German Jürgen Klinsmann, the 1990 World Cup champion, has been appointed coach of the South Korean national football team, according to what the local football federation announced on Monday.
“The Klinsmann contract enters into force from March until 2026,” a statement said, without specifying its value.
The 58-year-old will arrive in Seoul next week and will lead the “Taeguk Warriors” against Colombia in a friendly match on the 24th of next month, the federation added.
Klinsmann succeeds the Portuguese Paulo Bento, who resigned after losing 4-1 against Brazil in the World Cup finals in Qatar late last year.
“I am very happy and honored to be the coach of the South Korea national football team,” the federation quoted Klinsmann.
“I am well aware that the Korean national team is constantly improving and achieving results over a long period of time,” he added, adding, “I am honored to follow in the footsteps” of former South Korean coaches, including Dutchman Guus Hiddink and Bento.
“We will do everything in our power to achieve good results in the next Asian Cup (in the summer) and the 2026 World Cup,” he added.
Klinsmann enjoyed a rich career as a striker and played for several clubs, including Italian Inter, English Tottenham and Bayern Munich.
Internationally, he scored 47 goals in 108 matches, including three in the 1990 World Cup, as well as winning a decisive penalty in the final against Argentina, which West Germany won 1-0.
He began his training duties at the head of the coaching staff of “Die Mannschaft” in 2004 and led the national team to third place in the 2006 World Cup in his country, before supervising Bayern and then the US national team until 2016.
He last held coaching duties with Hertha Berlin between 2019 and 2020.
