In the aftermath of South Korea's second straight defeat at the FIFA Women's World Cup on Sunday, head coach Colin Bell blasted the country's league system for not preparing players for tough competition.
Bell called South Korea's 1-0 loss to Morocco in Group H action in Adelaide "one of the worst moments" he has experienced in his career. After losing to Colombia 2-0 on Tuesday, South Korea, ranked 17th, had targeted 72nd-ranked Morocco as the one beatable foe in a group that also includes world No. 2 Germany.
The latest loss put South Korea on the brink of elimination, depending on the result between Germany and Colombia later Sunday.
Bell, who has been coaching South Korea since October 2019, said his players have not done themselves justice so far and criticized issues plaguing the domestic WK League, where most of the national team players are based.
"If you win, it's great, if you lose, it's not so bad. There's no consequences," Bell said, in reference to the absence of relegation in the semi-pro league. "The playoff system for me, personally, is a system that is nonsensical and doesn't belong in football. You want to win, finish first. You finish last or second last, you get relegated -- this is competition."
Bell has often talked about the need for his players to be quick on their feet and said again Sunday the game is "too slow" for South Korea.
"In Korea, there is no intensity or not enough intensity. The training sessions are too long and are not intense," the Englishman said. "As far as I'm concerned, we need to rethink everything about the system. I have said this now for four years. I will continue to say it until everybody's sick of hearing it and we'll maybe, hopefully change. Because if you don't change, you will stand still and not progress."
Bell, who coached for several years in Germany, cited examples of wholesale changes in Germany that turned their men's team into the World Cup champions in 2014.
"This is the reality. The World Cup is the reality. We have the best players, the best teams, the best coaches on view. If you lose, it hurts. If you lose, you get knocked out. That's the reality and that's happened to us," Bell said. "That's just more than a slap in the face, and we've got to wake up to the reality of life. Life is sometimes difficult. Life is sometimes tough. You have to live in reality. You can't live in a dream world."
Source: Yonhap News Agency