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Team Korea¡¯s head coach Guus Hiddink was calm when the semi-final match against Germany ended in the home team¡¯s defeat. Hiddink seemed to have accepted the fate that does not lead to Yokohama. Exchanging hugs with German coach Rudi Voller, Hiddink told his players not to forget to thank the fans.
As the two head coaches had the same goal in mind, joy and grief alternated each side throughout the game. Both had no time to sit down, and kept shouting to the players to give orders. Hiddink was quite upset when the referee whistled for Hwang Sun-hong¡¯s foul at 28 minute, strongly appealing to the referee. Voller, too, was as nervous as Hiddink, as the match is a deciding step forward to the World Cup.
The coaches on both sides of the field could not have peace of mind until Ballak¡¯s goal separated the two team¡¯s destinies. Voller held his arms up in the air, while Hiddink¡¯s head slumped. While Hiddink did his best job to encourage his players to turn the mood, Germany¡¯s goalpost was well guarded by Oliver Khan.
After the heated fight, Hiddink and Voller put their arms around each other, exchanging thanks and encouragement, and some 65,000 spectators send a round applause for both coaches for pulling off a spectacular match.
(Lee Taek-jin, tjlee@chosun.com )
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