Hong Myung-bo (proper) embraces Son Heung-min after South Korea gained 3-1 over Oman within the World Cup qualification match on the Sultan Qaboos Sports activities Complicated in Muscat on Tuesday. (Yonhap)
South Korean workforce captain Son Heung-min rescued his workforce late within the second half of their World Cup qualification match towards Oman on Tuesday, placing his workforce into the lead for a much-needed away win.
Regardless of Son’s heroics, pundits and followers alike have raised doubts concerning the head coach Hong Myung-bo’s management of what might be Korea’s strongest-ever assortment of soccer expertise.
The workforce had a shaky begin with a goalless draw at dwelling towards minnows Palestine in its first Group B match of the third spherical within the Asian {qualifications} for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This culminated in boos and jeers from the house crowd, about which defender Kim Min-jae specifically had some sturdy opinions.
Add the dispute surrounding July appointment of the pinnacle coach, the Taegeuk Warriors seem to have a protracted method to go to win again the love of the general public.
Doubts stay over nationwide workforce’s efficiency
Regardless of Son’s heroics and what seems to be a straightforward win on paper, some former gamers and commentators raised situation with Hong’s tactical choices. They suspected the win had come from particular person abilities of the gamers, slightly than the group of the squad.
Lee Chun-soo, previously a teammate of Hong on the nationwide squad, stated the Koreans had been too defensive regardless of going through off towards a weaker workforce.
“I am glad we gained however I am not content material with how we performed. I assume it is due to (Son) Heung-min,” he stated whereas commentating the sport on his YouTube channel.
Lee identified that the match didn’t replicate the same old taking part in type of South Korea, and the gamers too defense-oriented.
Park Moon-sung, a soccer play-by-play commentator who covers each professional and nationwide groups, stated the workforce appeared sluggish to answer what the opposite workforce was doing.
Hong Myung-bo (proper) and Kim Min-jae take part in a press convention in Muscat on Monday, the day earlier than South Korea’s World Cup qualifier towards Oman. (Yonhap)
As of now, South Korea ranks second in Group B behind Jordan, as each groups every notched one win and one draw however the Koreans have scored one much less purpose. The highest two groups within the group head on to the World Cup, and South Korea’s upcoming matches in October are towards Jordan and Iraq, who’re typically thought-about harder opponents than the 2 groups it has confronted to date.
Asia has 8.5 slots within the World Cup, that means one of many groups who fail to make the reduce within the third spherical can nonetheless struggle for a spot within the inter-confederation playoffs following the fourth spherical. However many South Korean followers are expressing discontent over what they stated has been a mediocre efficiency, led by a coach that had fallen onerous out of favor with them after his much-touted taking part in days.
Hong’s controversial return as head coach
In the summertime of 2002, Hong was the captain of the nationwide squad that made the shock run to the ultimate 4 of the World Cup. He was undoubtedly among the many most beloved figures in Korean soccer when he donned the nationwide workforce shirt, praised for his silent however sturdy management and skillful performs towards the superstars on the worldwide stage.
Precisely 12 summers later, his title was tarnished within the nation’s worst World Cup outing because the flip of the century.
The 2002 Bronze Ball winner hung up his spikes in 2004 to pursue a profession in teaching. After successful the Olympic bronze in 2012, he acquired his first shot on the nationwide workforce head coach spot on the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
With no win, one draw and twenty seventh place end in Brazil, Hong misplaced a lot of the credibility he had as an up-and-coming coach. Korea Soccer Affiliation needed to maintain Hong regardless of the disappointing consequence, however he resigned on July 10, two weeks after his workforce was eradicated by the hands of the Belgians.
Within the subsequent decade, Hong considerably regained his repute as a good coach by his profitable stint with Ulsan HD FC within the Okay-League’s high division. Regardless of the preliminary doubts, he secured back-to-back league championships.
His fortunes modified once more when the KFA referred to as him to switch Jurgen Klinsmann, who was sacked as head coach after a disappointing semifinal exit from the Asian Cup in February.
The German’s exit was adopted by one of the crucial convoluted and complex hiring processes within the Korea soccer historical past.
Stories indicated a number of questionable strikes on the federation’s half within the technique of dropping their two preliminary main targets of Jesse Marsch and Jesus Casas, and the Nationwide Groups Committee chief Chung Hae-soung revealed that the KFA didn’t even negotiate with the coaches that had been third and fourth possibility.
Korean soccer has produced numerous world-caliber soccer gamers, however there has not been a coach that may match their degree of success. As of now, Huh Jung-moo of the 2010 nationwide squad stays the one home-grown coach to have led the workforce to the knock-out rounds within the World Cup.
The followers had been craving for a top-tier coach that would duplicate the success of Guus Hiddink again in 2002, however rumors began suggesting that the federation was inclined to rent an area that they had been conversant in.
Hong Myung-bo was the title that popped up most continuously in these rumors. Having held a job with the KFA as an government between 2017 and 2020, he has a repute for being an organization man with a supposed “Korea College connection” with the KFA coach Chung Mong-gyu — whose resignation the soccer followers have been screaming for since ousting of Klinsmann.
Hong Myung-bo complains to the referees a few name made in the course of the World Cup qualification match between South Korea and Oman on the Sultan Qaboos Sports activities Complicated in Muscat on Tuesday. (Yonhap)
The supposed favoritism was by no means confirmed, however the suspicion has been fueled by the excessive proportion of high-ranking officers who graduated from the identical college. Hong himself was accused of the pseudo-nepotism when he picked his alumni Park Chu-young for the nationwide workforce in 2014, regardless of Park barely getting any taking part in time at Arsenal FC.
After the preliminary recruitment course of fell by, the KFA restarted its seek for a coach in late Could. Nevertheless it struggled to slender down its listing of 12 candidates — which included Hong — till at the least late June, and native sports activities journalist Woo Chung-won criticized the federation by saying he has no concept what it did, including {that a} teaching resolution might be made with “an absurd motive.”
In a transfer that confused the followers, Chung Hae-soung — who had been main the pinnacle coach search — resigned on June 28 together with a number of members of his committee. Amid conflicting tales within the information, Hong was reported to have been chosen as head coach July 7.
This was although Hong had explicitly denied reviews that he’ll return for his second stint as a nationwide workforce head coach all through the method. He insisted that he needed to deal with main his professional workforce, and apologized to the Ulsan followers for taking the nationwide workforce job afterwards.
KFA Technical Director Lee Lim-saeng stated in a July 9 interview that the federation didn’t conduct an interview with Hong, and that he visited Hong’s dwelling to personally plead that he take the job. This sparked one other furor, as different outstanding candidates went by interviews with shows about how they plan to steer the workforce.
When the smoke cleared, Hong was formally appointed on July 13.
Hong behind the eight balls
It’s unclear precisely how a lot the controversy surrounding Hong’s appointment has affected the followers’ affection towards the nationwide workforce.
The Palestine match in Seoul marked the primary time in 11 months {that a} nationwide workforce recreation didn’t play in entrance of a sell-out crowd on the Seoul World Cup Stadium, however this might partly be on account of a ticket worth hike.
Some 60,000 followers on the stadium greeted Hong with boos, which spilled over to the remainder of the workforce when the gamers couldn’t crack the Palestinians’ protection. Son stated the boos had been upsetting and pleaded for his or her assist, however defender Kim Min-jae walked up towards the stands and gestured for them to relax.
He later stated he was not being hostile, and stated he was merely “a bit disillusioned some individuals needed us to fail.”
It’s unlikely many followers would truly need South Korea to not qualify for world soccer’s greatest competitors, which might be the primary time since 1982. Whereas not a sell-out, solely 4,000 seats had been left vacant on the match in Seoul on Sept.5.
Surveys present that substantial variety of individuals are involved concerning the head coach hiring course of. A Gallup Korea survey in July on 1,000 adults confirmed that whereas 47 % of the respondents had been optimistic towards Hong’s hiring, 25 % had been detrimental and the remainder had been not sure.
However youthful male respondents — who account for majority of the soccer followers — reacted extra negatively to return of Hong. Some 44 % of males of their 20s and 54 % of males of their 30s stated Hong’s hiring was incorrect.
Hong’s solely approach of justifying his place can be by success on the pitch, however the early outcomes have been lackluster.
The following Group B match for South Korea can be on the street towards Jordan on Oct. 10.
Son Heung-min celebrates after scoring the go-ahead purpose in South Korea’s World Cup qualification match towards Oman, held Sept. 10 on the Sultan Qaboos Sports activities Complicated in Muscat. (Yonhap)
