Seven Foreigners Vie to Be National Soccer Team Coach

The Korean Football Association has begun the selection process to choose the next manager of the national football squad among seven foreign coaches.

In a technical committee meeting held on September 2, the association put seven final candidates on the shortlist after reviewing 10 Korean coaches and 21 foreigners.

Yet, it did not disclose the names of the seven candidates and just mentioned its policy to have a foreign coach. The term “foreign coach” includes foreigners who are leading Korean soccer teams.

Kang Shin-woo, a vice-president of the Korean Football Association, said, “We had to resolve problems that the national team has had. Each member of the technical committee expressed his own opinions on their assigned category and we tallied total scores based on various criteria to narrow down the number of candidates.”

The association is scheduled to make first contact with the seven candidates to examine their surrounding conditions, coaching philosophies, and whether they actually want to lead the Korean national squad.

The technical committee will prioritize the candidates after making contact and conclude the selection process by making another contact with the final candidate.

The stated policy of the association is for the technical committee to confirm and announce a new coach after completing the selection process. The date for the next meeting of the committee has not been decided yet, but it will be completed as soon as possible in order not to affect the schedule of the national team’s match against Iran on October 12.

Meanwhile, given all of the 21 foreign coaches were reviewed, it is assumed that all coaches covered in the media have been under consideration. Some of the outstanding candidates mentioned were Bobby Robson (72, England head coach), Berti Vogts (58), Rudi Voeller (45) (both from Germany), Michael McCarthy (46, Ireland), Marcello Bielsa (50, Argentina), and Phillipe Troussier (50, France). It is estimated that Ian Porterfield, Busan I`Park coach, is also on the final list. Kang suggested that he is among the candidates who qualified based on the stated criteria, saying, “Coach Porterfield is also a foreigner.”

Yet, the president of the association, Lee Hoe-taeck, said, “Among the coaches covered in the media were some we don’t know.” So it is possible that unexpected figures could be included on the list.

Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com