In September, South Korea men’s national soccer team coach Jürgen Klinsmann, who had lost the trust of South Korean soccer fans amid numerous controversies and a winless streak, recorded his first win in six games. The victory, which came thanks to a lucky goal, made people wonder if he was a natural coach.
After that win, Klinsmann continued his controversial path, sticking to his guns. With about three months to go before the Asian Cup and a crucial schedule ahead, will Klinsmann’s ‘first win’ be a ‘boon’ that leads to an Asian Cup victory or a ‘poison’ that only satisfies Klinsmann?
The South Korean national soccer team, led by Jürgen Klinsmann, will play Tunisia at 8 p.m. on Oct. 13 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in the first of their October A-match trials. The team will play Tunisia on Sept. 13 and Vietnam on Sept. 17 at Suwon World Cup Stadium.
Klinsmann earned his first win in charge of the national team in six games (1 win, 3 draws, 2 losses) on Sept. 13 against Saudi Arabia in Newcastle, England. In the 31-year history of the national team’s full-time managerial system, he became the longest-tenured coach in Korean soccer to get his first win.
In the 32nd minute of the first half against Saudi Arabia, Hwang In-beom’s penetrating pass bounced off a Saudi defender, but Cho Kyu-sung saw it before the defender did and rushed forward to head home. The goal proved to be the winning goal for Korea and gave Klinsmann his first win.
Of course, it was a split-second decision by Cho Kyu-sung, but it was more of a “lucky goal” with a deflection and a defensive mistake than a promising move in an attacking situation or a goal made entirely of individual skill.
Even after the goal, the South Korean bench made no indications of a significant tactical change other than a substitution. In the end, it’s hard to argue that Klinsmann’s performance against Saudi Arabia was any better than his previous games, but a lucky goal that came at the right time saved the day.
Before the game, Klinsmann was interviewed by local media in England, and when asked why he was not in Korea, he said, “If you want to compete with world-class teams, you need to know how they operate. You have to let the players know that this is how world-class teams do it,” “Technology has improved, and you can identify players through data and technology,” and “I love Seoul, but it’s better to travel around Europe than to stay here when there’s nothing to do.
The K League reveals that Klinsmann does not have the usual mindset of a national coach, saying that he has “nothing to do” in South Korea, where he plays every week. In an online press conference for the A-Match call-up on Sept. 9, Klinsmann also downplayed the controversy that comes with his frequent travels, saying, “The office is where I have my laptop.”
The Asian Cup, which South Korea hasn’t won in 64 years, will be held in Qatar next January, about three months from now. Klinsmann has made winning the Asian Cup his top priority since his appointment in February. Even if Klinsmann was more convinced of his logic after the first win and didn’t mind the controversy, winning the Asian Cup is not the only thing that matters. 토토사이트