A second personality? … Jung Jung-sung has a tough task ahead of him
Chung Hae-sung, the current chairman of the Korea Football Association’s national power enhancement committee, has been appointed to lead the search for the next national soccer team coach.
The KFA said Tuesday that it held an executive meeting and decided to entrust Chung with the position.
Chung assisted Gus Hiddink as a coach at the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan, where he contributed to South Korea’s top-four finish. The Power Enhancement Committee is a body that is involved in all aspects of national team operations, including the appointment, dismissal, and re-signing of coaches for the men’s and women’s national teams and the U18 national team.
Chung’s immediate priority is to find a coach for the men’s national team, which has been left vacant amid the worst turmoil in its history. With the KFA sacking Klinsmann, who was blamed for the team’s early exit from the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar and its fourth-round exit, the national team will immediately face its toughest opponent in the Asian second qualifying round for the 2026 North American World Cup, Thailand, in the March A-match period (Aug. 18-26).
Hong Myung-bo Hong of Ulsan HD, Kim Hak-beom of Jeju United, Kim Ki-dong of FC Seoul, Hwang Sun-hong of the U-23 national team, and Choi Yong-soo of Gangwon FC are currently being considered for the job, but it will be a tough road with all of them currently in charge of their respective teams.
Of these, Hong Myung-ba is the one who is currently attracting the most attention. This is due to the will of Chairman Chung Mong-kyu. In an interview, Chung said, “I think the national team is too divided, so I think it’s not good to keep dividing the national team like this, dividing the national team into individuals, and I think it’s not good, and I think it’s most important to make the national team a team, and I think that’s one of the most important qualities of the next national team coach.”
This means that the new coach must have the charisma to rally the existing squad.
In that regard, there is no one better than Hong Myung-bo in South Korea.
In fact, Hong is known to fans for his charisma, with a video of him telling his players, “This is soccer,” and he has plenty of World Cup experience. As a player, he also led his team as captain.
The problem is that at Ulsan, Hong”s influence is overwhelming: they”re chasing the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League title and the Club World Cup. The regular season is just around the corner.
Without him, we don’t know what the future holds for Ulsan right now. That’s why the public opinion is that he shouldn’t sacrifice the K League for the national team.
In addition, Hong Myung-bo has already tasted bitter defeat at the 2014 World Cup in Russia.
There are those who say that it”s not worth bringing back a coach who has already failed once.
However, South Korea cannot afford to spend a lot of money on a foreign coach at this point. After spending close to 10 billion won on Klinsmann’s 안전놀이터 penalty, it’s virtually impossible to quickly bring in another coach worth at least 3 billion won with a guaranteed contract.
But realistically, no foreign manager will come to South Korea unless his job is guaranteed until the World Cup.
Also, the current roster is the best it’s ever been. There are more than 20 overseas players and 12 in this national team alone.
Therefore, there is a view that the team is more united than a strategist, and that even if the defense is good enough, the offense is so spectacular that it will work on the world stage.
Time is running out.
With less than a month to go until the national team convenes on March 18, Chung Jung-sung, the new chairman of the National Team, has a tough task ahead of him.