It’s not just impatient Korean soccer fans who are wondering if a coach will be sacked after just six months. This is how an international soccer pundit views Jürgen Klinsmann’s tenure as South Korea’s national team coach.
“Rob Page won’t be the only Welsh coach in need of a win on the eighth,” said John Durden, who covers Asian soccer for the BBC, on July 7 (KST). “Klinsmann is under pressure not only for poor results in his first six months in charge, but also for poor team management.”
Klinsmann’s South Korea A team will take on Wales in an exhibition match at Cardiff City Stadium at 3:45 a.m. (ET) on Aug. 8, but the mood is not good. Criticism of Klinsmann has been growing.
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“Two draws and two defeats in four home games so far is not ideal preparation for a team looking to regain its first Asian Cup title since 1960,” Durden said.
This is especially true coming from a foreign journalist who knows the country better than anyone. Durden is one of the few foreign journalists to have specialized in Asian soccer, having worked for ESPN, The Guardian, and Goal.com. He is well known to Korean soccer fans, having written a column for a local portal for more than a decade.
Late last year, after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Korean Football Association appointed Klinsmann to lead the national team for the next four years. Since then, the team has struggled with no wins (two draws and two losses) in four matches. None of the opponents were from Asia, and all were from South America. They drew with Colombia (2-2) and El Salvador (1-1) and lost to Uruguay (1-2) and Peru (0-1).
It’s been less than six months since he took over in March. It’s still too early to judge the results, but there are already critics of Klinsmann’s leadership. He hasn’t won a single game domestically, and his tactical colors have been questioned. His unconvincing style has also been criticized.
Similar to the domestic criticism, Durden pointed to Klinsmann’s remote work. “In his first press conference, Klinsmann said he would stay in South Korea, just like his predecessors,” he says, “but according to Korean media, he spent only six days in the country in his first six months.”
“For people who are used to working differently, (working remotely) can be new,” Klinsmann said. I don’t criticize anyone when I ask where someone is,” he said, adding, “The job of a national team coach is international. You have to know what’s happening in Europe and be in touch with the coaches of Korean players in Europe.”
There are many concerns, but one of them is that it will be difficult to keep track of the players playing in the K League. With Klinsmann out of the country, his assistants are watching the players instead. Duardon reminds us that Paulo Bento, who led South Korea to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after 13 years in charge, also lived in South Korea and frequented K League stadiums.
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There’s nothing necessarily wrong with not staying home. “When the pressure is on, smaller issues can become more prominent,” he says, adding that Klinsmann reportedly took the time to give interviews about Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich and Wataru Endo’s departure from Stuttgart to Liverpool during that time. Despite these growing concerns, Klinsmann decided to announce his squad for the away trial remotely.”
He also discussed the criticism of the decision in the Korean media. “If results don’t improve against Wales and Saudi Arabia, Klinsmann could find himself spending as much time as he wants in California,” Duardon said. That’s a sideways reference to the possibility of hard labor.
The best-case scenario is that Klinsmann brings home both a positive performance and a result from this trip. South Korea’s short-term goal is to win the Asian Cup in Qatar next January. With the World Cup in three years’ time, an early coaching change could be beneficial, but with the Asian Cup on the horizon for Korean soccer, it makes more sense to let Klinsmann settle in. After all, there has never been a more important time for Klinsmann to showcase his abilities with results. 안전놀이터
South Korea are ranked 28th in the FIFA rankings, seven places above Wales (35th). The teams have never met. Despite having players from all five of Europe’s top leagues, it’s a match that should yield some promising results.
The match against Wales and the match against Saudi Arabia (54th in the Fifa rankings) on March 13 at 1:30 am will be broadcast live on TV Chosun and Coupang Play.
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