Coach Hong Myung-bo was appointed as the head coach of the national soccer team.

The national soccer team is making a fresh start under ‘Hong Myung-bo’ after 10 years. Coach Hong Myung-bo (55) was chosen as the firefighter to save the national team that had been struggling without a proper coach for 5 months, but public opinion toward him is cold.

The Korea Football Association appointed Hong Myung-bo as the national team coach, which had been vacant since former coach Jurgen Klinsmann was fired in February.

After failing to reach a contract with the preferred bidder, including Canadian national team coach Jesse Marsh, in May, the association conducted the selection process again with 97 candidates, and eventually handed the baton to Coach Hong, who was leading K League 1 Ulsan HD.

He also promised exceptional treatment. First of all, he signed the highest contract among all former national team coaches. In addition, the contract period is approximately 2 years and 6 months, and two major competitions, the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup and the 2027 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup, will be held under the leadership of coach Hong Myung-bo.

All previous national team coaches who participated in the World Cup finals stepped down after the tournament, but Coach Hong is guaranteed a “next opportunity.” On

the 8th, the Association’s Technical Director, Lee Im-saeng, who was in charge of the coach selection process, explained in an official briefing that Coach Hong was the right person for the job, citing eight reasons: △conformity with the Association’s game model, △appropriate game management style, △leadership that creates a single team, △continuity with age-based national teams, △previous achievements as a coach, △experience in leading the Korean national soccer team, △the national team’s tight schedule, and △the issue of foreign coaches staying in Korea.

In addition, he disclosed the process of appointing Coach Hong and emphasized that there were no procedural problems, saying, “I made the decision transparently on my own.” However, soccer fans were angry about the process of appointing Coach Hong. Online soccer communities are flooded with opinions denouncing the appointment of Coach Hong. Fans expressed their discontent at the Association’s incompetence, which failed to properly appoint a coach after Coach Klinsmann was dismissed and ended up taking away an active K-League coach. Every time he was mentioned as a strong candidate, he expressed negative opinions, but he accepted the position of national team manager just 10 hours after meeting with Director Lee, and he was also harshly criticized. Some fans pointed out, “This is a rigged game of Go-Stop,” and “Isn’t he just going to waste time to make up an excuse?” Other fans escalated their criticism with strong expressions such as “commander,” “traitor,” and “liar.” The Ulsan supporters’ group “Cheoyong Warriors,” who lost their manager overnight, condemned him, saying, “The Korea Football Association failed to present any solution or vision, and eventually ended up in the worst situation of having to turn around the K-League manager again,” and “It is clear that the ending of this tragic choice will fail.”

Hong Myung-bo, who led the national team from 2013 to 2014 and stepped down due to poor performance in the 2014 Brazil World Cup, has a chance to regain his honor by leading the national team again after 10 years. When Hong first took charge of the national team in June 2013, public opinion surrounding his appointment was not favorable, but the atmosphere is quite different now. At the time, there were more criticisms directed at the association for forcibly appointing Hong, who lacked experience as a coach, as the head of the national team despite having sufficient time to appoint a coach. At least when Hong first took his first step as the national team coach, there were many who expressed expectations. 11 years have passed and Hong is back at the starting line as the national team coach, but this time, public opinion is cold. There are hardly any voices of support and encouragement for Hong. 카지노사이트