Football team coach appointed…
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann (59), a legendary striker in Germany, will lead the Korean national soccer team, taking charge of the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America .
The Korea Football Association announced on the 27th that it had appointed Klinsmann, former coach of the German national team, as the national team’s head coach. It is the first German command tower in six years since former coach Uli Stielike (2014-2017). His contract period is 3 years and 5 months from March to the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America. Coach Klinsman will return next week and make his Korean coaching debut in an evaluation match against Colombia in Ulsan on March 24th.
◇Legendary striker born in Germany
Director Klinsmann, who made his professional debut in 1981, was called the ‘white shark’ and ‘blonde bomber’ and played an active role as a striker representing Germany. He played for major clubs such as Inter Milan in Italy (1989-1992), Tottenham in England (1994-1995) and Bayern Munich in Germany (1995-1997). During his active career, he won the top scorer in the German Bundesliga and even reached second place in the Ballon d’Or.
From 1987 to 1998, coach Klinsmann scored 47 goals in 108 matches for the West German and German national teams. It is the 4th highest goal scorer in the history of the German national team. He scored 11 goals in three World Cups in total. He lifted the 1990 World Cup in Italy and the 1996 European Football Championship trophy. Director Klinsman is also familiar with Koreans. In the 1994 USA World Cup group stage match 3, he scored two goals against Korea, including an exquisite turning shot, to give Korea a 2-3 loss.
◇ Achievement as coach of the German and American national teams
Coach Klinsmann rose to the command tower of the German national team in 2004 after retiring. At the time he took the helm, Germany suffered a shock group stage exit at the 2004 European Championships, being mocked as ‘Russian Tank Germany’.
Young coach Klinsman, who took the helm in a crisis situation, made improvements by dropping key members and discovering new talent, and finished third in the 2006 World Cup held in his country. Although it did not win, it was evaluated as an achievement that exceeded expectations considering Germany’s power at the time. After stepping down from the national team’s command tower메이저놀이터, he took over the German Bundesliga coach at Bayern Munich in 2008, but was sacked due to poor performance in the league and European matches.
After living a wild life for a while, he was appointed head coach of the U.S. national team in 2011. He seldom won in the early days, but won the 2013 North & Central America Gold Cup and gained confidence. He also won 12 matches in a row and succeeded in advancing to the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
However, after losing consecutively in the Russian World Cup regional qualifiers and falling to the bottom, the U.S. eventually chose to break up with coach Klinsman in 2016. For about 5 years, he led the United States with a record of 55 wins, 27 draws and 16 losses.
◇ Ups and downs in the leader’s career… Mixed evaluations
Coach Klinsman, who is returning as a leader after three years, said, “I know very well that Korea has been continuously developing and producing results for a long time. I feel honored to succeed such great coaches as Guus Hiddink and Paulo Bento. I will do my best to succeed in the upcoming Asian Cup and 2026 World Cup.”
However, there are voices of concern because of Klinsman’s past history. Klinsmann, while coach of the German national team, was criticized by the German football community for staying at home in the United States rather than attending World Cup workshops held in his home country. The Korea Football Association said, “Coach Klinsman made it a condition of living in Korea during his tenure as a condition of the contract.” Former Korean national team coach Paulo Bento (Portugal) lived in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, close to the Paju NFC (National Team Training Center).
Coach Klinsmann laid down the American baton in 2016 and took a break for a while, then returned in November 2019 as coach of Hertha BSC in Germany, but resigned after 77 days after a conflict with the club. At the time, he suddenly revealed his resignation through personal social media, embarrassing his club officials and being criticized for being irresponsible. There was also a player who revealed that “tactical guidance was lacking.”