Football Association president ‘reliable ally’
Chung Mong-gyu, president of the Korea Football Association, is making an announcement regarding the future of national soccer team coach Jurgen Klinsmann at the Soccer Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 16th. The Football Association announced that after holding an emergency executive meeting this morning, they called Coach Klinsmann and informed him of his dismissal.
Former Korean national soccer team coach Jurgen Klinsmann's mention of a close relationship with Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu in an interview with German media conducted about a month ago is being reexamined.
Former coach Klinsmann was dismissed on the 16th after facing public criticism due to the results of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup (AFC), which had been a poor performance throughout the competition, and internal strife within the team.
Even after his dismissal, the controversy continues, with Coach Klinsmann claiming that the clash between Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) was the direct cause of the team's elimination from the competition. Not only Klinsmann but also former head coach Andreas Herzog, who worked with him, is blaming the player.
In this situation, the fact that former director Klinsmann mentioned his close relationship with Chairman Chung, who personally appointed him, in an interview with German current affairs weekly Der Spiegel about a month ago is attracting attention again.
Chairman Chung said that Klinsmann was selected through the same process as the selection of former coach Paulo Bento (current UAE coach), and has insisted that the selection was not based on friendship. However, looking at the Der Spiegel article, it is clearly revealed what kind of person former director Klinsmann views Chairman Chung.
National soccer team coach Jürgen Klinsmann, who failed to achieve his dream of winning the Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years, is answering questions from reporters after returning to Korea through Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 on the afternoon of the 8th.
Der Spiegel's reporter Marc Hooyeo met with former coach Klinsmann several times last year at the Paju National Training Center (NFC) and conducted interviews.
Reporter Huyeo reported that former coach Klinsmann showed enthusiastic support for Chairman Chung of Hyundai, one of Korea's leading companies.
Former coach Klinsmann told Der Spiegel, “The influence of Chairman Chung and Hyundai (in the Korean soccer world) is ridiculous. “It’s a huge level,” he said. “Whenever I had a problem, I immediately contacted Chairman Chung via text message to resolve it.”
Klinsmann, who stayed in a hotel near Yongsan Station in Seoul where Chairman Chung's HDC Hyundai Development Company headquarters is located during his stay in Korea, said, "Chairman Chung's office is '5 minutes away' from his accommodation," and added, "We need allies who will stand by our side in difficult times." The close relationship was indirectly expressed.
This is not the first time Coach Klinsmann has mentioned ‘alliance’ while leading a specific national team. Even when he was leading the German national soccer team in 2006, he frequently returned to his home in California and received a lot of criticism. However, at that time, Germany had a reliable 'ally' in the form of former Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The relationship between the two was so close that Merkel, who served as German Chancellor for 16 years, invited former coach Klinsmann to the Grand Cross for Special Achievement award ceremony in April last year. 사설토토