Taegeuk Nangja Ho head coach Bell sees Hiddink as key to World Cup success…”I started talking to Son Heung-min in English, then Korean, then German”
South Korea women’s football team coach Colleen Bell has revealed that she looked to her 먹튀검증‘hero’ from the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, Gus Hiddink, when trying to figure out how to lead South Korea to success at this year’s Women’s World Cup.
Speaking to the BBC World Service ahead of the first leg against Colombia, Bell admitted it was a challenge to manage the Korean culture and players.
“I read an old interview with Hiddink in 2002 because he went through the same thing as me when he was in charge of the Korea-Japan World Cup,” Bell explained.
“In Korea, age is very important, so there is a hierarchy,” Bell said, “and sometimes the younger players think they can’t say anything to the older ones.”
Hiddink also pointed out that the younger players were afraid of the older ones, and stressed the importance of talking to each other regardless of the hierarchy.
In doing so, Hiddink led South Korea to the quarter-finals.
Bell said he is nervous ahead of his first World Cup match as a manager, but will calm himself with another love: music.
“I have a small music studio. That’s where I record the songs I sing and send them to my family. It’s good to relax,” he said, adding, “I’m a big fan of the singer Gary Newman.”
Casey Fair
“I’ve known her for a year now,” Bell said of 16-year-old mixed-race athlete Casey Fair, who wears the flag. “I’ve known her for a year and she’s done very well in training,” he said, adding, “I don’t want to talk too much about a young athlete before she competes. “I don’t want to talk too much about a young player before she plays, so I’m protecting her from the media,” he said.
“The pair is very powerful, very fast and strong, and she has the confidence to expect to win,” he added.
Bell also revealed that he had spoken to Tottenham striker and South Korean star Son Heung-min.
“Son is a great player,” he said. We had two or three really good conversations before the World Cup in Qatar. We started in English, then Korean, then German,” he said, adding, “He’s a top player, he’s really humble, and that’s the quality of Sonny.”