Head of the Spanish Football Association “Growth in Asia in Korea and Japan… World Cup defeat is not a coincidence”
Reporter Euijin Lee = President Luis Rubiales (46) of the Spanish Football Association saw that the defeat of his national team against Japan at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar could not be dismissed as a ‘coincidence’.
This is because it is an event that announces that Asian soccer, including Korea and Japan, has grown to a level that threatens the world.
In an interview with Yonhap News held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 2nd, Chairman Rubiales pointed out the development of Asian football while brooding over the defeat against Japan in the group stage of the World Cup in Qatar.
He visited Korea for the first time after being invited by 3D Factory, a company specializing in the sports metaverse platform, which has an official partnership with the Spanish Football Association.
President Rubiales, who met with reporters prior to the official press conference, said, “I am also the vice-president of the European Football Federation (UEFA). I think I have a good understanding of the level of world and Asian football.”
“It is not a mere coincidence that Spain lost to Japan during the World Cup. Both Japan and Korea have improved their national team levels and now have a mighty power,” he said.
Contrary to the expectations before the match, Japan won 2-1 in a come-from-behind victory, advancing to the round of 16 as top of the group.
President Rubiales said repeatedly, “I don’t think the pride of Spanish football has declined because we lost to Japan. It doesn’t hurt our pride,” and “I know that the level of Asian football has recently improved.”
When asked to evaluate the level of Korean soccer, Korean European players were called one after another.
President Rubiales said, “Son Heung-min of Tottenham and Kim Min-jae of Naples are players I already know very well.”
He added, “Dani Olmo of the Spanish national team used to be on the same team as Hwang Hee-chan. Since then, I’ve been paying attention.”
Midfielder Olmo (25), considered the future of Spain, has been playing for Leipzig in the German professional football Bundesliga since 2020.
In the 2020-2021 season Bundesliga match against Dortmund in round 32 of the 2020-2021 season when Hwang Hee-chan belonged to Leipzig, he received a pass from Hwang Hee-chan and scored a goal to tie the score 2-2 and presented an assist.
The player Rubiales paid the most attention to was his “junior” Lee Kang-in (Mallorca).
President Rubiales, a former player, worked for Mallorca B team, which belonged to the third division in 1999, for one year.
He said, “I have a special interest in Mallorca’s days. A Korean player is taking special care of the club I have a heart for.”
He added, “I often think about how great it would be if more Korean players like Lee Kang-in made it to the Spanish team.”
In addition, President Rubiales emphasized that the women’s national team players should be treated just as well as the men’s national team.
On June 15 of last year, President Rubiales signed an agreement to pay rewards for major competitions such as the World Cup and the European Football Championship to the women’s national team players at the same level as the men’s players by 2027.
When he took office in 2018, he expressed his aspirations to “create an association for all,” announcing the agreement, saying, “We must try to close the gap with men’s sports while promoting women’s sports.”
On this day, President Rubiales said, “In Spain, there are six women’s national teams by age group. However, we have been investing more money in the men’s team,” adding, “We wanted to change this trend. Thanks to various measures, our women’s team has been We’re making 2nd or 3rd place,” he pointed out.
“Our goal is for the women’s team to become the best in the world from 2026 to 2028. We are supporting staff such as medical staff at the same level as the men’s team,” he said. target,” he said.
He added, “I think the level of Korean football is very high. However, Korean football is also of a high level, so I want to respect it for itself.” . 메이저사이트
President Rubiales emphasized the need to invest in areas other than the ‘elite men’s national team’ at a press conference afterwards.
He said, “In order to raise the level of football in any country, staff are needed. Spain has also been supported by powerful staff for 20 years.” , I want to share the concept that football starts at the grassroots like this, whether it’s a woman or not.”
He explained that the reason why he signed an official partnership with 3D Factory was because he saw the need for football to expand into the metaverse.
Under this partnership, 3D Factory will exclusively produce and operate metaverses using the names of clubs belonging to the Spanish Football Association for the next five years.
Oh Byung-ki, CEO of 3D Factory, the main sponsor of the Supercopa (Super Cup) and Copa del Rey (King’s Cup), said that they are promoting a friendly match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, which represent the prestigious Primera Liga, in Korea.
President Rubiales said, “Our goal is to show the world of football in the metaverse together with the 3D Factory.”
