“Frankfurter Rundschau ended in just one year,” said Frankfurter Rundschau on Wednesday (Korea time). Klinsmann is no longer the coach of the Korean national team. His elimination at the Asian Cup was his downfall just like the German team.”
The Klinsmann team had a mismatch from the start. Shortly after taking office, the team had one draw and one loss in two matches, and in June last year’s friendly matches with Peru and El Salvador, which were considered lower than the previous team, it had one draw and one loss, failing to secure four consecutive wins. Later, at a press conference in which he claimed himself, he made an unusual statement, asking, “I want to ask the opposite. What kind of soccer do you want me to play?”
When Klinsmann was inaugurated as the Korean national team, he failed to keep his promise of staying in Korea. Whenever he had time, he flew to the U.S. and worked from home. Even at Klinsmann’s request, the KFA abolished the press conference on the announcement of the national team’s roster. He hoped that Klinsmann would like everything to suit his taste.
Fortunately, the team showed good performance in the second qualifying round for the Asia region for the 2026 North-Central America World Cup. It secured a landslide 5-0 win against Singapore in the first round match, which was considered a step lower, and rose to No. 1 in its group by winning 3-0 away to China. However, it was just as good so far. Since then, the Klinsmann team has collapsed uncontrollably.
In particular, the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup was a decisive opportunity for the collapse of the “Klinsman.” The Korean national team had a “super-luxury” member such as Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, Hwang Hee-chan and Lee Kang-in at the Asian Cup, and was eventually eliminated after losing 0-2 to Jordan in the semifinal.
His attitude also became problematic. After finishing the third group match with Malaysia at a 3-3 draw, he said, “It was an interesting match as I scored many goals.” After the semifinal match with Jordan, Son Heung-min, the captain of the Korean national team, was crying while clapping his hands and smiling all the time, showing the worst performance ever.
Even after arriving in Korea, Klinsmann told a press conference on his arrival at Incheon International Airport that he had no loss in 13 matches. He made it to the semifinals of the competition. It is hard to say that he failed. I think he is very positive about his advance to the semifinals. I want to commend our players. There were many positive aspects in difficult situations.”
In addition, his shocking remarks at the arrival press conference made the people angry once again as he secretly left for the U.S., where his home is located, on the 10th before the soccer fans’ anger disappeared. Even during the tournament, Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min clashed for the first time.
In the end, the Korea Football Association decided to replace Klinsmann. Chung Mong-kyu, chairman of the Korea Football Association, convened a meeting of key KFA executives and announced the replacement of Klinsmann. “Coach Klinsmann made the decision because he failed to display the coaching ability he wanted to coach the national team, including game management, player management, and work attitude,” Chung said.
“Klinsmann has never won the first five games of the Korean national team. Spending more time overseas than in Korea was not as welcoming as he did when he was coach of the German national team. Routine in Germany, which has been a long time ago, was also a reason for the lack of support from soccer associations, experts and of course fans,” the media said.
During the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Klinsmann was the head coach of the German national team, and ranked the worst performing team in Euro 2004 to the third place in two years. However, he was also complacent in taking care of things through telecommuting, where he was reported to the U.S., and notified his resignation after the World Cup, saying it was time to take a break.
He failed to control the team even during the World Cup. Klinsmann, who had no control over players at the time, lost control of their behavior. After the quarterfinal match against Argentina, Germany’s Torsten Prings was suspended for one game by beating Argentina’s Julio Kruse for no reason in the locker room, and was unable to play in the semifinal match against Italy, where the team lost 0-2.
In addition, unlike the national team, he failed to produce any results at a club. When he was a coach of Bayern Munich, he recorded 25 wins, nine draws, and 10 losses overall, becoming the first and only coach to fail to win any of Munich’s official titles since the 21st century. At Hertha Berlin, she announced her resignation through her SNS without previous notice, showing irresponsibility.
“Klinsmann could head back to Germany. Thomas Tuchel is now facing criticism from his club, Munich. A successor is already being discussed. Klinsmann is not one of the candidates. Klinsmann, who served as Munich’s coach from 2008 to 2009, remains a negative example for Munich,” the media reported.
BY: 스포츠토토핫