Former North Korean international footballer and Yokohama Sports manager Jong Tae-se was interviewed by Japanese football media Football-Zone.

On his coaching style

"I pursue a style of football that focuses primarily on high pressing from the front."

"For me, the style that comes closest to winning is that of coach Jürgen Klopp. Defending from the front, winning the ball, and launching quick vertical attacks. I believe that is the most realistic approach."

"Many coaches have an 'ideal vision' they strive for, but their dilemma is the inability to achieve it. If you have a squad of top players, it's easier to realize it, but often that's not the case.

"That's why it's so important how skillfully you utilize the squad you have. While reflecting on this, I discuss and decide our tactics with interim coach Sunakawa (Taiki).

"Coach Sunakawa has also embraced my ideas and has been trying to implement this direction for some time. Of course, we won't employ ultra-high pressing, but we'll form a midfield defensive block, with the defensive line as a whole not dropping too deep, and three defenders advancing to defend. This way, we can suppress the opponent in the final third. I'm confident we're transitioning to this style."

"I played in J1 and J2 for a long time, but I don't feel at all that the JFL, as the fourth tier, has low individual player skill levels. On the contrary, I think it's quite high.

"However, in actual matches, sometimes it becomes a matter of exchanging mistakes. We make an error and lose possession, the opponent makes an error and gives it back; this happens often.

"Then there's the finishing. Sometimes I feel relieved, thinking, 'We were saved because the opponent failed to shoot.' In J1, to guarantee goals, foreign strikers are brought in at high cost, and there is indeed a gap in their precision and creativity."

"As a former striker, that's an area I can focus on. I approach my work every day with this in mind, and the players have great potential. How much they develop depends on me."

About himself

"As a Zainichi Korean, having grown up in Japan and also gone back and forth to South Korea, for someone like me to coach the North Korean national team and become head coach, the standard is very high. I'm acutely aware of this. There are many things that need to happen.

"But the most important thing is an outstanding record. If I win a title with a J1 team, people will likely take notice of me. When I was young as a player, my ambition was too strong, and I struggled with the gap between that and reality, but now it's different. I realize that giving my best to what's in front of me is the shortest path."

"In the past, I was repeatedly involved in various problematic behaviors and even obtained a South Korean passport. For me to become the national team coach would be laughable material for those involved (laughs). But that's okay. I feel like I'm walking on a story path that I've drawn with my own feet, and that's very important to me in life."

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