Korean soccer concluded its two-game A-match series in September with a friendly match against Saudi Arabia that ended on the 13th (Korean time) at St. James’ Park in Newcastle, England. The national team, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany),바카라 played all matches in England, including the trip to Wales (Cardiff on the 8th) and the match against Saudi Arabia.
It has been 5 years and 6 months since March 2018 that the national team played an international match in Europe, raising great expectations. However, it left many disappointments, from the selection of sparring partners that fell below expectations to the unsatisfactory performance.
Even the protagonists of the long-awaited European expedition were not Taegeuk warriors. From beginning to end, Klinsmann was the director. Unfortunately, as his behavior rather than his leadership came to the fore, and he brought controversy with unnecessary stories, foreign media also began to make fun of him.
Perhaps in an attempt to fit his personal schedule into the European season, he took the time off from July to August to select players he had ‘not seen in person’, and even this he was unable to understand properly. The incompetence of Coach Klinsmann and the multinational coaching staff was revealed in his deployment of side resources to the center and defense to attack.
There were signs of unrest even before the convocation. He proposed scouting to coach Michael Kim, who had accompanied the national team since the days of former manager Paulo Bento (Portugal) and would have helped prepare the roster for this European expedition, and announced the unpleasant farewell to Cha Du-ri without any coordination with the Korea Football Association’s National Team Strengthening Committee. I entrusted the coaching to an advisor. The September entry announcement was replaced with a press release.
Even locally, behavior that lacked common sense continued. At his son’s request, he personally picked up the uniform of Wales star Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff City), causing a stir over whether to attend the legendary match between Chelsea (England) and Bayern Munich (Germany) in London last weekend. Initially, the association said, “We received an offer to attend, but declined,” but it is said that Director Klinsmann never refused and expressed his dissatisfaction with the association for its reluctance to attend the event.
In addition, while explaining to reporters visiting the UK why he should work abroad, he made Korea a place where there was no need to stay, and made people angry by making outrageous remarks that if they did not like his methods, they should find someone else.
Coach Klinsmann asks to reserve judgment, saying, “We have put everything on the line to win the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup early next year,” but given the current trend, no one is expecting much. If there is no substantive change, it seems highly likely that we will not be able to accompany Chairman Chung Mong-gyu until his term expires in January 2025, let alone the 2026 North, Central and American World Cup.