“Korean players have the best mental + physical strength”

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Anzhi Postecoglou has praised his South Korean players.

Tottenham Hotspur lost the second game of their Coupang Play series against Bayern Munich 1-2 on Wednesday at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.

After a 4-3 win in the first leg of the Coupang Play series against Team K League, the Bavarians struggled against the German Bundesliga champions. They conceded the first goal in the fourth minute of the first leg through Gabriel Vidovic, and Leon Goretzka added a second goal in the 11th minute. Pedro Foro pulled a goal back in the 20th minute of the second half, but they were unable to find an equalizer.

While Munich center back Kim Min-jae played around 55 minutes, Son Heung-min also started and played the full 75 minutes, but was unable to add any offensive points. Despite the loss, Postecoglou was pleased with the positives from the Asian tour and friendlies.

Postecoglou wasn’t too concerned with the loss or the performance, saying that his players weren’t 100 percent because of the intense fitness training they had been doing over the past 10 days.

In his post-match press conference, Postecoglou said, “I think it’s a bit harsh to judge the players overall today. I don’t think it’s fair to judge the players’ skills or performance in a cold way, given the intensity of the training and the match,” he said, “but I think they gave everything they had and tried to show everything they had in their current condition.”

However, when asked about his impressions from the three friendlies in Japan and Korea, he said, “We have solidified our foundation in terms of physical fitness. There were a lot of good things about the tour and the games, but there were also a lot of things that we need to improve,” he said. “It will be important for us to go back and see how much we can fill in the gaps in our training from this situation where we have a solid foundation.”

Postecoglou also talked about his image of Korean players. He coached Yoon Il-Rok during his tenure at Yokohama F Marinos in Japan’s J-League and recruited Oh Hyun-Gyu from Scottish giants Celtic. He has since worked with Son Heung-min at Tottenham, and this summer signed winger Yang Min-hyuk, born in 2006, from Gangwon FC.

“I think the Korean players in particular have always been very well prepared, mentally and physically,” Postecoglou said of the Korean players, “I think they’ve always been very well prepared mentally, physically, technically, and in terms of what it takes to play soccer.”

“I think the new generation of young players that will come up in the future will be able to go to Europe more and more in the future,” he said. “They are becoming more and more mature mentally, physically, and technically like their seniors, so I think we will soon see more and more players playing in Europe, and I hope that will happen,” he said, adding that he is optimistic about the future of Korean soccer.

Here’s what Postecoglou had to say.

–How did you feel about today’s match?

It was a very difficult game. We’ve been in Korea for ten days and trained intensely, and I think it showed in our training and in our physical condition. In the first half, we struggled to manage the game because the players were struggling physically, but the training process we’ve been doing for ten days will help us in our preparation for the season. We didn’t look sharp because of the heavy physical condition of the players, but it’s a building process, and I think we’ll see it after the start of the season.

–I think there were a lot of positives today, but when it comes to evaluating young players like Alfie Divine and Lucas Verbal.

I think it’s a bit harsh to evaluate the players in general today. I don’t think it’s fair to judge the players’ skills or performance in a cold way when they’re training and playing at such an intense level. But I think the players gave everything they had and tried to give everything they had in their current form, and I think that’s a very positive thing, especially against a strong team.

I think we played better in the second half. I think both teams were tired in the second half and we brought in new players and brought more energy on the pitch, which is a positive. I think Divine and Verbal are young players and I think they tried to show a little bit of their quality, so I give them a lot of credit.

–Now you’re back in England and you’ve been experimenting with players in different positions on tour, how have they been received?

I think every player needs to play in a different position from time to time. Obviously it’s a challenge for the players, but as a team we needed to see how they 토토사이트 추천 could perform in positions other than their main position, and I think it’s a positive thing that we were able to do that.

I think we need to analyze players like Oliver Skip and Jamie Donley because they’ve been playing in positions other than theirs. We need to think a little bit more before the season about how to play them and how to build the team.

–The three matches in Asia are over. What were your overall impressions from those three matches and are there any areas that you felt like you need to work on now that the season is about to start?

I think it was very important how much we trained in these ten days and how we built the team. We improved a lot in those 10 days, especially physically. And the training process in East Asia, the training and the games that we played, I think the players will definitely take away a lot from that, especially in terms of the physicality, so it’s a solid foundation. And there were a lot of good things that we did on this tour and in the games, but there were also a lot of things that we definitely need to work on.

I think it will be important for us to go back and see how much we can fill in the gaps in our training, because we have a strong base and a strong foundation. More importantly, we had two or three players who didn’t make the tour and how quickly they fit into the team when they do. We’ve got about two weeks to go before the season starts, and it’s important that we make up for it physically and that we start the season in good shape.

-With key defenders like Christian Romero and Micky Vander Penn missing, the defense has been shaky, conceding eight goals in the last five games. Do you have any plans to improve this?

Preseason is all about preparing for the season. Destiny Udogie didn’t come, and in fact, three of our main defenders didn’t make the trip. But we knew that when we were preparing for the preseason, and the most important thing is the preparation and how well you prepare. I think it’s also very important how complete we are when we get closer to the season.

The most important thing is that there are no points in friendlies. We had a very good ten days of training and the players did a good job, so I think we can take these things positively and prepare for the season.

-What are your impressions of Korea? You’ve coached four South Korean players, Yoon Il-Rok, Oh Hyun-Kyu, Son Heung-Min, and now Yang Min-Hyuk, who is set to join Tottenham, so what do you think are the characteristics of Korean players?

I was very fortunate to be able to live in East Asia. I’m very grateful for that, and I think I have a good relationship with the players because I understand the culture a little bit better because I lived in East Asia. Among the East Asian athletes, Korean athletes in particular always seemed to be more mentally and physically prepared. I felt like I went to Europe very well prepared mentally, physically, technically, and in terms of what it takes to play soccer.

Even now, there are Korean players playing in the Premier League, Bundesliga, and other high level leagues in Europe. I think the current players have paved the way a lot, so I think the new generation of young players coming up will be able to go to Europe more in the future. I don’t think they are unprepared by any means. They are becoming more and more mature mentally, physically, and technically, just like their elders, so I think we will soon see more of them playing in Europe, and I hope it happens.