Team Korea changes center defense formation

Team Korea changes center defense formation. October. 08, 2016 07:59. by 이종석기자 wing@donga.com. South Korean men's national football team coach Uli Stielike positioned Kim Ki-hee (Shanghai) and Hong Jeong-ho (Jiangsu) as center defenders of a four-back defense line when the team had the first match of the final Asian qualifying round for the Russian World Cup on Sept. 1. In a match against Syria on Sept. 6, he deployed Jang Hyun-soo (Guangzhou R&F) and Kim Young-kwon (Guangzhou Hengda) as the center defender combination. In the match against Qatar on Sept. 6, he deployed Hong Jeong-ho and Kim Ki-hee as starting center pullbacks.

In a 4-2-3-1 formation, teamwork of two center defenders is more important than that of any other positons. For this reason, the combination of center pullbacks rarely changes, be it the Korean national team or a club team. However, Stielike’s center pullback combination is changing in every match. This means that the coach has yet to find players of strong teamwork, and that the defense line is not stable and strong enough.

The center defender combination is set to change again in an away match against Iran on Tuesday, which will likely be the biggest obstacle Team Korea will face in the final qualifying round. Korea is trailing Iran overall in past matches with nine wins, seven draws and 12 losses. At the six away games against Iran, the team has a record of two draws and four losses.

Coach Stielike was criticized for his team’s insecure defense even after winning the matches against China and Qatar. For now, he replaced Hong Jeong-ho who was given a red card in the match against Qatar with Kim Min-hyeok (Sagan Dosu), who is playing in the J League. At the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, Kim contributed to Korea’s winning the gold medal by forming the center defense line jointly with Jang Hyun-soo.

If Kwak Tae-hee (Seoul), the most experienced player, is added to the lineup, Team Korea has about four players to form the center defense line. However, considering the significance of the match against Iran, Stielike may as well feel uncomfortable deploying Kim Min-hyeok who lacks A-match experience as a member of the center defense line.

The coach will likely agonize about a combination from the three players -- Kwak Tae-hee, Jang Hyun-soo and Kim Ki-hee, who have experience in matches against Iran. Korea must find a center defense combination armed with stability at the earliest date possible in order to advance to the World Cup finals for nine consecutive events.