South Korean players ask Verbeek to reconsider

Members of South Korea's returning Asian Cup squad have urged head coach Pim Verbeek to reconsider his decision to resign , saying he was the right man for the job. "There is no one who knows Korean players as well as Verbeek. The players are even saying we should try and stop him," striker Lee Chun-soo was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency. "People are talking about problems with his tactics but they're the same ones we used when Guus Hiddink was coach. We are the problem, not the coach," Lee, a forward with Ulsan Hyundai, said. "Verbeek's tactics and training methods are good. This is not just the coach's responsibility. Rather, it's ours," Striker Lee Keun-ho added. South Korea went into the tournament as one of the favourites but finished second in their group behind Saudi Arabia and lost to eventual champion Iraq on penalties in the semi-finals.