Under Pressure: Coach Hong Myung-bo’s High-Stakes Gamble

Although the national football team won the trip to Oman, public opinion towards coach Hong Myung-bo is still cold.

I am interested to see if he will be able to receive support from fans again, putting the debate over the selection process behind him.

Reporter Yang Si-chang reports.

[기자]

Coach Hong Myung-bo, who completed the legend of reaching the 2002 World Cup semi-finals while wearing the captain’s armband, continued his path to success even after transitioning from player to coach.

He led the national team to the quarter-finals of the Under-20 World Cup and subsequently set an unprecedented record of winning a bronze medal at the London Olympics.

[홍명보 / 축구대표팀 감독(지난 2012년 8월) : 이번 올림픽이 끝나고 정말 한 점의 후회도 없다는 게 저한테 있어 가장 기쁜 부분입니다.]

But the ordeal came at a critical time.

The 2014 World Cup in Brazil was decisive, as the team was eliminated in the group stage without a win and with two defeats.

He remains the only coach without a single World Cup victory since 2002.

[홍명보 / 축구대표팀 감독(지난 2014년 7월) : 결과적으로 희망은 못 드리고 실망감만 드려서 진심으로 죄송하게 생각하고 있습니다.]

After working as a football administrator and K-League coach, he returned to the leadership of the national football team after 10 years.

This time, we faced headwinds from the start.

As the issue of the selection process not being transparent or fair spread like wildfire among supporters, boos were louder than cheers in the stadium.

In the first game, they drew against Palestine, under widespread criticism, but they took a breather by winning the trip to Oman.

The inability to reveal clear colors is also a challenge that trainer Hong Myung-bo has to solve.

[홍명보 / 축구대표팀 감독(그제) : 어떤 식으로 팀을 발전시켜야 하는지 코칭 스탭, 선수들과 소통을 많이 했고요. 생각들도 조금씩 좁혀가는 상황이라고 말씀드릴 수 있습니다.]

All the remaining qualifiers for the World Cup are expected to be a test to see what kind of results coach Hong Myung-bo, who has started his second career as a football coach, will perform in the game And a month later.

This is Yang Si-chang from YTN.

Video Editing: Heejeong Kim

YTN Yang Si-chang (ysc08@ytn.co.kr)

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