“We threw the players under the bus.”
That’s how Australian sports publication Optus Sports characterized head coach Colleen Bell’s comments at the official press conference following the 0-2 loss to Colombia in the Australia-New Zealand Women’s World Cup Group H opener on Friday. ‘Threw the players under the bus. Korean coach criticized players in post-match interview,” the article referenced comments made by former Australian women’s national soccer team commentator Heather Garryuk.
The former Sydney FC midfielder is a legend who played 130 matches for the Australian national team. She is a former head coach of the Australian national team and currently works as a soccer commentator.
Bell was not shy about his disappointment after the 0-2 loss to Colombia in the must-win first leg on Friday. “I was very disappointed. Our thinking, our decision-making, everything was slow. The quality of our players is much better than what we showed today,” he said. “Speed of thought and aggression are important, but decision-making in pressure situations is something we need to improve as a national team,” he said, adding that “everyone involved in Korean women’s soccer needs to step up.”
“We had some good chances in the first half and it was unfortunate that we conceded the penalty,” she said. “The penalty was a bit harsh. I was wondering why they didn’t have VAR on, because I’ve watched the whole tournament and they have five-minute VARs for things like that. Nobody knows what’s going to happen,” he said, expressing his frustration with the lack of a VAR in a crucial game-winning situation. “We created two or three chances in the first half, but we didn’t get the decisive goal. “We created two or three chances in the first half, but we didn’t get the decisive goal, so I don’t think we played very well,” he said, but acknowledged that Colombia had much better offense, ball possession, etc. “It was not good, especially when we conceded the penalty and then the second goal. There’s always a crisis after a mistake, and we shouldn’t have conceded so easily,” he said. “This is the World Cup. This is the level of international women’s soccer. This is the reality. We don’t live in a dreamland. This is the world of soccer. We have to think about how we can improve, how we can go further, how we can put today’s game behind us and prepare for the next one. We have to keep fighting and keep winning,” he said encouragingly. 꽁머니
Garibaldi questioned Bell’s strong and sobering interview immediately after the loss. “His post-match interview was not very good. Especially if you were a Korean player and listened to him,” he said. “He threw the players under the bus, he didn’t take any responsibility,” he criticized. “The first goal may not have been a penalty, but it was a penalty. The second goal was a goalkeeping error, but if I heard the manager say that, I would be angry,” he said. “He had a chance to change things, and the game is 90 minutes. It was negative in every way, and I was embarrassed by the coach’s interview.” When asked about South Korea’s lackluster performance, Garry Locke said, “It’s the coach’s tactics. It’s about his coaching, it’s about how he executed the game plan for the Korean players, nothing else,” he said.