Loss aside, Klinsmann praises S. Korean performance vs. Uruguay as 'top class'

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, March 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea may have lost to Uruguay 2-1 in their latest men's football friendly match Tuesday night, but their head coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, still liked what he saw from his players, especially after they overcame a sluggish start.

"I am disappointed with the result, because I don't like to lose. But I am very happy with the performance," Klinsmann said at his postmatch press conference at Seoul World Cup Stadium. "We had problems today in the first 20 minutes. We couldn't find the rhythm right away. But for 70 minutes, we were clearly the far better team on the field. The performance in the 70 minutes was top class."

Sebastian Coates headed in Uruguay's first goal in the 10th minute, and South Korea, as Klinsmann noted, had trouble getting much going on the offensive end early on. It wasn't until late in the first half that the attackers found some breathing room in the opposing zone, and midfielder Hwang In-beom netted the equalizer six minutes into the second half.

After Uruguay went ahead off a free kick, substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu came within inches of getting the tying goal, as he was ruled offside after finding the back of the net with an outstanding strike from inside the box.

In two matches under Klinsmann, South Korea, who had a 2-2 draw against Colombia last Friday, played with a notable pace. The coach said he wanted his team to learn to play at a high tempo against strong opponents.

"This is the tempo that you need to adjust on the highest level, so we have to basically always try to measure us with the best teams that we can get to play in a friendly match," he said. "This is the way to learn. And even if (Uruguay) won, we outplayed them. This should give the team confidence. It's important that we keep the tempo high and we always try to find solutions."

Klinsmann then identified Hwang as exactly the type of player necessary for such a style of play.

"The way he reads the game, the way he finds solutions in a very simple and direct way is absolutely outstanding," Klinsamnn said. "I am very happy to have him on the team."

Though South Korea conceded two goals in back-to-back matches, Klinsmann said he had "no concerns at all" about his defense.

"We got two set pieces today. It's frustrating, but it happens," he said. "Overall, the way (defenders) performed was top class. There was nothing in the second half until the free kick. Defensively, we protected well."

As for keeping Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in, two attacking midfielders with overlapping skills, together for the entire match, Klinsmann said he liked their flow and he didn't want to disrupt it with substitutions.

"When you have a player like Sonny, it's very important that you find ways to create and ways where he can express his strengths. And he's one of the best strikers in the world," Klinsmann said of the Tottenham Hotspur star. "So we build around him, and the other players grow with him. If I am young like Kang-in, I want to grow next to a player like Sonny."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
(END)