Five members of South Korea's national team have issued a joint statement denying rumors of a rift within the squad, released through the Korea Football Association on Nov. 12 ahead of two November friendlies.
The statement came from Son Heung-min of Los Angeles FC and Lee Jae-sung of Mainz, both born in 1992, along with Kim Min-jae of Bayern Munich, Hwang In-beom of FC Porto and Hwang Hee-chan of Schalke 04, all born in 1996. The five are currently training in Qatar ahead of the upcoming matches.
"During this training camp, we sat down together and spoke openly about our views on the national team. By listening to one another and addressing matters we had not had enough opportunity to discuss, we have gained a better understanding of each other's perspectives," the players said in the statement.
Rumors of friction within the squad had dogged the national team during the September and October international windows. Following a match against Uzbekistan on Oct. 6, speculation spread through soccer circles that Kim Min-jae, Hwang In-beom and Hwang Hee-chan were considering walking away from international duty over dissatisfaction with Son's leadership as captain and the way senior players born in 1992 communicated with their younger teammates.
In the statement, the five players said the concerns had nothing to do with personal disputes or conflicting interests involving any individual player. "We stemmed from a shared belief that the national team needed to improve," they said. They also firmly rejected reports that they had threatened to retire from international soccer to force specific demands on the team. "That is entirely untrue. We have played together for South Korean soccer for many years, and we remain teammates working toward the same goal," they said.
A day before the statement, according to a separate report, interim coach Robert Moreno had worked to resolve the reported discord by recalling the players involved and discussing the issues with them directly.
There were also signs of renewed camaraderie on the training ground. At a session on Nov. 11 at Qatar University's sports field in Doha, Son, Lee, Hwang Hee-chan and Kim Min-jae were grouped together for a ball-possession drill. The five players pledged to "give their all as one team during this international window and deliver performances worthy of South Korea's standing in world soccer."
South Korea will face Saudi Arabia in a friendly on Nov. 13 in Al Rayyan before taking on Qatar in Doha on Nov. 17.
