Jürgen Klinsmann is back on the big football stage. Almost three years after the failed adventure at Bundesliga club Hertha BSC, the former national coach takes over the post of head coach at the South Korean national soccer team.
Klinsmann is to lead the two-time Asian champion to the 2026 World Cup, which will take place in his adopted home of the USA, as well as in Mexico and Canada. Accordingly, Klinsmann was given a contract by the South Korean Football Association (KFA) until the 2026 World Cup final, as announced in Seoul on Monday (February 27, 2023). No information was given about the financial terms of his contract.
Asia Cup in June as the first test for Klinsmann
The Swabian-born, who succeeds Portugal’s Paulo Bento, is due to make his international debut against Colombia on March 24, followed by a match against Uruguay in Seoul on March 28. After that, South Korea will take part in the Asian Cup from June 16th to July 16th. The tournament will take place at World Cup hosts and defending champions Qatar.
Klinsmann: “I’m very happy, I feel honored”
“I am very happy and honored to be the head coach of South Korea national football team”Klinsmann is quoted in a statement from the association. “I am well aware that the Korean national team has continuously improved and achieved results over a long period of time”, added Klinsmann. He will do his best to achieve good results at the upcoming Asian Cup and the 2026 World Cup, he said of his goals.
The greatest success of the “Taegeuk Warriors” at a World Cup finals was reaching the semi-finals at the home World Cup in 2002 (0-1 against Germany), at that time under Guus Hiddink. At the last World Cup in Qatar, South Korea had reached the round of 16 when they lost to record world champions Brazil. Then Bento had announced his departure.
For Klinsmann it is the fifth station as a coach. From 2004 to 2006 he was responsible for the selection of the German Football Association (DFB), then also for the national team of the USA (2011 to 2016). His commitments at Bayern Munich and Hertha BSC each ended prematurely: he only worked for Bayern for ten months in the 2008/2009 season, and in Berlin he was head coach for just three months from the end of November 2019.
Above all, his early departure from Hertha, announced with a Facebook post, caused a stir three years ago. Especially when differences of opinion between Klinsmann and Hertha management became known afterwards – and that the coach had passed on internal information to club investor Lars Windhorst for weeks (“Hertha minutes”).
Ex-DFB man Müller as technical director at Korea’s association
Klinsmann was described as a German football icon in the South Korean media on Monday. Michael Müller was responsible for the commitment. The 57-year-old German has been working for the South Korean association since 2018. In January he was appointed technical director and tasked with finding a new coach.
The South Korean newspaper “Ilgan Sports” reported that Klinsmann’s willingness to live in South Korea during his future coaching role played an important role in Klinsmann’s selection. The place of residence was Müller’s most important criterion for the selection of the coach. Bento also resided in South Korea and watched the local K-League games to spot and observe new players for the national team, it said. Klinsmann is expected in Seoul next week, the association said.
As further selection criteria, Müller had previously mentioned experience, motivation and the ability to work in a team, but also strong leadership qualities. In South Korea: “What the head coach says is the law,” said Müller in an interview with “transfermarkt.de”.
This should be in the spirit of Klinsmann, who has had the reputation of a self-confident reformer since his time at the DFB and as Bayern coach (keyword: Buddhas), who likes to completely turn a shop inside out. Soon possibly also with South Korea’s national team.
