“Director Jurgen Klinsmann (59) was our first negotiator.”
Michael Müller, head of the Korea Football Association’s National Team Strengthening Committee, held a press conference at the Seoul Soccer Center on the 28th and explained the process of appointing coach Klinsman as the new head coach of the men’s national team.
Chairman Mueller said, “We selected five candidates through the entire process. We started negotiations with priorities, and only Klins was the first negotiator, and he was finally appointed.”
Coach Klinsman is the most famous person among the Korean national soccer team’s coaches so far.
As a player, he was a striker for the German national team, where he won the 1990 World Cup in Italy and the 1996 European Football Championship (Euro 1996).
As his coach, he coached the German national team and finished third at the 2006 World Cup held in his country. Then, while coaching the U.S. national team, he won the 2013 North and Central America Gold Cup and advanced to the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Müller stressed that Klinsmann took a positive attitu
Chairman Müller said, “Klinsmann wanted to live in Korea and had a lot of interest in Korea. He visited Korea as a commentator for Germany during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, and in 2017, he went to Korea to see his son who participated in the U-20 World Cup. visited,” he said.
Then, referring to Klinsmann’s goal against Korea in the 1994 USA World Cup group stage match (3-2 Germany win), he said, “I was impressed by Korea’s ‘fighting spirit’ and fighting spirit in the fierce battle at that time.”
Müller joked, “I think Klinsmann decided to coach Korea after losing the 2004 warm-up match against Korea when he was leading the German national team.”
Klinsmann, however, was also criticized for his lack of tactical competence as a coach.
In particular, except for leading Hertha Berlin, Germany for about 2 months from November 2019, he has been practically ‘unemployed’ for 6 years since 2016, when he stepped down from the US national team command tower, so there is a possibility that he is out of touch.
In response to a related question, Chairman Muller said, “It is not only tactics that are important in football. It is also important how to make use of each player’s personality and how to manage star players. Teamwork must be achieved through several factors. This series of factors as a whole When we are in harmony, good performance comes out.”
de toward the negotiations as he had a good impression of Korea and Korean football.
In the process of appointing the director, criticism came that Müller lacked communication with other Korean members.
At the press conference, several questions were raised asking for clarification on this part.
Chairman Müller said, “The process of selecting, contacting, and appointing candidates (above) is a policy issue of the Football Association, and there are many sensitive parts, so we asked for understanding (from the members in advance), and there was (members’) consent to this.” said.
Chairman Muller will soon leave for the United States메이저놀이터, where coach Klinsman currently resides. On the 2nd, he plans to meet with coach Klinsman to discuss the appointment of coaches.
— Did you make a decision after discussing with someone other than the committee?
▲ It is not a decision alone. The process and standards were shared with the committee members through the meeting, and it started in a situation where all of the contents were agreed upon. As I said at the last press conference, I talked with (committees) about the five criteria of expertise, experience, motivation, teamwork, and environmental factors, and everyone agreed. There was a process of finding and reviewing people who could meet these criteria. I contacted several candidates and contacted those who showed sufficient interest and were considered suitable. Through this process, a total of five candidates were selected and negotiations began according to priority. Manager Klinsmann was the first negotiator and was finally appointed.
– You said that coach Klinsman was your top priority, and I am curious about the process of contacting him. There was also a report that Cha Doo-ri, head of FC Seoul’s Youth Enhancement Office, was involved.
▲ Coach Klinsman was also on the list of candidates for the national team coach in 2018 (appointed coach Paulo Bento). Director Klinsman said, “He wants to live in Korea and he has a lot of interest in Korea. He visited Korea as a German commentator during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, and in 2017 he visited Korea to see his son who participated in the U-20 World Cup. He also had experience scoring against Korea during the 1994 World Cup. He said that he was impressed by Korea’s ‘fighting’ spirit and fighting spirit in the fierce battle. In 2004, when coach Klinsmann was leading the German national team, he lost 1-3 against Korea in a warm-up match, so he decided to coach Korea. (Laughs)
During the Qatar World Cup, coach Klinsman participated as a Technical Research Group (TSG), and evaluated and analyzed all competitions, including Korean matches. Cha Du-ri also worked as a TSG. It seems that the two talked a lot while staying at the same hotel and discussing the same project. Coach Klinsman at the time must have asked Doo-Ri Cha a lot about Korean soccer.
— Director Klinsman decided to live in Korea. Are there any stipulated contractual conditions related to his stay in Korea?
▲ It’s hard to say exactly about the terms of the contract, and it’s not something I’m familiar with. What I can say for sure is that I met all the criteria, and Klinsman has a strong desire to stay in Korea.
— Please tell me the timetable of the appointment process
▲ On January 12th, 61 candidates were selected, and on the 18th, 23 candidates were selected and a contact plan was established. On the 26th, it was compressed to 5 people. An online meeting was held for these five people from the 30th to February 1st, and the appointment was decided through a committee meeting on the 27th.
— Considering the five criteria established by the committee, in which area did Director Klinsmann evaluate that he was more suitable?
▲ Klinsman’s strong personality was attractive. He also said that he really wanted the position of coach of the Korean national team. He seemed quite big compared to other candidates with a mind and interest to develop together. He was able to confirm that he was highly motivated to take on the role of coach of the Korean national team, seeing as he was asked which team and which match he would play if he took charge of Korea.
As the chairperson, I thought about who was the most suitable person. In the English Premier League (EPL), a manager is called a ‘manager’. They don’t just tell the players to ‘pass from A to B to C’ in detail. I draw the big picture, think about how to control the situation as a whole, and work in collaboration with the coaching staff.
— Were there any Korean directors among the five finalists?
▲ No. The first group of 61 candidates were Koreans. There was a plan to meet with the Korean director if negotiations with the final five candidates failed.
I reviewed it while receiving a lot of contact about the Korean director. I did not set a standard for distinguishing between Korean and foreign directors. I thought about which director is the one we need.
— Director Klinsman’s hiatus is long. There is also an evaluation that it is tactically weak.
▲ There are concerns about the lack of leadership or tactics, but tactics are not the only thing that matters in soccer. It is also important how to preserve the individuality of each player and how to manage star players. He has to achieve teamwork through multiple elements. A good performance comes out when these elements are harmonized as a whole. Director Klinsman, who worked for TSG, was able to confirm that he was competent in using data combined with modern technology in addition to his tactical part.
— Have you decided on a head coach or a Korean coach to be in charge of tactics?
▲ Coach Klinsman also thinks there are tactical strengths. It is difficult to say yet because the head coach and others are under negotiation and must be decided after talking with the coach. The overall staff composition will be discussed with the head of the national team operation team and coach Klinsmann. The appointment of a Korean coach was discussed at the committee meeting yesterday.
— What part of Korean football did Bento develop? What does he expect from a new manager?
▲ I thought a lot about the future of Korean football. I am looking forward to the part where I can create a lot of scoring chances and score a lot through coach Klinsman. I scored through a counterattack in the Qatar World Cup match against Portugal, and I think we can expect a little more in the part where we can easily and simply score quickly. When the ball is taken away, when switching to defense, I think you can also expect a part where you quickly judge whether to put immediate pressure or go down to defense.
The following is a Q&A with Chairman Mueller.
— What is the reason why there was no communication with the members of the power reinforcement committee from the selection of candidates to the contact process, appointment, and negotiations? What is the role of the committee in your opinion?
▲ The second committee meeting was held yesterday in Gwanghwamun. What I can say with certainty is that the committee members responded positively and it was a time to share enough information. The committee is an organization that can discuss this series of processes together, share thoughts, and hold comprehensive meetings. Yesterday, we shared about the appointment process and everyone agreed. To add an explanation, the process of selecting, contacting, and electing candidates is a policy issue of the Football Association, and there are many sensitive parts, so we asked for understanding (from the members in advance), and there was (members) consent to this.