South Korea began 2024 promising to win the Asian Cup, but have faced a year of turmoil and are still without a coach three months after Jurgen Klinsmann was fired.
Led by Spurs captain and star Son Heung-min, South Korea are on track to reach the next stage of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
But all is not well in South Korean football.
Despite having the likes of Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae, the Koreans were defeated 2-0 by underdog Jordan in the Asian Cup semi-finals in Qatar.
It then emerged that there had been a fight on the eve of the game between Son and Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in, leaving the captain with a dislocated finger.
Facing a fan revolt, legendary German striker Klinsmann was sacked in February after just a year in charge.
But the Korea Football Association was unable to secure a replacement and was rejected by top target Jesse Marsch this month when the former Leeds United manager chose Canada.
Now the Koreans advance to next month’s World Cup qualifiers under an interim coach whose previous role ended after he headbutted an assistant on an opposing team.
They had a different custodian in charge of the playoffs in March.
South Korean football journalist Hong Jae-min told AFP that the country was going through a football “dark ages” and laid the blame at the feet of KFA president Chung Mong-gyu.
“All the problems come from President Chung – he has been in this position for 11 years and the results are terrible,” Hong said.
“He dragged Korean football back, for sure.”
The KFA declined to respond to an AFP request for comment.
– Fruitless search –
KFA reportedly spoke to American Marsch and Iraq’s Spanish coach Jesus Casas, with Turkey’s 71-year-old Senol Gunes and former Saudi Arabia coach Herve Renard also in the photo.
Neither negotiation was successful and Kim Do-hoon was named this week to lead the team on an interim basis against Singapore on June 6 and against China at home five days later.
Kim’s last job was with Singapore’s Lion City Sailors, who he left under a cloud after being suspended for three matches for violent conduct for an alleged headbutt during an ill-tempered game.
South Korea only needs one point to guarantee passage to the next stage of World Cup qualifying.
Kim’s temporary appointment comes after under-23 coach Hwang Sun-hong was appointed on an interim basis for South Korea’s home and away World Cup qualifiers against Thailand in March.
Hwang led the team to a 1-1 draw at home and a 3-0 victory in Bangkok, and was seen as a strong candidate for the role on a permanent basis.
But his shares plummeted when he failed to qualify the under-23s for the Paris Olympics, the first time they had missed out on the Games in 40 years.
Referring in particular to the failure to find a replacement for Klinsmann, national broadcaster KBS said South Korea was “in an unprecedented situation”.
“Fans’ trust in the KFA is bottoming out,” the report said.
– ‘Cheap option’? –
KFA president Chung was the target of fierce criticism, with fans and media holding him responsible for nominating and initially supporting the deeply unpopular Klinsmann.
But Chung, 63, was elected to the Asian Football Confederation’s executive committee last week and journalist Hong said there was “no possibility” of him resigning as KFA chief.
Hong said financial issues have been the biggest obstacle to appointing a full-time coach, with the KFA mobilizing funds for the construction of a new state-of-the-art training facility.
Hong said South Korea’s track record with coaches means fans should not expect the eventual appointment to be someone at the highest level.
Before Klinsmann, the spotlight was occupied by Paulo Bento, now coach of the United Arab Emirates.
South Korea’s best World Cup performance remains reaching the semi-finals under Dutchman Guus Hiddink when they hosted the 2002 tournament with Japan.
“Hiddink, Bento, Klinsmann – they were all at a low point in their careers when they came to Korea,” Hong said.
“Which means they were cheap.”
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