Afhsin Ghotbi Interview Part 1 | Part
2 | Part 3
John Duerden talks to Afhsin Ghotbi, in his second spell as an
assistant coach with South Korea's national team
Afhsin Ghotbi is an assistant coach of the South Korean national
team and was part of the coaching staff under Guus Hiddink in the
18 months leading up to the 2002 World Cup.
A forward-thinking 42-year-old, his talents have been in demand
around the world but he chose to return to East Asia.
Why did you come back?
Number one is the 2002 experience was one of the greatest football
experiences of my life. Number two, I really believe in the Korean
players. I feel that Korean football players are a dream for a football
coach because they always want to fight for you, they are always
willing to do their jobs. Thirdly, I believe that we can achieve
something and I really wanted to work with Mr.
Advocaat and Pim.
When you saw the players again before the Iran game, what
were you initial impressions?
I think the moment we arrived in the training camp we felt that
the mood changed immediately. Because of our relationship with the
players and Korean football, there was an immediate trust from the
players.
Our first goal was to change the atmosphere in the team and the
group and we were very successful with that - it was immediately
visible from the first training session.
How was the atmosphere before do you think?
We like to have players that are ambitious, players that play within
an organization - where everybody is very aware of their role
in the group. We felt that when we came to Korea, the group was
very disjointed -it lacked direction and coordination.
Why do you think that was?
I saw this in the 1994. In the 94 World Cup the US had done reasonably
well and from 94-98, some of the players had become popular, had
become icons, the league was created and the players were put in
different teams and those players were given very good salaries,
they almost had the power to run the team.
I think a similar thing happened with the Korean players and the
success they had in 2002. Maybe they became complacent, maybe they
lost their edge.
The key should be to increase the pool of players, to create competition
in a group where everybody is fighting for their position and when
that doesn't exist then players have a tendency to lose their form
- that's one of the reasons, the other ones would be a very
long discussion and it's not important to name names.
Do you think it's hard for players to maintain the same
levels of intensity between World Cups? Playing Vietnam and Maldives
doesn't have the same feeling as Italy, Spain and Germany.
Yes and no because it depends which players you use in those games.
If you use young players and experienced players and constantly
create competition, they will constantly be challenged - they
have an opportunity to show themselves. Then even the experienced
players are looking over the shoulders and then even the Maldives
game becomes an important game.
After leaving in 2002, how much did you know about what
was happening with the Korean team?
Korea's become almost my home - it is home to me. I was always on
the internet and having telephone conversations, keeping in touch.
When I went back to LA Galaxy, Hong Myung-bo was still playing there.
We had a lot of stories to share and discussions.
I was very interested, not only in the national team but also the
K-League because I stayed with Suwon Samsung for two years.
Do you feel there is a difference in the attitudes of the
media and public compared to four years ago?
I think that the media is more experienced and the public is just
as excited as 2002, maybe even more educated about the game. They
realize that football has a big influence, not just on the pitch.
The success of the national team in 2002 really impacted on Korea,
economically, culturally. It had a ripple effect around the world.
I don't think there was any person in the world after 2002 that
had any question about what Korea is, what Korea is about.
What were the main good points of the recent overseas tour?
The best thing was the opportunity to play opponents of different
tactical organizations in different environments with different
players. We were able to use a lot of different players, change
line-ups, we were able to use mostly younger players in the group
that are playing in the K-League.
We now know exactly what those players are capable of doing and
I think that those players improved by being part of that group.
That helped our selection process and also helped those players
in the group to improve as football players. Maybe now they are
clearer about what we want from them.
We're very pleased and the good results were the icing on the cake.
Not many teams walk into the LA Coliseum with 70,000 Mexican fans
and beat Mexico ranked number six in the world with only domestic
players and not just beat them but outplay them.
The Mexican press said that we were physically, technically, tactically
and psychologically superior.
One problem on display in that game was Korea's problem
of converting chances into goals. It's no secret but how much can
you improve that when many people say that goalscoring is an instinct?
I read a book called 'Blink'
and it said that when the heartbeat is very high and you are under
stress, your overview really decreases. A lot of athletes lose their
calmness and they don't take the right decisions - that's
probably why goalscorers are the highest paid players. It is a gift,
it's a quality that is very difficult to instill in a player. We
feel that we have a few players that if they hit the right form
or confidence then they can score and finish but unfortunately they
didn't find that in the tour. But that was the pre-season, our tour
was just after the winter break. We didn't have our foreign players
to see if they can help us. The final part is to practice it in
training to give players the chance to improve it by one or two
percent.
Our job as coaches is to pick the right players and give them the
right system to be in positions with the chance to create as many
chances as possible. It's simple, you score more goals then you
win games.
It's a problem in the K-League when most teams have Brazilian
strikers…
We had this discussion a few years ago that when you look at most
of the final passes and touches in the K-League, they are made by
foreign players, though of course there are exceptions but that's
something that needs to change. Part of finishing has to do with
feeling, one of the things that happens is that our players try
to hit the ball too high when they get an opportunity, instead of
just picking their spot.
How may goals are scored inside the 16 meter box and the inside
channel? I did some research at the 2002 World Cup - 75% of
the goals were scored inside the 16-meter area in the centre
channel. Most goals were scored in the area from the penalty spot
to the six-yard box. Think about training. How many coaches from
all over the world are creating training that focuses on scoring
from that range? - Not so many.
Strikers like Lee Dong-gook and Ahn Jung-hwan are very talented
and score spectacular goals but are guilty of missing easy chances.
They are very classic strikers but sometimes the guys that are willing
to score ugly goals do it by sweating and running around the six
meter box looking for anything. There are strikers that are looking
to score unbelievable goals - that's their style. Gerd Muller
scored very few beautiful goals but he scored a ton of goals. Those
are discussions that we are having with players, those are qualities
we're looking for and we do believe that we have to find the right
balance.
One striker often in the news is Park Chu-young. Dick Advocaat
said at a recent press conference that he needs to do a little bit
more, Pim Verbeek said the same thing to me a few months ago. What
are your thoughts?
I think he's a born goalscorer. He has qualities that you can't
teach. He looks behind the defence often; he gets himself in scoring
positions. He has shown that he can score in the K-League and he
has shown that he can score against Angola, Finland and Greece.
Can he be better? Of course. We feel that he can be a much better
footballer between the midfield line and the defense line. Those
places where he comes to receive the ball, he can combine much quicker
and can make better tactical decisions. He's 20 years old, he's
a young boy. Does he have the tools to become a top international
striker? We think so.
Yes - we've been critical of him because we feel that he can
do more. One of the things that I was really impressed with was
that he was urged to do more and against Angola in the first half,
he was very good.
Park seems to be the only player who receives these kinds
of comments.
You know about us -we are honest about players' performances.
There are some things we do in-house and some things we do out of
the house. We sometimes throw these little pieces of information
out just to see how players will react. It was not done by accident.
How much of the squad is decided now?
I think it has not been decided. The discussion is only about the
pool of players, the possibility about how we are going to play.
We want to leave it open so the players in their club teams for
the next two months for their club teams feel challenged and keep
improving. I think the final selection will be based on who is in
the best form and based on what we saw in the last two months in
the training camp.
Some players didn't go on the training camp and aren't playing
for the clubs. How much of a problem is it that Ahn Jung-hwan, Cha
Du-ri and Seol Ki-hyeon are not getting much playing time?
I think it's an important issue. It's important for players to play
in their club. It's difficult to bring players in that are out of
form because they are not match fit. At the same time, we are constantly
looking at them - every game is analyzed. My feeling is that
we have an eye on them every chance we can.
We are communicating with them, pushing them to get into the first
teams but sometimes it's a risk you take when you go overseas because
if you don't play, you reduce your chances to come into the national
team and if you stay in Korea you don't have the experience of playing
at the top level.
If you look at Seol Ki-hyeon. He hasn't appeared in the
last four games for Wolves and people like Chung Kyung-ho and Lee
Chun-soo had performed pretty well for the national team. If the
situation continues will it be possible for Seol to start in the
World Cup ahead of these players even though he's not playing for
his team?
First of all, the decision becomes a more difficult decision to
bring a player into the team that hasn't played at all in the last
four or five months. The second issue is that if you do bring him
in, what form will he be in? My feeling is that if a player is an
unknown player and a player is experienced and has done well overseas
before - you have to consider all of that.
It makes the decision tougher as we all know that when a player
isn't playing, his form drops. We all know that football is not
something that you can turn on and off. It's the World Cup, you
need the build-up, you need the preparation.
It's something that we are concerned about. We are logging the minutes
that they aren't playing and wondering why they are not playing
for the first team.
In the past, some people referred to you as an analyst.
Does that bother you?
People are very quick at categorizing - I've been a football
coach for years and I feel that when I took the job in 2002, I was
coming as a coach and my duty was to analyze the opponents with
the most modern technology.
It was a mistake I made in my negotiations but I learnt from that.
I don't look back on it with regret as it was an amazing experience,
I learnt a lot form it and I achieved a lot but from then on, I
would never make that same mistake. It's important in football and
any other job to have a title. My job now is as an assistant coach,
I'm on the pitch with the players, I have a role in the group. I
also, on top of that use technology which I think every coach should
do anyway. Coaches are analyzers, that's one of their first jobs
- to analyze.
When analyzing a team on video, have you ever thought 'this
team is too good -I want to turn it off!'
I would never turn it off, in football there are always possibilities.
I can tell you that the Italian team was a very good team in 2002.
When you look at the French team in the build up to 2002, that was
a fantastic team.
There are teams that are so good but that is what makes this game
so special. On any given night, you can have one chance against
twenty chances and finish your chance and win the game. I truly
believe that's why it's the number one sport in the world. There
are always possibilities to find weaknesses as I don't think there's
a perfect team in the world.
Moving on to 2006, when you saw the World Cup draw in Leipzig
what was your initial reaction?
Our reaction was positive, the group could have been worse, it could
have been easier. My feeling is that there are no easy games in
the World Cup any more - all teams have to respected but not
feared.
When you think with your logic head on, not your football head,
then France should be the favourites and it will be between Korea
and Switzerland. Togo is unknown but with the qualities of African
players, the physical qualities, the pace and individual technique,
anything is also possible from them. So my feeling is that we're
happy with the group - we need to practice our French.
There's no real, real easy group. The Germany group is the only
one you can say is easier than the rest. The Argentina group is
very difficult.
Will you make targets? Tell the players, this game we need
three points from this game, a draw here, a draw there.
We will go in one game at a time - our goal is to earn three
points against Togo, that will be the key. Our emphasis is on selection
of players, picking the right players and also finding the perfect
system for our players. We like to play a system that is flexible,
one that brings out the best in the players.
Is it a good thing to play Togo first?
You have to play all of them anyway. I think that if you win the
Togo game then it's a good thing. We try not to think too much about
those kinds of things, you will drive yourself crazy. We try to
think 'how can we maximize the performance of this team?' These
are things we can control, the other things we can't control.
When you talk about maximizing performances, are there some
things you can change, improve and some things you can't?
The best thing you can do is use players strengths. We can't change
players in international football - it's not realistic - we
can use their strengths in the team. We can improve players, we
are all teacher-coaches. We feel that we will try to improve them
in every way possible.
What are the usual strengths and weaknesses of Korean players?
In general, Korean players are very technical, very athletic. The
speed that they can play is probably top-notch. On the psychological
side, they are very tough, they will fight from the first moment
to the last moment, for the coach, for the team, for the country.
Their willingness to work as a unit because of their cultural influences
is a big strength in the World Cup. In international football, we
see a lot of stars coming together to play and they get one month
to prepare, sometimes they are not all on the same page. First they
think of themselves and then the team but the Korean national team
think first of the team and then of themselves and that is a huge
advantage.
The weaknesses have always been for us is the practical decisions
they take on the field. Do they have football solutions to football
problems? A typical, general Korean reaction to a football problem
is to use physical force. We think there has been a great improvement
since 2002 and since we've been here we're trying to improve it
more.
Also, there seems to be a lack of talking on the pitch between
players.
That is something that we addressed in 2002 - the hierarchy
in the group. The younger players had a difficult time speaking
to the older players even if the younger player was a better football
player.
It's is better now. For example, when you sit with the Korean players
for a meal, the discussions are going on among the tables and the
volume is much higher. There's a lot more discussions of young players
to each other, old players. There's much more personality.
In the 2002 World Cup we would have moments when there was absolute
silence. Now it's changed, the younger players feel freer, there's
more personality. It's improving though it's not as good as it should
be.
One difference now is that 2002 there was only Ahn Jung-hwan
and Seol Ki-hyeon playing abroad but now there are many players.
Does that make it more difficult to create a feeling of squad spirit?
The character of the Korean players doesn't really change -
to serve the team, to serve each other and be part of the national
team. That doesn't change even if you go and play on Mars -
that's one of the special qualities of Korean players.
If you look at the 2002 team and the 2006 and it's not good to compare
but the younger players are better and the older players are more
experienced so I feel in general that it's a better squad.
The only difference is that we're playing away from home soil and
we don't have as many Korean fans cheering us on.
I promise you that all of us, the players and you as a journalist,
always feel the need to defend the Korean team from people who talk
about 'oh, you played at home and had the referees'. I feel that
it is a competitive challenge for everyone to see that 2002 was
not a fluke. It was a team that was well-organized, they played
very, very well and they deserved the results they got.
Do you think that this time, other teams will be ready for
Korea, know what to expect?
In some ways but how do you prepare to play against a team that
is running at you from all directions with unbelievable pace and
not for 20 or 30 minutes but for 90 minutes plus. I think they expect
to face a hard-working team but at the same time, that's not so
easy to prepare for.
Why was Korea so successful in 2002?
The main reason was we hosted it - that gave the confidence,
the inspiration, the energy - it was the right setting for the players
to bring their best.
Second, I think the KFA and the leadership of Mr
Chung, they were bold, they made a massive plan by bringing
in a foreign coach, coaching staff and a lot of training camps,
suspending the K-League and giving us a six-month preparation.
We prepared like a club team so we had a huge advantage against
a lot of national teams. We trained every day and played games like
a club team, it improved the players and made a cohesive group.
The combination of the staff - the technical staff, the administrative
staff and the players we had - it was a perfect balance. In
football, you score the first goal against Poland and the energy
changes.
Everybody that was a part of the team realizes that the Scotland
game, the 4-1 win was a turning point. That gave the team the confidence
that they could do it.
Do you think Korea could have won the World Cup?
Everything was possible once we got out of the first round, the
moment we beat Italy, the energy and confidence in the group was
unbelievable. I was very disappointed when we lost to Germany, it's
not often as a player or coach that you're going to be 20 minutes
away from the final of the World Cup. We were better than Germany,
even though we didn't really show it on that night.
What would satisfy you in the World Cup -second round,
quarter-finals ..?
Winning the World Cup would satisfy me. Dick Advocaat, Pim Verbeek, myself and all the players have
always gone to every tournament with the intention of winning. I
truly believe it's possible.
Career
2004 - 2005 - Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) - Assistant
Coach
2002 - 2004 - Samsung Bluewings (K-League, Korea)-
Assistant Coach
2001 - 2002 - Korea National Team & 2002 World Cup (4th
place) - Analyst Coach
1998 - 2001 - Technical Consultant - Clients included
Ajax (Netherlands), LA Galaxy (USA), Omiya Ardija (Japan), KFA (Korea),
Chinese Football Association
1997 - 1998 - USA National Team & 1998 World Cup
- Technical Staff / Chief Scout
1988 - 2001 - American Global Soccer School -
Head Coach and Technical Director
Related Links
|
