FC Online releases ‘Masterpiece Road’, a content featuring famous soccer coaches
Former director Bento makes a surprise appearance… Mourinho’s appearance in the next episode, ‘Special One’
As Korean soccer is shaken, game-related content featuring former national team coach Paulo Bento (pictured), who led the round of 16 of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, is attracting attention.
According to the industry on the 26th, ‘EA Sports FC Online’, an online soccer game serviced by Nexon, released content ‘Master’s Road’ on the 24th. This content is a series that visits world-class soccer coaches to seek advice on selecting the next coach of the Korean national team and the development of Korean soccer, and in the first episode, former coach Bento made a surprise appearance via video call.
It was planned after the national team, which was evaluated as the strongest member of all time, including Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), failed to advance to the finals due to a loss to Jordan at the Asian Cup. This is content that seeks the next director after director Jürgen Klinsmann steps down. Coincidentally, on this day (Korean time), they lost to Indonesia in the quarterfinals of the Under-23 Asian Cup and were canceled from participating in the Olympics for the first time in 40 years, so even more attention was focused.
‘Myungjang Road’ includes Park Jeong-moo, head of Nexon Group, who is known as ‘Jeongmu-hyung’ to game users and oversees FC online services, caster Seong Seung-heon, commentator Lee Joo-heon of soccer entertainment channel ‘Eastar TV’, and soccer creator ‘Dawn Soccer Expert’ Peno. etc. appeared. Former coach Bento appeared in the middle of the video, reminiscing about his time in charge of the Korean national team, and gave his advice.
Former coach Bento, who lived in Ilsan, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do during his time as the national team coach, said, “Because I was the national team coach, it was important to understand the country and culture,” and “I had to go to the Paju training ground (national soccer team training center, NFC) a lot of time.” . “It was the reason I chose Ilsan and it was a good choice,” he explained. It was a response that contrasted with the so-called ‘telecommuting controversy’ created by the successor, Coach Klinsmann.
Regarding the criteria for selecting the national team, “I personally went to the stadium and consulted data to select players who fit well with our team. “My approach is to be a player who can grow with us,” he said. He continued, “In particular, the 11-member starting list had to take into consideration more aspects. “What was really important was whether the players and the prepared tactics were right, whether they were compatible with the opposing team, and what the players’ condition was,” he emphasized.
He also gave an honest answer regarding the criticism he received for not hiring Lee Kang-in during his tenure as director. He said, “No one can refute the fact that Lee Kang-in’s talent is outstanding. “But we needed more analysis than that,” he said. “You shouldn’t judge based on talent alone. “Players like Kang-in Lee mainly thought about offense and did not consider defense,” he pointed out.
He continued, “To be honest, I added Lee Kang-in to the World Cup list just before the World Cup was held. “If I were to say that I was confident in Lee Kang-in’s World Cup selection, that would not be an honest answer,” he added.
Nevertheless, it was said that the reason he was ultimately selected for the World Cup roster was because Lee Kang-in had changed. Former coach Bento said, “He proved it with his change in mindset and his performance at Mallorca (his team at the time). “He became a completely different player at Mallorca,” he said. “I think he acknowledged that he had to change his style. As a result, he was able to achieve good results on the World Cup stage.”
He said, “I think the position of director must be honest and sincere. “The feeling I felt when I heard the term ‘Benburji (Bento + Father)’ was pride,” he said. “It was because it meant family. “The team we wanted to create was a family,” he added. Former coach Bento also said, “I hope that the Korean Football Association (KFA) will quickly resolve the issue (appointment of national team coach), and please tell the new coach, KFA, and Korean fans that you will always support them. He added, “I also wish Korea to advance to the 2026 World Cup.”
In the second half of the video, they announced the plan for the ‘Myeongjang Road’ expedition project to listen to the opinions of famous soccer coaches from various angles for the appointment of a national team coach and the development of Korean soccer. The guest in episode 2 was announced to be famous coach Jose Mourinho, nicknamed ‘The Special One’.
The response to the video was enthusiastic, with nearly 600 comments. Netizens were surprised and asked, “Why is Bento here(?)?” or left comments such as “All the answers seem to be compared to Klinsmann,” and “Bento has a clear philosophy and has kept his word without change in the selection of players.” I poured it out. He also said, “I have never had such a long and detailed interview at any official event, but the interview was quite honest.”
Hankyung.com reporter Kim Bong-gu [email protected]
