Jurgen Klinsmann leans on Europe-based players to break South Korea’s Asian Cup drought

SEOUL – Jurgen Klinsmann said it is “about time” that South Korea win their first Asian Cup title in 64 years, as he looks to his captain Son Heung-min and his squad’s Europe-based players for inspiration when he leads them into January’s continental championship in Qatar.

The German has included Tottenham Hotspur’s Son in his 26-man squad, as well as Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae, Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in and Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers as the Taegeuk Warriors aim to win the tournament for the first time since 1960.

“A competition like this is about timing,” said Klinsmann, whose team will face Bahrain in their group-stage opener on Jan 15 before taking on Jordan and Malaysia.

“You want your players to peak exactly at this time, when this tournament happens, and I think we are ready for this big, big competition.

“I have a good feeling because (the players) are doing well in their clubs, they’re healthy, they’re fit, they’re ambitious and they’re very hungry. This is the foundation for playing a good tournament.

“Once the tournament starts, it all needs to fall into place and you need a little bit of luck too. It’s 64 years, and 64 years is a long time for Korea, so it’s about time we get this done.”

The South Koreans are one of the continent’s traditional powers and have qualified for every World Cup since 1986, reaching the semi-finals in 2002, when they co-hosted the tournament with neighbours Japan.

But their recent record at regional level is disappointing, with the country not winning the continent’s premier title since the second of back-to-back successes in 1960.

The Taegeuk Warriors claimed that title ahead of Israel, who were kicked out of the Asian Football Confederation in 1974, the Republic of China – now Chinese Taipei – and South Vietnam.

Since then there have been runners-up finishes in 1972, 1980, 1988 and, most recently, in 2015, when a Son-inspired side lost out in extra time to an Ange Postecoglou-coached Australia.

They then lost 1-0 to eventual champions Qatar in the quarter-finals of the 2019 edition in the United Arab Emirates.

“When you go through the roster and you go through the skeleton of the team... I think you can be really proud as Korean fans and journalists,” Klinsmann, who was a World Cup winner with Germany in 1990, added during his media conference in Seoul on Dec 28.

“We have a lot of different pieces in that roster and that makes us one of the favourites for the Asian Cup.

“What we need to do is to fine-tune these elements in the next couple of weeks and then go into that tournament with confidence and with the willingness to win the title.”

Son will be appearing at his fourth Asian Cup.

Hwang scored twice in Wolves’ 4-1 win over Brentford on Dec 27 to move one goal behind the skipper, who has 11, in the Premier League scoring charts. Son, however, could increase his tally against Brighton & Hove Albion on Dec 28 – that match kicked off after press time.

Lee is also making a splash after moving to PSG from Real Mallorca in the summer, and Klinsmann described him as “a flower that starts to bloom”.

Klinsmann was unable to select Hwang Ui-jo, who has been suspended by South Korea because of a police investigation into allegations he illegally filmed an ex-girlfriend.

The Norwich City forward is accused of filming a sexual encounter with his former partner on his phone without consent. He denies the allegation.

Meanwhile, Japan suffered a blow after Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi said that star winger Kaoru Mitoma is a doubt for the Asian Cup after being ruled out of action for up to six weeks with an ankle injury.

He suffered the knock in the Seagulls’ 1-1 Premier League draw with Crystal Palace on Dec 21.

“We lost Kaoru for around six weeks – four, five, six weeks,” confirmed de Zerbi, which means Mitoma is likely to miss the Jan 12-Feb 10 tournament. REUTERS, AFP