Jurgen Klinsmann has dismissed speculation that Son Heung-min is expected to hang up his boots after South Korea’s elimination from the Asian Cup at the hands of Jordan.
The Koreans had a golden opportunity to get their hands on the trophy for the first time in 64 years after the likes of Japan and Saudi Arabia exited the competition before the semifinal stage.
However, they come unstuck against Jordan on Tuesday, with the West Asian side emerging deserved 2-0 winners. Truth be told, the Taegeuk Warriors were lacklustre right from the start of the tournament and were a tad fortunate to make it into the final four.
Son looked distraught after the full-time whistle, repeatedly apologising to the fans for being unable to go all the way (Coupang Play (6/2/24 – 17:18).
The forward also took to Instagram a couple of days ago to post another apology to the supporters, stating that he himself did not do enough as captain to help the side.
That post has led to some speculation on social media about the Tottenham man calling time on his international career, but those rumours have been dismissed by Klinsmann.
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When asked about the future of his captain, the South Korea head coach said (via Football.London): “I just texted back and forth with Sonny. Obviously, for someone like him, such an exceptional player, it’s even more emotional for him to take the fact you didn’t win the title now and bring it back to Korea. I totally understand his feelings.
“But there’s no doubt Sonny comes back in March, and no doubt he’s our captain. He’s one of the best strikers in the world, and the next goal he can have with us is in the World Cup in America. I hope he could get some trophies in his club, if it’s doable, but he will be there with us in the future.”
As one would expect, an inquest is underway back in South Korea on the reasons why the team failed to go all the way, with Klinsmann‘s position coming under scrutiny.
When asked about the side’s exit from the tournament and his role in it, the German said: “To be honest I don’t know the reasons [why this exit is more disappointing than previous ones]. I just look at the team and the development of the team. I’ve been here one year and I’ve seen a development.
“We’ve integrated young players ahead of the World Cup in America. When you lose a tournament everyone is emotional. That’s football.
“Fans will say it’s the fault of the coach or this and that. That’s normal. After being in the game for 40 years, this is normal. You look to see if the team is going in the right direction and this team is going in the right direction.”
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While Klinsmann will always be held in great regard by Spurs fans and is undoubtedly an extremely likeable person, the reality is that the game has moved on from coaches like him and he is no longer capable of competing with tacticians at the top level.
Throughout the Asian Cup, it was clear that the problem lay with the way South Korea were set up rather than a lack of quality in the side.
Son showed his quality when he came off the bench on Saturday to set up Brennan Johnson‘s late winner in Tottenham’s 2-1 win against Brighton.
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