Park Moon-sung: Son Heung-min said 'I never talked about retiring — why do you keep bringing it up?'

Commentator Park says Messi thrives because Argentina's coach tailors tactics to his age

South Korea national team captain Son Heung-min. [Yonhap]

Football commentator Park Moon-sung said Sunday that when it comes to South Korea captain Son Heung-min's future, it "remains to be seen" until the player speaks for himself.

Speaking on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus," Park said Son had already pushed back on retirement speculation. "Son said, 'I never said I was retiring — why do you keep talking about it? I'll say something when the time comes,'" Park recalled.

Park also weighed in on Lionel Messi's continued excellence, crediting both the Argentine's personal conditioning and his coach's tactical approach. "Messi takes great care of his body, but Argentina's coach is also deploying tactics best suited to Messi's current age," Park said. "The coach surrounds him with players who shield him, minimizing the burden of defensive duties and other demands, so that Messi can unleash his explosive quality in brief attacking moments — that's why he can still perform at that level."

"When you combine personal conditioning with a coach who thinks deeply about team tactics, I think that's what allows a player to keep performing at his best," Park added.

Turning to the South Korea squad, Park said the players need rest above all. "They should take a proper break. Rather than trying to fight through everything right now, I'd like them to get some real rest first," he said.

He noted the weight the World Cup carries for the players. "The World Cup isn't just something our players dreamed about as kids — beyond that, it's something enormously important that can elevate the value of their entire careers," he said.

"But the results came out the way they did, and the performances were what they were, so the sense of loss they're feeling right now must be immense," Park added.

On head coach Hong Myung-bo's announcement that he would step down, Park called it "as shocking as being eliminated in regional qualifying," but said the resignation was a natural outcome. "If Hong had said he wanted to continue through the Asian Cup — which was originally the end of his contract term early next year — that would have caused a far bigger problem. In that sense, his decision to step down on his own was the natural conclusion," Park said.

"In our World Cup history, there are two tournaments we'd rather forget — the 2014 Brazil World Cup and this one," Park said. "And Hong was the coach for both."

He recalled the fallout from 2014. "When Hong's team had that disastrous Algeria match and ruined the tournament, there was an uproar for months," Park said. "This time around could have been even worse. There are still plenty of people whose anger hasn't subsided, and if he had chosen not to step down, I think we could have seen a repeat of what happened in 2014."

Park said the deeper issue goes beyond Hong's leadership. "It's not just a question of Hong's coaching ability — the more fundamental question is whether Hong was a coach whose tactical style suited our national team, or who was heading in the direction Korean football wants to go," he said. "If you line up Bento, Klinsmann and Hong Myung-bo, is there any meaningful tactical common thread running through all three? That, I think, is the real problem."

He also pointed to South Korea's stagnation relative to Japan. "Thirty years ago, we were ahead of Japan in football," Park said. "Why has that been reversed? While Japan has been moving steadily forward, we've been zigzagging back and forth, essentially standing still."

On the question of who should succeed Hong, Park said a domestic coach could do the job if qualified, but acknowledged the difficulty of the moment. "A domestic coach could take the interim role right away, but given the current climate, taking charge as a Korean coach would come with enormous pressure," he said.

"Given the public demand to rebuild the national team, if we're talking about a permanent appointment rather than an interim one, I think it's realistic to seriously consider bringing in a foreign coach," Park added.

yul@heraldcorp.com