Jürgen Klinsmann’s decision not to rest his star players is being followed closely in England.
Klinsmann’s squad convened at the Paju National Training Center on Sept. 9. South Korea will play two October A matches against Tunisia and Vietnam on Oct. 13 and 17, respectively.
Klinsmann held a press conference before the training session. During the press conference, he was asked about the utilization of players who are not fully fit, including Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
In particular, it was pointed out that the three players have a tight schedule between their clubs and the national team, so they need to be considered for playing time adjustments. In fact, Son Heung-min’s playing time at Tottenham is being adjusted because he is not fully fit. Hwang Hee-chan felt unwell in the last game, and Kim Min-jae, who has been on a strong run, has also looked a little overworked.
Klinsmann was adamant. He said he would give the order to play without rest. “It’s inevitable that overseas players will have fatigue,” Klinsmann said, adding, “It’s the highest honor I could enjoy even as a player, and it’s not a position that anyone can enjoy.”
“I think the overseas players want to play the full 90 minutes every game just because of the anticipation of playing in front of their country,” he said, adding, “Of course, fatigue will set in and we will prepare with less training.”
“These are the last trials and next month we start the actual World Cup qualifiers,” Klinsmann said. “You can see the look in the players’ eyes when we call them up and they don’t want to rest. “When you see the look in their eyes when you call them up, they want to play a little bit more,” he said.
“After Son Heung-min was substituted after only 69 minutes in the last match against Liverpool, injury concerns grew and the reason behind the substitution was later revealed,” said manager Angie Postecoglou, according to English media outlet Football London.
“We had a conversation because he wasn’t 100 percent, and he was desperate,” Postecoglou said. “He gave everything he could,” he added. “We didn’t want him to play 90 minutes, we wanted to give him 60 minutes,” he continued, “He was a player who led the team from the front and pressed.”
“In order to maintain his physical condition, Son Heung-min reduced his training on the weekends,” the media reported, adding that “before the Luton Town game, 토토사이트 Coach Postecoglou checked on Son Heung-min and trained him.” Son Heung-min was placed under special management.
Despite this, Son is expected to play a lot of minutes for the national team. “The health of the players is the first priority,” Klinsmann said. “Just as Tottenham want Son to come back healthy, I want him to come back healthy to the national team.” “I’ll talk to the players and make adjustments,” he said, “but it’s my job to make sure they can give it their all on game day. I’m not going to rotate them or leave them out.”
“There are still concerns surrounding Son Heung-min’s fitness,” Klinsmann said, according to Football London.