After a career spent in Europe and North America, Jürgen Klinsmann is now in Asia. He announced his first South Korea squad this month at the country’s National Football Centre in Paju, where buses pass moments before unloading tourists into Odusan Unification Tower to look through big binoculars into North Korea.
The German will become used to the drive southeast, passing Seoul World Cup Stadium in about 30 minutes and then soon after, traffic permitting, arriving in the middle of the capital and turning right into a secluded street and a swanky neighbourhood of trendy restaurants, expensive wine bars and the headquarters of the Korean Football Association. The journey from the edge of the demilitarised zone to downtown Seoul is a short one but the two worlds are very different.
Perhaps travelling regularly up and down that corridor helps explain why Klinsmann’s compatriot and predecessor, Uli Stielike, found it hard to separate his team from the country’s unique situation. “There is no peace agreement between North and South Korea, so the country is on constant alert,” Stielike said in an interview in Germany when asked to offer advice to Klinsmann. “This caution is of course reflected in the character of the people, including in football. They defend quite well because they have the discipline, will, coordination and toughness required. On the offensive, however, there is a lack of creativity and risk-taking.”
That certainly was the case when Stielike was in charge of South Korea, from 2014-17, and while few would argue that creative attacking play is a longstanding strength of Korean football, connecting that to the 75-year division of the peninsula did not go down well in Seoul. After all, while Korea may be alone in division they have plenty of Asian company when it comes to struggles going forward. Ultimately, though, it matters little whether Klinsmann buys into his compatriot’s theory or not; he can ascribe whatever cause he wants for the problem as long as he finds a solution.
Perhaps that is why Klinsmann talked up his penchant for exciting, attacking football in his first press conference. “Obviously my personal background was as a striker. So I always love to attack, and that means I’d rather win a game 4-3 than 1-0.” As well as saying the right things, the 58-year-old also smiled more in one press conference than Stielike, or Paulo Bento, who finished a four-year tenure at the World Cup, managed across their respective tenures.
Klinsmann’s first squad is very similar to the one that Bento took to Qatar and squeezed, somewhat fortuitously, into the last 16 with a last-minute win over Portugal. With a three-and-a-half year contract, there is time for the German to get to know the K-League and the players in action in Japan, the Middle East and Europe. It starts for him against Colombia on Friday and then against Uruguay four days later.
The announcement that the head coach’s job had gone to Klinsmann did not get the universal acclaim the Korea Football Association, who selected another German in Michael Müller to find Bento’s replacement, probably wanted and expected. The days when big names were automatically feted have gone. Klinsmann has a world-class CV as a player but fans and journalists have questions about his coaching credentials.
Taking Germany to the semi finals of the World Cup on home soil in 2006 –something largely credited to his assistant, Joachim Löw – was followed by a spell in charge of Bayern Munich that ended after nine months. Five years with the United States were up and down and then there was an ill-fated 76 day-spell in charge of Hertha Berlin in 2019-20. It is a mixed bag, especially for a man who has had little more than two months’ coaching experience in more than six years.
Much of the announcement press conference involved Müller defending the new coach. “Football is not only tactics. Football is individuality. It’s about teamwork, how to motivate your team in special situations,” he said. “Klinsmann was a member of the Technical Study Group of the World Cup. He is not only informed about tactics; he is informed about modern devices, tools and match analysis. Jürgen Klinsmann absolutely has tactical abilities.”
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He will also need to work hard. Stielike did not get great results but was well liked in the KFA, attending football and non-football events with enthusiasm, a trait that goes down well. It remains to be seen if Klinsmann can offer the same commitment and enthusiasm.
Coaches of South Korea have traditionally been judged on World Cup qualification and the KFA can be ruthless when that looks to be in jeopardy. And the policy can be deemed to have largely worked given 1982 was the last time the Taeguk Warriors failed to reach the finals. There is a growing sense, however, that there needs to be something more, especially with their rivals Japan pulling ahead.
Reaching the 2026 World Cup finals should prove straightforward for South Korea given Asia’s increased allocation of places from four to eight, which in turn eases the pressure on Klinsmann somewhat. But that may make the more nebulous task of leaving a legacy more difficult. If Klinsmann succeeds, it is not only Korea that moves to the next level but also his own coaching reputation.