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GOAL - Afshin Ghotbi is currently in his third
spell as an assistant coach with the Korean national team after the 2002 and
2006 World Cups. The 43 year-old was a member of the US team coaching staff
at the 1998 World Cup and has coached at Asian powerhouse Suwon Samsung
Bluewings and one of the most successful teams in MLS history, Los Angeles
Galaxy.
The tables are finally turned! Today I have an opportunity to share my
thoughts about the people who tell the world about football teams, players
and, of course, coaches.
The media plays an increasingly influential role in the modern world and
football is certainly no different. Journalists armed with a keyboard and
high-speed internet can instantly reach millions of people across the world
and transform opinions just as quickly. Their power and responsibilities
continue to expand each day with the increasing demands for sensational news
from commercially and politically driven publications, website, and
networks.
Such reporting feeds fans’ appetites for a hero after a victory and a
scapegoat after a defeat. This gives the media the perfect excuse to base
their entire story on the final digits appearing on the scoreboard.
Football is an unpredictable game full of surprises. A centimeter to the
left or right, one second early or late, one wrong decision by the referee
or his assistants, one positive or negative action by a single player can
change a result of a match. As more games at the highest levels are decided
by a single goal, the smallest detail can be the difference between hired
and fired. Stakes are high.
Given all the variables and circumstances around football, you would expect
nothing short of diligence, professionalism and integrity from the media.
The beautiful game needs responsible journalism by people with a football
brain who can articulate their opinions and thoughts. Substance over
sensation is way overdue.
Journalists who rarely attend training sessions, press conferences or who
just don’t take the time to do their homework are not doing the game any
favors. They are waiting for a lynching after a bad result, while a good
result magically erases all problems.
If you have been in football long enough, you realize that there are matches
you have no business winning. There is an opposite side to the coin too –
there are games in which you did everything perfectly except win.
From a South Korean point of view, the Ghana match in Seoul in October 2006
and the Iran in Tehran in November 2006 are good examples. As the Ghana game
was a friendly and Korea had already qualified for the Asian Cup by the time
they traveled to Iran, Coach Pim Verbeek and his coaching staff elected to
use mostly Under 23 players in both of these matches.
In contrast, Ghana arrived in Seoul fully loaded with their best players, 15
of which had reached the second round at the 2006 World Cup. Playing in
Tehran is difficult enough for any national team, but to play with a virtual
U23 team against a strong Iran side was brave and visionary.
As anticipated, we lost in both matches. The scoreboard may have signaled a
defeat but games were huge victories in building Korean football for the
coming years, as the young Korean players gained invaluable experience.
Their performance was outstanding taking in consideration their inexperience
and the quality of the opponents.
As expected, the majority of the Korean media was critical of the game plan
and the results.
On the other side of the spectrum, we traveled earlier this month to London
to face the European Champions Greece. Korea was victorious on the night,
but both teams had plenty of chances. The difference on the scoreboard was a
superbly taken free-kick by Lee Chun Soo. The Korean media was quick to
applaud the tactics, Verbeek and squad for the victory.
Football players and coaches spend their entire life trying to reach the
highest level of the game. They are all competitors striving to fulfill
their potential. They reached the upper echelons of football either at the
club or international level because of their quality, dedication and winning
spirit.
I can assure you we all welcome input, criticism and praise, as long as it
is balanced, factual and objective. We are paid to win games, and we
understand the consequences of failure. However, winning should not be
limited to numbers on the score board at the end of a match.
It is much deeper and bigger than that. Good journalism understands,
embraces, and practices extreme care in their profession. The fans
definitely deserve it.
Enjoy “the beautiful game”.
Afshin Ghotbi
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