Director Jurgen Klinsmann left the country again. It has been only five days since I entered Korea.
According to an official from the Korea Football Association (KFA), Coach Klinsmann left for the United States via Incheon International Airport on the 19th.
Coach Klinsmann changed the schedule and returned to Korea after the September international match in Europe. Conscious of the negative public opinion, the purpose was to inspect domestic players by visiting K-League games and conducting interviews upon their return from Korea. At the time of his arrival, Director Klinsmann said in an interview, “I am happy to return to Korea after a long time. It would have been better if I had seen you (journalists) in England.”
He continued, “I heard that many people were waiting for me. In fact, I was planning to watch the game between Bayern Munich and Leverkusen. Changing the schedule is not a big problem. I thought it was right to come with the team.”
In fact, after the entry interview, he visited the K League field and analyzed the players. On the 16th, he visited Jeonju World Cup Stadium to watch the game between Jeonbuk Hyundai and Gangwon FC, and a day later on the 17th, he showed up at Seoul World Cup Stadium to watch the game between FC Seoul and Gwangju FC. It is unclear exactly whether this was a decision that had to be made with public opinion in mind, but as mentioned, it was Coach Klinsmann who personally appeared on the scene and analyzed the K-League players.
But that didn’t last long. He left Korea again after five days. Public opinion once again boiled over the news of Director Klinsmann’s departure.
Coach Klinsmann has continued to cause external problems since taking office as head coach of the Korea national soccer team in March. His biggest problem was ‘working from home’. Contrary to his statement in a press conference immediately after his appointment스포츠토토 that he would reside in Korea and continue his role as manager, he left the analysis of K-League players to domestic coaches and frequently traveled overseas. He also faced criticism that he was making meaningless analysis while watching the games of players who already play a pivotal role in the national team, such as Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan, and Kim Min-jae.
The problems did not exist only on the external side. Poor performance was also on the chopping block. In particular, it was a big problem that we fought poorly and could not achieve victory even against countries with weaker power than us. In fact, the Korean national team led by Coach Klinsmann has not won in five games since taking office, and broke the winless streak with a 1-0 win against Saudi Arabia, which is considered relatively weak, in the sixth game. However, despite the victory, this game also failed to avoid criticism as it showed disappointing performance.
Along with these problems, fans’ concerns about the 2023 Asian Cup are also increasing. This is because more than half of the current squad, led by captain Son Heung-min, are performing well in European-centered leagues, so there is a good chance of winning this Asian Cup.
However, Coach Klinsmann appears relaxed. In an interview when returning to Korea, “I am confident that I will achieve good results in the Asian Cup and have high expectations. I am going through a positive process of development and growth. I have a lot of tournament experience. I have always enjoyed tournaments, not only as a coach but also during my active years. “I have experience in various tournaments and how to prepare and form a team,” he said, expressing confidence.
Meanwhile, the Korean national team led by Coach Klinsmann will play an evaluation match in Korea in October. The opponents are Tunisia and Vietnam. Amid various criticisms of Coach Klinsmann’s actions, we cannot rule out the possibility that a situation will arise where a quick decision will have to be made at the association level if this game is also a poor performance.
