“The reason I chose Klinsman as coach is his human charm, his interest in Korea, and his desire for success!”
This was the explanation of Michael Müller, chairman of the National Team Strengthening Committee. On the 27th, the Korea Football Association officially announced the appointment of Jürgen Klinsmann (58) from Germany as coach. The contract period with coach Klinsman is about 3 years and 5 months from March to the 2026 World Cup finals in North and Central America. The salary was not disclosed according to the agreement of both parties.
Public opinion is cold. He spent his active life as a ‘legend’, but after his transformation as a leader, he failed to leave a significant mark. Regarding the new director appointment criteria, Chairman Müller mentioned five major factors: expertise, experience, motivation, teamwork cultivation, and environmental factors.
Chairman Müller himself opened his mouth. He appeared at a press conference held at Seoul Sinmunro Soccer Center on the 28th at 2:00 pm and said, “I am delighted to announce the appointment of coach Klinsman. Throughout the press conference, Chairman Müller was criticized for his answers that did not go well with the questions. The following is a question-and-answer.
– There was no communication with the Power Reinforcement Committee.
▶ Regarding the committee, the second meeting was held yesterday. What I can say with certainty was the positive response at the conference venue. content was shared. The Power Reinforcement Committee is an organization that can discuss this process together, share thoughts, and have a general meeting. If you have a meeting with this member, you should speak with a mature attitude. In the case of yesterday, we shared about the past process and finally agreed. I talked about the process of selecting and contacting candidates with the Power Reinforcement Committee from the beginning, and since this part is a big policy of the association, it is sensitive, so I asked for understanding and received consent.
– If so, with whom did you discuss and decide?
▶Of course, it wasn’t a decision alone. As in the first meeting, the procedures and standards were shared with the members, and this was the beginning. Everyone agreed. We talked about the 5 things we said at the press conference. In the interview at the time, it was said that it would start from a blank slate, and the Power Reinforcement Committee also shared its opinion. Then there was the process of finding and reviewing who was suitable and able to meet the criteria. Starting with that criterion, I was contacted by many people, talked to a person who was sufficiently interested and suitable, and there was a person who reviewed whether he was really a suitable person or a person who could meet the criteria. A total of five candidates were selected through the entire process. Negotiations began with a priority group out of five. I negotiated first with Klinsman, and everyone agreed. So, I explained this part, explained it within the procedure, received consent, met the final five people as I said, and started negotiations first. It was a decision everyone agreed upon.
– There are many stories about your relationship with Cha Du-ri.
▶ Even at the time of 2018, coach Klinsman was in the candidate group. Director Klinsman had a lot of interest in Korea and had a lot of experience with Korea. He came to the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup as a commentator, and to the 2017 Korea U-20 World Cup because of his son. He once played against South Korea in the 1994 World Cup in the United States. He said at the time that he was very impressed with Korea’s fighting spirit. In 2004 he visited Korea as coach of the German national team. He said that at the time he lost 1-3, which changed his mind about Korean football. He played with TSG at the World Cup in Qatar. He watched all the matches and he was particularly interested in the match against Korea. I stayed and worked with Osango coach Cha Du-ri. He must have been discussing for the same project while using the same hotel, and you can guess we talked a lot. I think the subject might have been football. I know that you asked Doo-Ri Cha a lot about Korean soccer.
– The seniority process.
▶ I started with a blank slate from the beginning. Overall, people who were contacted and had people in mind as candidates. culled the list. Each candidate was preparing for an interview. In the process of preparing for the interview, I looked at the resumes of the candidates and prepared how to approach the interview. I also heard opinions about the Qatar World Cup. I also asked if he had watched the Korean team’s game. I asked him about watching Korean matches, what kind of football he would play and what kind of staff he would have if he became a Korean coach. Short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals were also asked. In the process, there was a procedure to check how to lead the national team through teamwork. They were also asked about their interest in Korea, communication among staff as a coach, whether they would follow conferences or policies, and whether they could work hard for the development of Korean soccer. They also asked about personal motivation and whether they could live while residing there. There were tasks that were tailored to the background of each candidate group. We made a list, interviewed, and selected the final two candidates about two weeks ago. First of all, the negotiator was manager Klinsman, and he received positive responses and attention during that time. I was self-motivated. He thought he was the perfect person to talk about. The final decision was made on the 27th with the consent of the Power Reinforcement Committee. Prior to that, there was a process of selecting the final candidates, and the five selected from the list met through an online meeting from January 27th to February 1st. The process of guessing five people was done until January 26th. Candidates were selected by January 26th, and the meeting started on the 30th, and detailed work was done on setting the questions for 4 days. I made this list with 23 people in mind. The period in mind after being contacted was January 12, and there were 61 candidates at that time. I’ve been working since January 12th.
On January 12, 61 candidates were selected, a plan was made to contact 23 candidates from January 18, compressed to 5 by the 26th, an online meeting was held from the 31st, and the final appointment was decided on the 27th.
-Why is Klinsman superior to other candidates?
▶ Five standards were set. Before reviewing it, I thought I should look at the human part first. After that, he set up 5 standards and looked at how to lead Korean soccer. It was difficult to create five criteria, and to create a questionnaire according to each candidate’s experience. It was more difficult to ascertain the human aspect. In the end, it was difficult to set standards because it was a human job. More candidates than I thought were interested in the Korean national team. surprised. Many candidates met the criteria. In the case of director Klinsmann, there were many attractive parts. He was attractive with a strong personality. The most obvious thing was that Klinsman really wanted to coach the Korean national team. He was able to confirm that he was very interested in the development of Korean football. I was able to confirm that I had questions, when and how to play, that I was motivated, and that I had a lot of interest. And he was able to confirm his desire to succeed with the Korean national team. His role as a manager, rather than just a football coach, was a significant motivator. What I should have thought about as the chairman was who was the right person for the national team and what was the best decision. The important thing is that in the current situation, given the current standards, we had to see if he would operate as a national team coach. For example in the EPL, the manager is called the manager. He must be able to see the big picture and take control of the situation. You must work with your coach.
– Were domestic directors included?
▶ There were no Korean coaches in the 5 candidates. There were 61 of them. (Are Korean coaches not meeting the 5 criteria?) Those 5 people met the 5 criteria. There were a lot of great people, so it wasn’t among them. If I couldn’t pick one, I had the idea of meeting a Korean director. Even though I was sure about the 5 people, if I approached them because they were Korean coaches, then I have no respect for the Korean coaches. I thought 5 people were enough candidates. It wasn’t there.
-There are many doubts about director Klinsman, what kind of verification did you do?
▶ Soccer is not all about tactics. Of course, the individuality of each player must be saved, how to manage star players, and teamwork in various factors must be achieved. Tactics alone was not the answer, he thought. The dynamic part and the mental part shown in the stadium are also important. When a series of elements are in harmony, they can work as a team. Coach Klinsmann participated in the Qatar World Cup with FIFA TSG. Director Klinsman felt that he was good at using data. Football can talk about 4 aspects when you look at it big, but it is important for players to find a way when facing those aspects. Looking at our team, we have a lot of experience, and we have a lot of individual strengths. When coach Klinsmann works with the members of the national team, he believes that the individual players, the experience and the results we have achieved, we can combine everything to improve the national team performance. In addition to tactics, Klinsman’s personality, star players, and motivation are his strengths스포츠토토, and I think that’s what makes him a leader, so I dropped Klinsman.
-Director Klinsmann decided to reside in Korea.
▶ I do not know the exact terms of the contract. However, it is certain that he satisfies all 5 criteria and has a strong desire to live in Korea.
– Has the coach been decided?
▶ Manager Klinsman is also a manager with strengths in the tactical part. For the coaching part, you have to talk with the coach. Regarding the overall staff composition, I plan to meet with coach Klinsman on Thursday along with the national team chairman. I can’t tell you the details because the whole process hasn’t been completed. I will share this part from time to time. Speaking of Korean coaches, we discussed what type and type of coach to select through a meeting of the Power Reinforcement Committee.
– What color will director Klinsman bring out?
▶ Each person has a different personality and human side, so I think we have to wait and see how it affects the team. You have to see how to do it. Instead of following a certain coach’s soccer, we have to think about what to do with Korean elements. It is dangerous to follow the color of one director because each strength can create synergy, what kind of result will be met if you just follow it. In each phase of the game, it is important whether we solve the moment-to-moment crisis individually or as a team, whether we have the ball or not.
– What kind of contributions do you expect Manager Klinsman to make to Korean soccer?
▶I am looking forward to creating more scoring chances and finding ways to score more goals. If you simply look back at the Portugal game, you scored through a counter attack, and I think you can expect to score quickly. I think we can expect a compact defense as well. Coach Klinsman thinks the same when I look at the preparation process he showed in his game. We’ll hear from future press conferences about what Klinsman will look like.
-Why did you choose Bellingham at the FIFA Awards?
▶I chose it. The director was vacant, so I had to pick one. Bellingham was elected to will. The reason why he chose Bellingham over Messi is that Messi has won so many awards, and Bellingham is young, but he follows football trends these days and shows everything football needs these days. He is the best boxer in the world, scores well, and has all the virtues needed in modern football.
-Which of the 5 criteria Korean directors fell short of?
▶Do not misunderstand. Among the 61 people, there was a Korean director. It is not that Korean directors are excluded from the overall list. I didn’t separate Korean and foreign directors, but looked at the important parts. The five finalists were so good that we didn’t meet the rest of the rankings. I saw the ability to lead a star player and the ability to unite a team. There are moments when you have to make a decision, and there were none at that moment.