(Asiad) Football coach credits players for overcoming challenges to seize gold

TOYOTA, Japan, Oct. 3 (Yonhap) -- Minutes after his team won the men's football gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in central Japan on Saturday, South Korea head coach Lee Min-sung gave all the credit to his players.

"We won this gold medal despite some difficult circumstances. I first want to apologize to my players because they did not get the attention that they deserved because of me as their coach," Lee said, without elaborating. "We did our best in every match. We were criticized for our poor quality of play at times but at this competition, results were more important than anything else. I think we accomplished that and I am so proud of these players."

South Korea blanked Japan 1-0 on a 61st-minute goal by Eom Ji-sung at Toyota Stadium in Toyota, some 30 kilometers east of the main host city of Nagoya. Japan dominated the match for the most part, but they hit the goal post once and had several shot attempts blocked by determined South Korean defenders.

"We expected this to be a difficult match," Lee said. "The pitch conditions here were quite different from the ones we played on in earlier matches. And the players also had to deal with the pressure of playing for the gold medal. They all persevered and stayed patient to win this match."

Lee, who has been reluctant to single out any particular player for praise, pointed to Celtic FC winger Yang Hyun-jun as his MVP, despite the fact that a hamstring injury limited Yang to just one match.

"Although he only played in one match here, he sacrificed himself so much behind the scenes," Lee said. "I think it helped the guys on the pitch a great deal. If I had to pick one player, it would have to be Yang Hyun-jun."

At the start of the tournament, Lee said he hoped a gold medal by his under-23 squad would help revitalize South Korean football as a whole -- especially with the senior men's national team under siege following a group-stage exit from the FIFA World Cup in June.

When asked if he thought he had done that job, Lee offered a wry smile and said, "I don't know that our gold medal alone will help South Korean football get back on its feet."

"But I do hope that many of my players here will continue to improve and become key members of the senior team in the future," Lee added. "That way, they will become the foundation for Korean football."