An Indonesian reporter apologized to director Shin Tae-yong.
South Korea’s under-23 national soccer team, led by head coach Hwang Sun-hong, will play the quarterfinals of the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Asian Cup against Indonesia led by head coach Shin Tae-yong at 8:30 p.m. on the 25th (local time) at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
A preliminary press conference was held on the eve of the event. Coach Hwang Seon-hong, who conducted the interview first, said, “I thought the group was difficult even before the start of the event. I expected it to be a difficult schedule, and it was true in real life. However, thanks to the players’ willingness and support, we advanced to the quarterfinals. From now on, it is the real match, and it is an important showdown. I will focus on the upcoming match. I will make efforts to advance to the semifinals, and I will prepare for it.”
Then it was Shin Tae-yong’s turn. “Personally, I really wanted to avoid Korea. But I’m going to make it to the quarterfinals like a joke of fate. A game is a game, even though it’s hard. I’m going to do my best to win,” Shin said.
As Shin Tae-yong was about to leave after the press conference, an Indonesian reporter came and showed him his cell phone. I saw a message. Seeing this, Shin smiled and made a gesture that it was okay.
He approached the Indonesian reporters and asked them what they had shown him. He showed his cell phone. Through the translator, it was written in Korean, “I sincerely apologize for asking you an unpleasant question yesterday.” There was a reason why he apologized.
Indonesia, led by coach Shin Tae-yong, had a team training session at Qatar University in Doha, Qatar on Sunday. Korean and Indonesian reporters had time to interview Shin Tae-yong, respectively, before the training session begins. This is where a rather sensitive question arose.
Indonesian reporters asked, “A video of a Korean fan throwing an egg at coach Shin Tae-yong and Korean players who returned home right after the 2018 Russia World Cup has become a hot topic of conversation. Is this a unique motivation for dealing with Korea?”
It was an embarrassing question. It could have been uncomfortable for Shin. Shin, who suddenly took the helm just a year before the 2018 Russia World Cup, caught “giant” Germany in the final group match. However, he failed to advance to the round of 16 with one win and two losses in the end. When he was eliminated from the group match, one fan threw an egg at Shin and his players who returned home through Incheon International Airport.
“It’s not particularly motivating. I don’t mind. If you think you’ve always done your best for a given job, you don’t care about that at all,” coach Shin Tae-yong said calmly. 여우알바
Indonesian reporters asked Korean reporters about the situation again. He also asked a question about a video that recently became a hot topic on Indonesian social media, not to make Shin Tae-yong difficult. However, realizing that the question was rather rude, he apologized to Shin Tae-yong.