The Search for Next Korean Soccer Coach Begins
Oh My News has a good article about the candidates to fill the now vacant Korean soccer team coaching position:
It’s been a week since Jo Bonfrere “resigned” as South Korea’s coach and while the Korean Football Association hasn’t had much to say about who will be the Dutchman’s replacement, the media has had plenty to speculate about.
There are two camps. One side would like to see the appointment of a glamorous “big name,” a player on the global stage who has been there and done it and has the experience to lead the team to World Cup success.
Some say the “big name” coaches haven’t been to South Korea and that with the World Cup only months away, the only option is to look closer to home to a coach who can hit the ground running and won’t head back to Europe as soon as the last ball is kicked next summer.
The article goes on to provide some good analysis of each candidate for the coaching job. However, what I find interesting that for a country as nationalistic as Korea, there is only one Korean coach being considered for the job. Former coach Joe Bonfrere was often criticized for his lack of communication with the players. Wouldn’t a Korean coach that speaks Korean be able to better get his point across to the players. Plus if the KFA is so concerned about a “big name” coach from Europe coming here and leaving right after the World Cup then they should hire someone here in Korea so you don’t have to worry as much about the coach running off after the World Cup. Anyway it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Whoever is hired I do not envy. They will be under intense pressure to turn things around here.
