Jordan v South Korea: Stielike to attack in Amman

South Korea coach Uli Stielike said he will try to deploy an attacking brand, as he prepares his side for a friendly with Jordan on Friday.

The two Asian Cup-bound nations will do battle in Amman, the fixture marking German boss Stielike’s first match in charge of the Koreans on away soil.

Stielike oversaw a 2-0 win over Paraguay and a 3-1 loss to Costa Rica in Seoul in October, in the South Koreans’ first matches in the post-Hong Myung-bo era.

The 59-year-old, whose three previous coaching stints were with Middle East-based clubs, said he hopes to continue their goalscoring habits as they build towards the continental tournament kicking off in Australia in January.

“For the two consecutive matches against Middle East team, I’ll prepare not differently from the match with Paraguay and Costa Rica,” Stielike said, according to the Korean Football Association’s website.

“I’ll show fine attacking football to Korean fans. Of course defence is important as well, however, I’ll show interesting soccer not a tied game.

“There were some critical opinions after a defeat of match against Costa Rica, but I think the atmosphere was generally positive. Even though we were defeated 3-1, we showed offensive soccer to fans and played evenly against Coast Rica.”

He added: “Two consecutive matches against Middle East teams are very important matches to us. We have possibility to meet them at the Asian Cup.

“In addition, two teams have similar performing ability with us. Jordan have similar FIFA Ranking with us and Iran is the first-placed team in Asia.

“Taking this away game as good opportunities, I’ll try to play attacking soccer.”

Mainz midfielder Koo Ja-cheol recently returned from a calf injury, but Stielike said he went on the faith of the German club’s officials to call-up the 40-time international.

Koo, 25, was named captain for the Koreans’ World Cup campaign, which ended meekly in the group stages with just one point from three matches.

“Before I came to Korea, I visited Mainz and listened talk about his condition from the Mainz coach,” Stielike said.

“Koo Ja-cheol participated in World Cup as a captain.

“Even though he has been injured for a long time, judgment of Mainz about him was positive.

“As I consider the judgment of Mainz, his fine performances of last weekend and his captain role of World Cup, I had no choice but to include him.”

Jordan are looking to break a five-match winless run, which most recently saw them lose 1-0 to Kuwait and draw 1-1 with the same opposition in October.

Jordan have scored in only one of their four meetings against the Koreans – their 2-2 draw in May 2008, before losing twice 1-0 to their Asian counterparts in June and September that year.