After the Korean national soccer team’s trip to England, national soccer team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who had once again caused controversy and received strong criticism by deciding to observe the European Taegeuk Warriors away from the team, changed his plans and decided to come to Korea.바카라사이트
While the trust of soccer fans and the public has already been lost due to working from home and a series of unexpected actions, Klinsmann seems to have accepted the soccer world’s excitement over his policy of going abroad again.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced on the 13th, “The national team is scheduled to return to Korea through Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 on September 14th. Coach Klinsmann’s return interview will be held at the departure hall.”
It was initially reported that Klinsmann planned to stay in Europe after completing the international match schedule in September and check on European players.
On the 8th, Klinsmann played his first A match with Wales in Cardiff City, England, and drew 0-0. Then, on the 13th, the team moved to St. James Park in Newcastle, northeastern England, and clashed with Saudi Arabia in the Middle East. Striker Cho Kyu-sung’s winning goal was well taken to win 1-0, and the team earned their first win after 3 draws and 2 losses since Klinsmann took office as head coach.
Although Klinsmann won his debut after much hardship, he was immediately embroiled in controversy. This is because skipper Klinsmann did not come to Korea with the Taegeuk Warriors and decided to remain in Europe to watch the German Bundesliga match between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen to be held at 3:45 a.m. on the 16th.
The reason could be cited as a check on the European team, but fans are unable to hide their bewilderment at the policy of observing again the national team’s regular defender, whom he used as a starter in two international matches just a few days ago.
Kim Min-jae’s role in Bayern Munich was not different from that of the national team, nor was he relegated to a bench member, and he had established a solid position right after his transfer, so soccer fans strongly protested, asking what further inspection was needed.
KFA also announced that Klinsmann was planning to watch Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga game in person this week, visit a European club, and have a meeting with officials. Klinsmann’s intention was to conduct local analysis with the coaching staff staying in Europe ahead of the international match in October and then return to Korea.
However, Klinsmann suddenly changed the plan completely.
KFA explained, “We decided to change the schedule at today’s coaching staff meeting to begin the work of confirming K-League players before announcing the October roster.”
Klinsmann not only threw away his promise to reside in Korea when he took office last March, but also worked remotely from his home in California and regularly appeared on the American sports channel ESPN, even predicting whether the Premier League would win, draw or lose. He is showing actions that are completely unbecoming of the prestige of the national team’s head coach.
During this international match away to England, he said he would participate in a charity match held at Chelsea’s home stadium as a member of his home team, Bayern Munich Legends, but when he faced strong opposition from the KFA, he had no choice but to give up, causing a big stir. Immediately after the Wales game, he also became the subject of controversy when he approached a player to get a uniform for Wales star player Aaron Ramsey, saying it was a request from his son, who plays as a goalkeeper for the LA Galaxy in American professional soccer.
Meanwhile, a new record for the most consecutive draws (2 draws, 2 losses) since the debut of a foreign coach in charge of the Korean national team and the record for the most consecutive draws (3 draws, 2 losses) since the implementation of the full-time national team manager system in 1992, the game against Saudi Arabia was almost ‘ It was played at the level of a ‘guillotine match’, but they managed to win 1-0 and took a breather from the barrage of criticism from public opinion. However, Klinsmann was in a situation where he caused trouble by saying that he would watch Kim Min-jae’s team play.
Klinsmann headed to the United States for a vacation after the international match last June, returned briefly to watch the Team K League-Atletico Madrid friendly match at the end of July, and left again on August 1.
After working in the United States, he visited Ireland and the United Kingdom for his charity work and to check on the European team. Earlier this month, he visited Monaco to watch the UEFA Champions League final draw, and then came to England where the match against Wales was held and the national team. conducted.
In the end, returning to Korea on the 14th means setting foot on Korean soil in 45 days. In the nearly six months since arriving in Korea last March, Klinsmann has stayed in Korea for only 67 days. This has spread to the BBC, the British public broadcaster, and has become a subject of ridicule.
There are also quite a few negative views on his review of the European faction. Regarding the controversy over Coach Klinsmann’s overseas travel, Han Jun-hee, Coupang Play commentator and Vice President of the Korea Football Association (KFA), also said in a broadcast, “I wonder how much of an impact Coach Klinsmann’s going to Europe and selecting players after watching one game will have on the composition of the national team. “Even if a player is absent or underperforms, why not select these players? “I don’t think it would be effective to give a word of encouragement to big players on the field,” he said.
This is also why neighboring Japan’s continued success is putting pressure on Klinsmann.
Japan shocked the world of soccer by defeating Tank Corps Germany 4-2 in an evaluation match held in Wolfsburg, Germany on the 10th. In addition, the German Football Association even created a situation where coach Hans Dieter Flick was suddenly sacked. Then, on the 12th, they defeated Europe’s heavyweight Türkiye 4-2 at the Chegeka Arena in Genk, Belgium, winning both of their two consecutive away matches.
The victory was not just a victory; it was four goals in a row against the strongest team in Europe and a mid-to-upper-tier team, so Korean soccer fans watching could not hide their envy. Japan is showing tremendous firepower with 4 consecutive wins and 18 points in the last 6 home warm-up games combined. Japan is moving forward again toward its goal of reaching the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup, but Korea is actually deteriorating after Klinsmann’s arrival.
As if Klinsmann could not ignore such public opinion in Korea, he changed his plan and set foot on Korean soil. However, fans are already doubting the sincerity of his return to Korea, saying it is a ‘big deal’. I became curious about what kind of attitude he would display at the arrival hall on the 14th.
After finishing the Saudi match, Klinsmann will now begin full-scale preparations for the 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers and the 2023 Asian Cup finals.
The national team will play two friendly matches and mock exams next month. First, on October 13th, they will play their first match against Tunisia, a North African powerhouse that beat France in the group stage of the Qatar World Cup finals, and on the 17th they will face Vietnam. Kickoff time for both games is 8pm. The venue is Seoul World Cup Stadium for the Tunisia match and Suwon World Cup Stadium for the Vietnam match.
Tunisia has been consistently showing off its power in Africa, reaching the finals five times out of the past seven World Cups since the 1998 World Cup in France. Although they were eliminated in the group stage all five times, they built their pride by winning one win each at the 2018 Russia World Cup and the last Qatar World Cup. At the Qatar tournament, they caused a small upset by defeating France in the group stage.
After the Tunisia war, the Vietnam war begins. It has been 32 years since Korean soccer played a home international match against a Southeast Asian team since it invited Indonesia to the President’s Cup in 1991.
Regarding the reason for inviting the Vietnam match, the Korea Football Association claims that Klinsmann requested to prepare for the dense defense of the opponent in next year’s Asian Cup, but Klinsmann had no choice, saying, “I also wanted to play with a strong team, but it was not possible due to the European Championship qualifiers taking place.” They effectively refuted that they were playing against Vietnam without any support.
After the international match in October, the national team will enter the second round of the 2026 World Cup Asia qualifiers. First of all, on November 16th, the first match of Group C of the second qualifying round will be played at home, but the opponent has not yet been decided.
It will be played against the winner of Guam and Singapore, which will be played home and away on October 12th and 17th. Singapore is ranked 158th and Guam 204th in the FIFA rankings, so Singapore’s power is objectively evaluated to be superior. Then, on November 21st, they will travel to China in the second game of Group C.
Great interest is expected to be focused on whether Klinsmann, who has overcome the critical moment of the Saudi game, will show moves that can change public opinion about the national team and himself ahead of the international match in October, and whether he will be able to record consecutive wins in subsequent games.