The Korea Football Association (KFA) plans to conduct a review by coach Jurgen Klinsmann on the national team’s management and the results of the Asian Cup. Klinsmann had been in controversy over his frequent overseas trip for a year, and the Asian Cup was eliminated in the semifinals. What will the result be?
The challenge of the Klinsmann team, which aimed to become the first Asian leader in 64 years, ended in failure. South Korea was evaluated as one of the strong candidates before the opening of the tournament. Even among domestic fans, there were high expectations for the “greatest members of all time,” led by players such as Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae, who are playing as key players in the European big leagues.
Klinsmann also expressed strong will to win the Asian Cup championship before the opening of the championship, or even from the early days of his presidency. However, Korea showed disappointing results from the group stage. Although the team won the first match 3-1 against Bahrain, it was shaken by the situation where the team gave up the equalizer. The match against Bahrain was the best. It failed to win at all in the following two consecutive matches against Jordan and Malaysia. He scored the first goal but lost goals continuously, ultimately leading to a draw.
The situation did not change much at the tournament stage, which started after just one win. Korea allowed the first run against Saudi Arabia in the round of 16. Fortunately, Cho Kyu-sung’s goal at the end of the second half led to overtime, and won after a penalty shootout. In the quarterfinals against Australia, he also contributed the first goal. Fortunately, Hwang Hee-chan’s penalty kick equalizer and Son Heung-min’s free-kick final goal won the game 2-1.
Dramatic scoring in two consecutive games was achieved, but there was no third iteration. Players were exhausted from a series of overtime plays. Son Heung-min played full time from the group stage to the quarterfinals. Korea, which met Jordan, its opponent in the second round of the group stage, struggled with opposition pressure from the beginning of the game. Pass misses and ball control mistakes continued, eventually kneeling.
When Klinsmann was eliminated after a lethargic defeat, criticism mounted against him. However, he arrived at Incheon International Airport with a big smile on the 8th, seemingly unaware of the atmosphere. He waved to reporters and fans.
He also showed amazing responses during the interview. “I’m so happy to be in charge of this team and to lead the team,” Klinsmann said. “I wanted to win this competition as much as you guys. I lost the game against Jordan and couldn’t achieve the goal I wanted. Until then, I rewarded my fans with good results, but Jordan was a much better team when I met them in the semi-final. They were well-qualified to advance to the final. As a coach, what I can think about now is how to prepare for the 라바카지노도메인 World Cup qualifiers that are just around the corner.”
He set his sights on winning the championship but failed to advance to the semifinals after a disappointing performance. “I can’t say it’s a failure because I advanced to the quarterfinals,” Klinsmann said of the result. I have felt the difficulty of the event, and East Asian teams including Korea, Japan and China struggled a lot against Middle Eastern teams as the event took place in the Middle East. Middle Eastern teams would have gained considerable strength in an atmosphere similar to home games. Nevertheless, advancing to the semifinals is quite positive, he said in a rather absurd response.
“After the Lunar New Year holidays, the Korean Football Association (KFA) will review the overall operation of the national team and the upcoming event through the committee,” said an official from the Korea Football Association (KFA). Klinsmann will first have a meeting with the association officials regarding the upcoming event. And he is currently in touch with the committee members. The exact time and venue of the meeting will be determined later.”
It is not known what the outcome will be at the Korea Power Enhancement Committee that will take place after the end of the holiday season. However, Klinsmann spoke positively about his relationship with Chairman Chung Mong-gyu during an interview in Korea. “I met with Chairman Chung Mong-gyu in Qatar twice. We talked about this and that over coffee, and especially about this year’s event. We talked about the good and bad things. We discussed how we should prepare for the upcoming World Cup qualifying events.”
If Klinsmann continues to lead the national team, what is certain is that he will spend more time overseas. Even after entering Korea, Klinsmann said, “I will leave the country next week to take a short break and watch overseas players play.”
“I keep talking about how I work, but the coach of the national team has many business trips and various tasks unlike the coach of the professional team. The way I work will not change. I respect your criticism, but there will be no change.” In the end, analyzing and observing K-League players will be centered on coach Cha Du-ri, and Klinsmann will be reported as “Zoom” repeatedly.