Four Four Two - UK (2022-06)

would have meant compromising my
integrity as a manager. Players feel
that – like some kind of manipulation
is happening. In those situations you
have to leave, despite the fact that it’s
a great job at the biggest club in the
world. The president decides what’s
happening. That’s still the case now,
but it was even more so back then.

What did you love most about South
Korea? What was it like, moving into
that environment?
Dylan Lee-Ledux, via Facebook
It was great. I went there to live with
my girlfriend in a hotel on a mountain
in Seoul, with a view over the whole
city and the river. For a year and a half
before the World Cup, I had the players
at my disposal as they were regularly
released from club duties. I took them
to Europe and South America to make
them streetwise. We played the likes
of Uruguay, who can go over the edge,
and lost 5-0 to France and the Czech
Republic. I heard later that the media
dubbed me ‘Mister 0-5’. But we needed

to play tough matches, and it helped

me in the selection process too. The

team played quite defensively, using

two sweepers. I was like, “Do you have

any extra gloves? Then you can stand

next to the goalkeeper.”

I completely overhauled the squad

but that caused resistance. Until then,

a technical committee was responsible

for putting the squad together: every

member represented a certain region

and recommended players from their

area, meaning the squad had good

representation but not necessarily the

best players. When I started, we went

scouting at the clubs, universities and

army. It became my squad and that

caused problems, but the federation

covered me. They just said, “Make sure

we qualify for the next round...” It was

challenging at first, but things started

to go steadily in the right direction

a few months before the World Cup.

The 2002 World Cup was incredible

for South Korea – but what was the

referee doing in the win over Italy?!

Did even you think his decisions

were getting a bit weird by the end?

Michael McCullough, Dumfries

I understood the Italians’ emotions,

but I had my own thoughts about the

decisions. Maybe Damiano Tommasi’s

goal wasn’t offside, but before that,

Francesco Totti should have seen red

for an elbow. Italy didn’t expect to

be eliminated by South Korea. They

demolished the whole dressing room

afterwards! Some of the players were

saying, “Look at those Italians” but

I enjoyed the whole scene – I was like,

“Let them rip the locker room apart.”

I was relishing the moment.

What happened in the aftermath of

South Korea’s 2002 World Cup? Did

you realise the impact that those

achievements had on the country?

Richard Lewis, Singapore

My focus was very much on the team,

but my girlfriend was in the middle of

society, so she experienced all of the

celebrations. At the end we took part

in a victory tour, which was great, but

after that we didn’t stay for too long

[before rejoining PSV]. Everywhere had

so much enthusiasm that we simply

couldn’t get out of the hotel any more!

When we eventually left, there was

a really special farewell ceremony at

the airport, with a band playing the

national anthem – it was wonderful.

At the time, I didn’t appreciate the

impact that tournament had on the

country. That came later on. I think

around 20 books have been publshed

analysing how the World Cup affected

society and businesses, concerning

things such as hierarchy and seniority.

Before, young people weren’t involved

much and had to know their place. But

after the tournament, where a young

team had performed extremely well,

the general attitude changed. I didn’t

have a direct influence on those kinds

of matters, though what happened in

the country was a result of the national

side’s development during those years.

Everything together made my time in

South Korea special – we still visit once

or twice a year.

What do you recall of your start to

life as Australia’s manager in 2005,

in conjunction with your job at PSV?

Carl Lennon, Adelaide

On the first day of our training camp,

we had a team dinner where all of the

players came trickling in at different

times, all wearing different stuff: caps

back-to-front, some in flip-flops, one in

Bermuda shorts, another in a ripped

shirt... I thought, ‘What kind of chaos is

this?!’ My staff said they were used to it

that way – they were even called ‘the

barbecue boys’. [Laughs] The next day,

I said everyone had to be uniformly

dressed. I needed to tighten the reins.

I remember Mark Viduka telling me

that he was surprised I’d taken up the

challenge. He said, “You’ve got a good

name, so why do this with us, a bunch

of gypsies? We’ll never qualify.” I said,

“Well, we won’t qualify if you don’t lose

four kilos for the next training camp in

September.” Four weeks later, he came

to the camp having clearly lost weight.

I said to him, “Mark, congratulations –

now we go.” He had inspired everyone.

I quickly discovered that Australians

possessed a natural fighting spirit, but

YOU ASK

“ITALY DEMOLISHED

THE WHOLE DRESSInG

ROOM AFTERWARDS.

I EnJOYED THE SCEnE”

FourFourTwo June 2022 9