Klinsmann, dismissed as coach of South Korea after defeat in the Asian Cup semifinals – Publinews – 2024-02-20 16:27:38

Jurgen Klinsmann was fired as coach of the South Korean national team after an Asian Cup semi-final exit and reports of internal disputes between star players, ending a turbulent 12 months of managing the team. German technician.

The Korean Football Association made the announcement on Friday.

Klinsmann was already facing heavy criticism after South Korea’s surprise 2-0 exit to Jordan last week. The pressure intensified after media reports of a dispute between captain Son Heung-min and young star Lee Kang-in during the tournament.

On Thursday, during an evaluation of the role in the Asian Cup, inside the Association’s headquarters in Seoul, the eight members of the National Team Committee spoke with Klinsmann via video conference from his home in the United States, before reaching your conclusions.

“For a number of reasons, we have concluded that Klinsmann will not be able to continue to demonstrate his leadership as coach of the national team,” said the Association’s head coach, Hwangbo Kwan. “We will report our resolution to the Association.†€

The final decision was made by the director of the Chung Mong-gyu Association.

“After a thorough review, the Association has decided to make a change in the coach,†Chung told media in Seoul on Friday. “When it was necessary to bring out the best in the national team, the management of the players and their work habits, Klinsmann did not meet our expectations of a national team coach, nor did he demonstrate leadership.

“We considered Klinsmann unlikely to improve as a coach, in terms of his skills and work ethic.â€

Klinsmann, coach of the United States national team between 2011 and 2016, thanked his players in a post on social media.

“To all the players, my coaching staff and all the fans of South Korea, with sincere gratitude,†he wrote. “Thank you very much for all your support and for taking us to the semi-finals of the Asian Cup and for an incredible journey in the last 12 months without losing in 13 consecutive matches before the semi-final.â€

Lee, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain, apologized on social media on Wednesday.

“I have caused great disappointment to the fans who always supported the national team. I’m really sorry,†Lee wrote on Instagram. “I had to be an example and listen to my older colleagues. I would like to apologize to many people who must be disappointed in me.â€

Hwangbo added during the meeting that Klinsmann, who had refused to resign before next month’s World Cup qualifying matches, had said infighting affected the players’ performance against Jordan.

“There were opinions that Klinsmann did not demonstrate his determination to find new talent and that he failed to capture the internal conflict or mood among the team members,†Hwangbo said.

In addition to his leadership and tactical skills, Klinsmann was unpopular for not moving to South Korea, unlike previous foreign coaches. Klinsmann won the World Cup as a player and had success as a coach for the German and United States national teams before taking up that role in South Korea.