Chung Mong-gyu, president of the Korea Football Association, enters the Football Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul to make an announcement regarding the future of national football team coach Jurgen Klinsmann on February 16 this year
Last month, news broke that U23 (under 23) coach Hwang Seon-hong would take over as head coach of the A national team. The opposition was strong. This was despite winning the gold medal at the Asian Games last year and going on a three-game winning streak in the group stage of the U23 Asian Cup this year. Coach Hwang lost to Indonesia, led by coach Shin Tae-yong, in the quarterfinals of the tournament, making it an unprecedented story. There was a saying that “Shin Tae-yong saved Korean football.”
Many people say that the coach of the national team should be appointed as a foreigner. It’s hard to understand at first. Korea rose to 23rd place in FIFA. It is different from the past when it stayed around 50th place. There is no lack of talent. There is also coach Hong Myung-bo, who led Ulsan HD to their second consecutive league win last season, and FC Gwangju coach Lee Jeong-hyo, who is said to be a tactical genius. FC Seoul coach Kim Ki-dong, who is said to achieve maximum results with little talent, is also considered a capable coach. Despite this, they insist on choosing a foreign director.
The biggest reason is administration. The point is that the backwards administration does not empower the coach of the national team. The Korea Football Association has had several failed attempts since 2021, when Chairman Chung Mong-gyu succeeded in his third term. In April last year, the Football Association announced it would forgive match-fixers and face a backlash. Director Jürgen Klinsmann was appointed behind closed doors, but was criticized again when he was sacked a year later.
Those who rebelled against the uncommunicative administration of society all became barbarians. A representative example is former Chairman Kim Pang-gon of the Power Strengthening Committee, who is currently in charge of overseeing Malaysia. If a domestic coach is appointed now, it is very likely to be a ‘code appointment’. Even if a small believer is elected, it may not be easy to prevent the interference of the society because domestic relations are ending. Therefore, it means that a foreign coach who is not affiliated with the association is better. Although Coach Klinsmann failed, at least he was free of the association.
If it is not midnight, will outside intervention be difficult? The Korea Football Association is an incorporated association. Because it is an athletics organization under the Korea Sports Council, it is not called for a government inspection. The Korea Sports Council has never separately disciplined the Football Association. The size of the Football Association is too much to touch. This year, the Football Association receives approximately 33.3 billion won from the national treasury, including 22.5 billion won in Toto Sports support and 10.8 billion won in the National Sports Promotion Fund. However, it is not checked at all.
‘Jung Mong-gyu is out’ without any context. This is one of the football memes that are popular these days. This shows how much trust in society has fallen. It is said that there is an opinion within the society that this time they should leave the national team to a domestic coach to develop it properly. I think this is the right direction. But before that, the priority is for the society to regain the trust of the public. There is no Korean who would object if a Korean coach took charge of the Korean national team. Everyone would welcome it as long as there was assurance that the society would function properly.
#기자의 #시각 #Deteriorating #trust #Football #Association
