“I still have to watch and learn about K League. I hope we’ll be talking about the same thing in a few months.”
That’s what Jürgen Klinsmann said at his press conference to announce his appointment as head coach of the South Korean national soccer team. In March, the Korea Football Association (KFA) officially announced the appointment of Klinsmann, who has previously coached the German national team and the U.S. national team, as head coach of the A team. On the 9th of that month, Klinsmann attended a press conference at the Paju National Football Center (Paju NFC).
He was a former star player. He answered sharp questions with a relaxed smile. Klinsmann made headlines in November 2020 when he announced his intention to resign from his position as Hertha Berlin head coach via social media. When asked, Klinsmann smiled and said, “People make mistakes. We always learn. I will never announce my resignation on social media again. I think it’s an experience. It’s hard to make the right decision all the time, and I will make fewer mistakes,” he smiled.
He is also confident, as he lays out his lofty and specific goals. The first is to win the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup next January. By the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America, when his contract expires, he wants to “break the top four myth. “Winning is important,” Klinsmann said. As I said at Incheon Airport, the first goal is to win the Asian Cup,” said Klinsmann. “Korea reached the quarterfinals in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. I was there. I will give the players confidence that they can set high goals and achieve them. We will aim for the top four,” he said emphatically.
He also shared his initial plans for his appointment. He emphasized that he is a ‘scholarly’ leader. He promised to identify players from the K League as well as Europe, including Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich, then Napoli), and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain, then Mallorca).
As a new manager, he was expected to analyze less power. Klinsmann boasts 40 years of soccer experience. “I saw the quality of Asian teams at the World Cup in Qatar,” said Klinsmann, who has extensive experience overseas, not only in Germany but also in England and the United States. Qualifying is not easy in any region. We will focus on qualifying. The Asian teams will learn. I learned a lot about regional qualifiers in my six years with the U.S. national team,” he said, emphasizing that he is a “scholarly leader. He also emphasized that he was a member of FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG).
He also encouraged domestic players to look forward to joining the national team. He promised to personally visit the K League scene. “With over 40 years of experience, I can recognize a young player’s skills in 10 minutes,” he said, expressing his confidence as a veteran coach. “Of course, I will live in Korea,” said Klinsmann, who vowed to “verify the field.” “I still need to see the K League. I need to learn. I hope we can talk about the same topic in a few months,” he said directly. 카지노
He actually showed a willingness to fulfill his promise. This was the case early on in his tenure. Three days after his inaugural press conference, Klinsmann attended 10 K League 1 matches, starting with FC Seoul’s match against Ulsan Hyundai at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.