South Korea’s football friendly match against Colombia on Friday will be a rare occasion where one man on the bench will be under a brighter spotlight than any player on the pitch.
It will be the South Korea coaching debut for Jurgen Klinsmann, a German football icon with an impeccable playing resume but a coaching CV with a few question marks. Klinsmann will also take the first step toward putting his fingerprints on a team that played for one head coach for the past 4 1/2 years.
South Korea head coach Jurgen Klinsmann (C) watches his players during a training session at the National Football Center in Paju, some 30 kilometers northwest of Seoul, on March 21, 2023.
The highly anticipated match kicks off at 8 p.m. at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, some 310 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Klinsmann has succeeded Paulo Bento, who led South Korea to the round of 16 at last year’s FIFA World Cup to cap off his record-long tenure. Even before he was officially appointed — while his name was circulating around the rumor mill — Klinsmann faced criticism for his lack of tactical acumen, perceived or otherwise.
It stems from claims made in 2011 by former Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm, who wrote in his autobiography that Klinsmann, while coaching the prestigious Bundesliga club from 2008 to 2009, offered very little technical instruction and overemphasized fitness instead. Lahm also wrote that the players had to hold their own meetings prior to matches to discuss strategies, in lieu of guidance from Klinsmann.
South Korean players prepare for a training session at the National Football Center in Paju, some 30 kilometers northwest of Seoul, on March 21, 2023.
Klinsmann brushed off those allegations at his introductory press conference here March 9, saying it was “very normal” for players to want different things from training sessions.
Though Klinsmann might have taken the high road there, he didn’t necessarily answer lingering questions about what he can bring to the table as a tactician. This may seem unfair to the man who coached Germany to third place at the 2006 World Cup and then led the United States to the round of 16 eight years later.
On the other hand, Klinsmann does have much to prove. Before taking over South Korea, Klinsmann hadn’t coached a national team since November 2016, when he got fired by the U.S. with the Americans stuck at the bottom of the regional World Cup qualification table. His next coaching gig, with the German club Hertha BSC, lasted just 10 weeks, from late 2019 to early 2020. He announced his resignation on social media, an act he later said he regrets.
Bento’s coaching stint here was largely defined by stability and structure. Klinsmann’s recent coaching history suggests anything but.
Klinsmann will now try to silence his detractors, with essentially the same squad that Bento last coached in Qatar in December.
With little time to scout players since arriving here on March 8, Klinsmann elected to keep the World Cup roster mostly intact. Missing are three injured players: defenders Hong Chul and Yoon Jong-gyu, and winger Hwang Hee-chan, who was originally selected but was dropped Sunday due to an unspecified injury he picked up playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers. Klinsmann didn’t name a replacement for Hwang.
South Korean players jog in preparation for a training session at the National Football Center in Paju, some 30 kilometers northwest of Seoul, on March 21, 2023.
Source: Yonhap News Agency