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Korea national team coach Gus Hiddink
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'My Team Is Committed to Winning'
Korean national coach Gus Hiddink talks to TIME
By STELLA KIM
December 24, 2001
Former Dutch soccer coach Gus Hiddink hopes to lead the Korean national team to victory in the World Cup in June. Hiddink, who was hired in January this year, had led the Netherlands' national team to the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup in France, beating South Korea 5-to-0 in preliminaries on the way. He spoke recently to TIME reporter Stella Kim in Seoul. Edited excerpts:
TIME: People were surprised when you first accepted the job. They wanted to know why such a famous coach had agreed to train such an unfancy team? What were your reasons?
Hiddink: To be honest I was hesitant as well. But the Koreans were very serious and they came to Amsterdam and held meeting after meeting with me. I was not so interested in the money side; that was my lawyer's job. My main interest was finding out under what circumstances I was going to work and whether I had the time to prepare this team to be a competitive one given that I only had a year-and-a-half. But they gave me assurances that there would be time for concentrated training, games and fine-tuning. In fact, there was no single problem to any of my wishes or demands. Clearly, they were very serious so I decided to go for it. Korea has participated in the World Cup in the past, but they have never won. I would like to end that.
TIME: What was the team like when you first arrived? What were their strengths and weaknesses?
Hiddink: The first thing I did upon my arrival was to examine the team and determine which players I thought could reach and cope with the high demands of playing at an international standard. I made some changes in the first week. I had a long-term view of what I wanted and some players could not understand that. Some of them made it and others didn't. Now only nine players are left from the original team. My goal is to have a team of modern, speedy and athletic players.
TIME: What are the areas of the game that you have concentrated on with the Korean team?
Hiddink: Every player must defend in his position. The emphasis must also be on creative play.
TIME: Are you satisfied with the way the team has shaped up?
Hiddink: I am pleased with our defensive play but I am not fully satisfied with our constructive play. I want to see more creative play. Players cannot just wait for things to happen. They have to attack. The good thing is the Korean team is very open and willing to learn. They just lack experience in participating in matches as the Korean League is rather new. We will lose games, of course, but we will learn from those and it will not harm our confidence.
TIME: What effect if any has traditional Korean culture had any on the players?
Hiddink: When I first arrived, the team was divided into three groups and they hardly communicated with each other because they were maintaining respect for hierarchy. So I mixed them up and now they talk and even challenge each other on the field.
TIME: How do you rate Korea's opponents in Group D (Portugal, Poland and the United States)?
Hiddink: Koreans said, "Oh no!" when Portugal was drawn. My response was "Why not?" On the other hand when Poland was drawn Koreans said "Oh yeah!" and I said "Not really." Poland made very good progress last year and easily made it to the qualifying games. The Polish team is unknown, and so the most dangerous and trickiest game will be against them.
TIME: Will Korea win any matches in the opening round?
Hiddink: I want the team to be very determined and to strive to win. It is a luxury to host the World Cup in Korea. The team should work very hard but also enjoy themselves. It is important to understand that enjoying the situation does not mean fooling around.
TIME: Many Koreans have high expectations that you will lead the team to the quarter-finals. How do you deal with this pressure?
Hiddink: The only guarantee I can give is that every player is committed 100% to achieving our goal. We don't lack concentration.
TIME: What are your post-Cup plans? When does your contract with Korea expire and will you ask for an extension?
Hiddink: I don't just want to focus on the World Cup. I think Korea has a good future and I want to see soccer develop further. This country's young players are so committed to learn and so someone has to guide them. Regarding my contract, they will probably have to extend it for at least a week after the Cup so we can celebrate. But it's hard to say. If the result is not good, they will not extend it.
TIME: There are four Asian teams participating in the World Cup. Are football standards in Asia that high that the continent deserves a quota of four teams?
Hiddink: Asia is a large continent and football is developing in the region. Asians now have to show that they deserve having four teams.
TIME: Which teams are you most looking forward to watching during the World Cup?
Hiddink: There are 32 national teams participating and all of them are very competitive. Yet, there will be many surprises. Argentina and Brazil did so lousy during the selection process but I believe they will be strong. England and France will be the teams to watch out for.
TIME: Which players are you looking forward to watching?
Hiddink: I would hope some Korean players get some attention.
TIME: You are Dutch. So how do you feel about coaching the Korean team to the World Cup while the Dutch national team failed to qualify?
Hiddink: Pity is a soft word to use. I know the Dutch team very well. I helped to build the team in 1996 and prepared them for the last World Cup in France. They were very competitive, highly qualified, and they performed very well. Ninety per cent of the players are still in the team today. Losing Dennis Bergkamp and Wim Jonk should not have made the team weak. I was shocked to learn they did not make the qualifying round.
TIME: Why did the team fail to qualify? What did coach Louis Van Gaal do wrong? If you were coach, what would you have done differently?
Hiddink: The attitude of the Dutch team can be summed up by the words overconfident and arrogant. They were fooling themselves.
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