the World Cup when he had too much on his shoulders.”
Verbeek was a somewhat under- whelmed with Korea’s performance at the World Cup. The team may have defeated defending champion Germany in the final game but was still eliminated thanks to losses against Sweden and Mexico.
“They had a great game against Germany but if you look overall they were more competitive in the past. This time I was a little disappointed.”
He is still hopeful that Korean soccer still has a bright future. “You can still see that Korean clubs are always going well in the Asian Champions League.
They don’t have so many players abroad any more compared to after 2002 when so many went. There are a few in Germany and the stars in England. The way they work in the clubs means that Korea will always be good. They have the mentality, they always fight and are always looking to get better and they are always difficult to play against.”