Former national soccer team coach Paulo Bento (54, Portugal), who accompanied Korean soccer for four years until last year and made the Qatar World Cup round of 16, is likely to be the new coach of the Polish national team.
On the 20th (Korean time), Polish media ‘TVP Sports’ predicted that ‘Bento will be the next coach of the Polish national team’ and that the head of the Polish Football Association will make an official announcement at a press conference scheduled for the 25th.
Poland parted ways with coach Czesław Mikhniewicz last month. Poland, who advanced to the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar, lost to France 1-3 and was eliminated. Afterwards, he focused on appointing a foreign coach and looked for a new head. Along with coach Bento, coach Vladimir Petkovic, who has led Switzerland for 7 years, is on the list. It is known that Chairman Kulesha wanted Bento the most. Although Bento has not yet made an official opinion, ‘TVP Sports’ reported ‘imminent appointment’ based on information obtained through Bento’s aides.
The media said, ‘Director Bento is one of the directors who values stability very much. Last year, he negotiated a new contract with the Korea Football Association. He wanted to be with Korea until the next World Cup (2026 North and Central America), but the Korea Football Association offered a shorter contract with an extension option. Afterwards, coach Bento decided to leave after the World Cup in Qatar (November-December) in September,’ he said. This is a part that is well known in Korea.
At the same time, he highlighted the fact that coach Bento led Korea and achieved good results in the World Cup. ‘Korea advanced to the round of 16 by beating Uruguay and Ghana in the World Cup, and lost to Brazil in the tournament,’ he said.
However, when he led his country, Portugal, before Korea, he mentioned that he was surrounded by controversy over whether he was wasting Ronaldo’s talent. Since there is a world-class star Robert Lewandowski in Poland, interest is gathering as to whether Bento can make good use of the best star.
‘TVP Sports’ said, ‘Coach Bento was successful until Euro 2012 as the Portuguese command tower. However, he did not perform very well at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. ‘He once mentioned that Ronaldo is not the dream captain. The American media Bleacher Report also mentioned that Bento was criticized for wasting the potential of a Real Madrid star (Ronaldo) at the time. 먹튀검증