Former Vietnam national team coach Park Han-seo and South Korean U-23 national team coach Hwang Seong-hong are considered to be the leading candidates to become interim coach of the South Korean national team.
The report was released after the KFA national team committee reversed its decision to appoint a permanent manager ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which resume in March.
Since the Korean Football Federation fired Jurgen Klinsmann on February 16th after one year in charge, overshadowed by criticism over his lack of tactical awareness and his failure to win the AFC Asian Cup, South Korea's The position of national team coach is vacant. He lost to Jordan in the semifinals.
JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Ilbo, said on Monday that the national team committee had originally intended to appoint a permanent coach after its first meeting on February 21, but instead decided to appoint an interim coach at its second meeting on Saturday. It was reported that a decision has been made to appoint a director. Before the FIFA international break in June.
The reversal comes as South Korean soccer fans staged a protest against the KFA on Friday, toying with hasty appointments that could disrupt the country's K-League season, which is just days away from kickoff on March 1. This happened after the committee was accused of
According to fans, Hong Myung-bo, the Ulsan HD manager, and Kim Ki-dong, the FC Seoul manager, are rumored to be the top candidates for the permanent manager position of the national team, and it is unlikely that either of them will be poached from the current team. It is said that this could cause confusion in the league.
Ulsan's official fan club posted a statement on Instagram on Friday, saying it would do everything in its power to prevent the KFA from appointing a K League manager as the national team's permanent manager. He added that the KFA should exclude the K League from the search process.
Other K League fans echoed the statement in the comments, supporting the fan club's position and criticizing KFA president Jeong Mong-gyu, who was accused of abuse of power by a South Korean non-profit earlier this month over his unilateral hiring. He said he continues to make demands. Klinsmann retires.
Hong's absence could be fatal for Ulsan, as his influence has been evident over the past three seasons. He won the league title in 2022, breaking a three-year runners-up spell, and led the club to their first-ever title defense in 2023. Ulsan also has a busier schedule than most other K-League teams, as they are scheduled to play in the 2023-24 AFC Champions League quarterfinals next month, which coincides with the K-League season.
FC Seoul's coach Kim is also reportedly attracting the attention of the KFA, but Kim took charge of the capital team in December last year and has yet to manage the team until the first game.
As he is not currently coaching any team, former Vietnam national team coach Park may be better suited to serve as interim coach. He has not held a managerial position since he resigned from the Vietnam national team last year.
During his five years at the helm of Vietnam's first team and U-23 national team, he won the South Asian Championships twice with the U-23 team, took Vietnamese football to a significantly higher level, and raised Vietnam's FIFA rankings to the world. I pulled it up from. 130 to low 90s.
However, after resigning, Park said she had no intention of holding a management position in South Korea.
Hwang, the coach of the Korean U-23 team, has recently achieved success on the international stage, winning a gold medal with the U-23 team at last year's Hangzhou Asian Games.
However, the national team's schedule could interfere with fans' ongoing preparations for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in April, with the U-23 squad set to qualify for the Paris Olympics in July. must come in third place.
The KFA will meet again on Tuesday to discuss the interim manager position.
If the KFA appoints an interim manager, he will likely oversee at least two World Cup qualifiers against Thailand next month. The top teams will play the remaining two qualifying matches in June.
South Korea is in first place in Group C of the second round of World Cup qualifying, which will be played in a home-and-away format, with the first and second place in the group advancing to the third round.
The top team will play Thailand at home on March 21st, followed by an away match on March 26th.
Text: Baek Ji-hwan [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]