With only five days left until the deadline for appointing a new head coach for the Korean men’s national soccer team promised by the Korea Football Association, former coach Jürgen Klinsmann (59), a “German legend”, is being discussed as the next promising coach. It is known that the Korea Football Association is seriously negotiating, and the green light was turned on for the appointment of the next head coach. However, if the negotiations are not completed at the beginning of next month, the appointment of a new coach is expected to be difficult.
On the 23rd, an official familiar with the football world said, “As the date of appointment of the next coach promised by the Football Association approaches, negotiations with Klinsman are putting considerable weight on it. It seems that he will be a candidate for the new command tower.”
It is reported that the Korea Football Association is taking an active move in this negotiation as the deadline is approaching at the end of February. Sooner or later, Michael Müller, head of the Korea Football Association’s Power Reinforcement Committee, plans to move to the United States, where former coach Klinsman is residing. It is known that the big picture, such as the contract period and annual salary, has been discussed to some extent, and details will be adjusted. As Chairman Müller is German, expectations are high that he will conduct negotiations with former coach Klinsmann in a friendly manner.
However, variables may arise during the negotiation process. The official said, “What worries Klinsman about whether he will reside in Korea or not. Chairman Muller will have to solve this well, and this is expected to be the key to negotiations for the new command tower.” He added, “However, if this negotiation is not completed by early March, the appointment of the next national coach is expected to suffer for a long time.”
Former coach Klinsman settled in the United States in the 1990s and even acquired citizenship. The problem is that he stayed in the United States while coaching the German national team and carried out his managerial duties. This part has also been the subject of criticism in Germany. Chairman Muller also mentioned professionalism, experience, motivation, teamwork cultivation, and environmental factors as the national team’s new coach standards. In particular, this part draws attention by revealing that it is “whether the director can live in Korea” regarding the environmental factor. Previously, former coach Paulo Bento led the national team while residing in Korea with his wife. 스포츠토토
There are voices of concern. This is in case the negotiations take longer than expected or fail. First of all, in the football world, even if it is concluded with a positive negotiation, it is expected to go well past March. In that case, he will not be able to participate in the A-match scheduled for the 24th (Colombia) and 28th (Uruguay) of next month, and Hwang Seon-hong, the U-23 (under 23 years old) national team coach, will take over as temporary coach and lead the two matches cannot be ruled out.
Former manager Klinsman is a person who left a splendid career not only as a player but also as a manager. He played as a striker for the German national team for more than 10 years, helping to win the 1990 World Cup in Italy and Euro 1996. After his retirement, he took over as head coach of the German national team and led his country to third place at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, while coaching the U.S. national team, he was highly acclaimed for leading them to the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
But when he took charge of the club, criticism followed. In Bayern Munich (2008-2009), he was hardened during the season due to poor performance, and in Hertha BSC (2019-2020), he resigned after 70 days due to friction with the club, causing controversy. His absence for the past three years is also considered a regrettable part.