“I want to take Korean women’s soccer to a place where it has never been before.”
Colin Bell (62, England), coach of the Korean women’s national soccer team, who is preparing for the 2023 Women’s World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand in July, expressed his strong aspirations. He took the helm of the Korean national team right after Korea was eliminated in the World Cup in France four years ago after losing all three matches in the group stage. He was the first foreign coach of the Korean women’s national team. Coach Bell, who we met at the Munsu World Cup Stadium in Ulsan, which was a training ground recently, said, “For the past three years, I have been thinking about soccer day and night. said.
The women’s national team prepared for the Arnold Clark Cup (opening on the 17th), a friendly competition among four countries in Ulsan. This tournament, held in England, is the de facto ‘World Cup Mock Test’. This is because strong European teams such as England, 4th in the FIFA rankings, Italy, 17th, and Belgium, 20th, will participate. Half a year later, Korea is stronger than the opponents we will meet in the World Cup. Korea (15th) faces Germany (2nd), Colombia (27th) and Morocco (76th) in the World Cup group stage (Group H).
“This tournament resembles the tight schedule you’ll experience in the World Cup group stage in that you’ll be playing three matches within a week,” said Bell. He emphasized that he had to show strong will and fighting spirit while strengthening his organizational skills while playing against European teams.”
Head coach Bell is a great leader who conquered Europe as the head coach of the women’s professional team. In the 2014-15 season, she won the UEFA Women’s Champions League as the head coach of the German Women’s Bundesliga FFC Frankfurt. In the 2013-14 season she won the Pokal (German Football Association Cup) and also won the Bundesliga runner-up. Even when she was in charge of the Korean national team, she produced outstanding results. Despite not having enough training time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she finished runner-up last year at the Women’s Asian Cup, her best performance ever in South Korea.
In October 2021, they drew 0-0 in an away evaluation match against the United States, ranked No. 1 in the FIFA rankings, blocking the United States’ 22-game winning streak at home. Head coach Bell said, “Since my appointment, each Korean player’s speed as well as tactical development has greatly improved. My goal is to lead Korea and lift the championship trophy without fail.”
Director Bell demonstrates communication leadership. He learned Korea at the same time as he was appointed. He learned Korean conversation and grammar by taking 30-minute Korean lessons two to three times a week. As a result, he had to hold team meetings in Korean. Sing along with the national anthem during national competitions (A match). ‘High strength’ and ‘no problem’ are his favorite Korean expressions. When asked, “Are you still memorizing the national anthem?” director Bell hummed the first verse of the national anthem, saying, “Until the waters of the East Sea and Mt. Baekdu dry up and wear away.” 안전놀이터
At the same time, he explained, “Korean is such a difficult language that it makes my head hurt after studying for more than an hour. However, in order to become a ‘real member’ of the Korean national team, it was important to communicate ‘complete communication’ with the players.” Coach Bell approaches the players first during training and treats them casually, such as joking around in Korean. Even the players call him ‘Colin’ and follow him from the first day they met coach Bell.
Coach Bell is in the middle of collecting information on the World Cup opponents these days. In particular, winning candidate Germany is clearly looking into it. This is because British-born manager Bell spent more than 10 years of his coaching career in Germany. Germany’s ace and main striker Svenja Huth, key midfielders Katrin Hendrich (above Wolfsburg), and Jennifer Marozanne (Lyon) are students he guided during his time as FCC Frankfurt command tower.
Head coach Bell said, “Most of the German players are familiar with the characteristics of either direct teaching or meeting with the opposing team. There are many acquaintances in the German football world, so it is advantageous to collect information.” We are analyzing it as thoroughly as possible,” he said. Coach Bell also constantly communicated and shared information with former Korean men’s national team coach Paulo Bento (Portugal). Coach Bento led the team to advance to the round of 16 at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Coach Bell said, “I often have a comfortable relationship with coach Bento. When I hear about his football values and experiences, 2-3 hours have passed. I got a lot of inspiration from the story of .
Korea is challenging to advance to the round of 16 for the second time in eight years since Canada in 2015 at this year’s World Cup. Director Bell is looking beyond that. He said, “I am proud to lead Korea to the World Cup. If we stick together, we will be competitive enough to face any team in the world. My name, Bell, also means doorbell in English. I will become the ‘Golden Bell’ that opens the