“Did you empty it again?” Coach Klinsman’s frequent outings
When Jürgen Klinsmann (59, Germany) was appointed head coach of the Korean national football team in March, there was considerable opposition. He did so even though he had achieved decent results, such as finishing third at the 2006 World Cup in Germany as coach of the German national team and leading the United States to the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The main reason was attendance (work attitude). Klinsman lives in the United States. He was criticized by the German press for not returning to his home in the US for at least a month or two after he was away for two years as the German command tower. In 2020, when coach Hertha Berlin, Germany, left for the United States during the season and later said goodbye after unilaterally notifying her that she would resign through social media.
Knowing this history, the Korea Football Association also included a clause that ‘must reside in Korea’ when signing a contract with Klinsman. At his inaugural press conference, he even said, “Since I am the coach of the Korean national team, I will of course live in Korea.” It is said that he even found a house in Seoul.먹튀검증
By the way, Klinsman has been in Korea for 67 days and has been in the US or Europe for 90 days so far, the fifth month since his appointment. Excluding the period of stay for the evaluation, the period of stay in Korea was about two weeks. I worked remotely from home for three weeks in May, and went on vacation to the United States throughout July. He spent three months in the U.S. and Europe, citing that he was checking on European-style Korean players. A person in charge of the Korea Football Association explained, “There is no specific rule on how long he must stay in Korea.”
The role of the national football coach is not just to lead the national team and participate in international competitions. He has the power to change the soil of Korean football by discovering new talent and experimenting with novel tactics. Former coach Paulo Bento (54, Portugal) is known to have stayed in Korea with his family for more than 90% of his tenure, excluding summer and winter vacations. And during each K-League game, he quietly observed the players from the stands, selecting relatively unknown players such as Hwang In-beom and Cho Kyu-seong and fostering them as the main players of the national team.
Currently, Klinsmann spends his time observing European players such as Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae, who have already been verified. It is a message in the soccer world that it is the responsibility of Cha Doo-ri, the technical advisor of the national team, to recommend a new face while watching domestic professional and university team matches. Regarding Ahn Hyun-beom, who made his A-match debut in June, Klinsman said, “I couldn’t see the game myself.” There is even a saying that ‘(actually) Cha Doo-ri has all the selection rights’.
Since Klinsman took the helm, the national team has recorded 2 draws and 2 losses. There is still a long way to go before bold goals such as winning the Asian Cup and making it to the semifinals of the World Cup presented by Klinsman. The national team will play friendly matches against Wales and Saudi Arabia in England next month. Coach Klinsmann, who left Korea on the 1st, plans to stay in Europe until the evaluation match. The annual salary given to Klinsman by the Korea Football Association exceeds 1.8 billion won.