Paulo Bento named new South Korea coach

A month after being sacked by Chongqing Dangdai Lifan, Paulo Bento has been appointed as the new coach of South Korea.

Published : Aug 17, 2018 20:14 IST

South Korea has named former Portugal and Sporting CP boss Paulo Bento as its new head coach.

The 49-year-old has been appointed as successor to Shin Tae-yong, whose contract was not extended after the World Cup this year.

Bento is expected to be in charge of the team until the tournament in Qatar in 2022.

"We believe Bento is a coach who can develop South Korean football if we can support and wait for him for four years," Kim Pan-gon, the head of the Korea Football Association's Technical Committee, said at a news conference in Seoul.

Bento was sacked by Chinese Super League side Chongqing Dangdai Lifan last month after a poor run of results, which included six defeats in a row.

Kim, though, has no concerns about his prospects.

"Even there (in China), he improved and developed the team's training. I have no worries at all about his ability," he said.

"Bento likes a high-pressing game that doesn't allow the opponents to build any attacking momentum and tries to prevent their counter-attacks. He also has a good record in knockout stage competitions. He is professional, charismatic and has passion and confidence."

Bento was Sporting boss for four years before taking over Portugal in 2010. He was sacked shortly after its disappointing campaign at the 2014 World Cup.

The former midfielder also had spells in charge of Cruzeiro and Olympiacos.

His first game in charge will be a friendly match next month against Costa Rica.

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