Jürgen Klinsmann’s controversy continues to sting.
South Korea drew 0-0 with Wales in a friendly at the Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, England, on Aug. 8 (KST).
The result means Klinsmann’s quest for his first win will have to wait until another time. The national team hasn’t won a game since his appointment in March, drawing three and losing two in five matches.
It is the worst start for any South Korean national team manager in history. It’s been 31 years since South Korea implemented a full-time managerial system with Kim Ho in 1992, but no coach has ever failed to win their first five games in charge. Gus Hiddink got his first win in his fourth game, while Hong Myung-bo and Shin Tae-yong also won their fifth games.
However, Klinsmann set an unwelcome new record when he failed to win against Wales. It wasn’t just the result that was frustrating.
“South Korea had more possession, but it was the home side Wales who had the better chances,” said the BBC, “with only long-range efforts from captain Son Heung-min and Hwang In-beom. It was Wales who had the best chance of winning the game.”
Klinsmann was relaxed. His post-match press conference was no exception.
“It was a very good test for us,” Klinsmann said, according to Sky Sports. I’m happy with what the players showed,” Klinsmann said.
“Wales came out with a back five and it was hard to break,” Klinsmann continued. We want to develop and grow as a team. Every game will help us.”
Klinsmann added: “These friendlies are the moments when you can try different things. You can see that the team has changed since I played my first game in March.”
The unexpected comments were followed by a bizarre run of form.
After the game against Wales, Klinsmann exchanged jerseys with a Welsh player for his son.
Klinsmann asked Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff City) for a jersey after the Wales game. It’s unusual for a national team manager to request a jersey from an opposing player.
Klinsmann told UEFA after the game, “My son plays goalkeeper for LA Galaxy. He texted me before the game and said, ‘Can I have Ramsey’s jersey,’ so I asked him for it.”
Klinsmann’s love for his son is well known. He traveled to South Korea in 2017 to watch his son Jonathan Klinsmann (USA) play in the U-20 World Cup.
The BBC sarcastically noted that “Klinsmann had a huge gift for his son”.
There was also controversy over whether he would play in a friendly against Saudi Arabia, even though he still had an A-League match to play.
Chelsea and Bayern Munich will host a charity match in honor of the late Gianluca Vialli at Stamford Bridge in London, England on September 9. Ahead of the game, the teams have announced their rosters.
One name on the Bayern Munich roster is particularly familiar. It’s Klinsmann.
Although the match against Wales is over, the team is still preparing for the match against Saudi Arabia. It’s the second trial on the 13th. And yet, his name is on the roster. It defies common sense.
It’s also time to start making excuses. The team has an agreement with the Korean Football Association regarding outside activities.
But this time is different. This is the A-match period. It would be absurd for the team to suddenly play a friendly when they can’t even train properly due to outside activities.
Of course, they won’t play. “He won’t play in the friendlies. It’s already been decided, but he’s on the roster.” Of course, there’s more to it than that. The controversy itself is a problem. Even if the organizers strongly want you to attend, it can be problematic to do so when the issue is so controversial.
Especially when the national team’s performance doesn’t make sense, the idea of a national team coach traveling abroad, even if it’s a Western idea, is problematic.
Another controversy has arisen with the Legends Match. We’re talking about training grounds.
The national team will play the second leg of the European A match against Saudi Arabia. The stadium is in Newcastle. However, the training ground is in Brentford, London. That’s about 450 kilometers away.
The national team’s training center in Brentford is about 25 minutes away from Stamford Bridge, where the Legends Match will take place, raising suspicions that the team was traveling to London for this charity match.
That’s not exactly true, of course. A senior Football Association official said: “The decision to train in London rather than Newcastle was made because we had a game scheduled before we played Saudi Arabia. It wasn’t in Newcastle at the time. After the match with Saudi Arabia was decided, we arranged accommodation and training in Newcastle, but due to local circumstances, it was difficult to change the venue at short notice.”토스카지노
“As for why the training center was moved, it was difficult to change something that had been planned in advance, and as a result, we decided to take a chartered flight the day before the game.”
There’s too much controversy to call it an issue. Klinsmann needs to find a way out of the current situation. It’s not just a matter of winning. The controversy has become too big for him to respond and act with a friendly smile.