South Korea have Son, but is Klinsmann the right coach?،
South Korea are among the best teams in Asia, but their last victory in the AFC Asian Cup was in 1960; it's a fact that appears to be untrue, however incongruous it may be with their status as world footballers. Yet as former Germany and USA coach Jürgen Klinsmann prepares to lead the Taeguk Warriors to their final attempt at the trophy, he is not only working against the weight of history, but also against national skepticism.
South Korea is one of the few teams participating in January's Asian Cup that most world observers consider somewhat familiar. They have participated in every World Cup since 1986, finishing fourth as co-hosts in 2002 and qualifying for the knockout stage twice since then. In 2022, they participated in a Group H final day so gripping that it likely played a role in FIFA abandoning plans for three-team groups in the expanded 2026 tournament. under-23, meanwhile, won the bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics, then advanced to the quarter-finals in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, and won the last three titles at the Asian Games. The K1 League is one of the strongest in Asia, and its 12 AFC Champions League titles are more than those won by any other nation.
However, South Korea's absence from the Asian Cup has lasted 64 years.
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I think we are capable of winning this Asian Cup,” Klinsmann said while introducing his 26-man squad, drawn into Group E alongside Malaysia, Jordan and Bahrain. “It takes a lot of work and a lot of special moments, but it's definitely doable. That's why I can't wait for this tournament to start.
Klinsmann certainly has reason to be optimistic. Starting defender Kim Min-Jae was shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or after helping Napoli win their first Serie A title since 1990 last season before joining Bayern Munich, while Hwang Hee-Chan scored 10 goals and collected three assists in 20 games. Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League this season and Lee Kang-In has established himself as a starter for Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. Klinsmann has a strong contingent of European-based players complemented by the best in the K-League, especially at the rear. .
And then there's Son Heung-Min, the most high-profile player of all the Asian Cup players – and arguably the best.
Under new boss Ange Postecoglou, Son has enjoyed a renaissance at Tottenham Hotspur, scoring 12 goals and adding five assists in 20 Premier League games. Looking to fill the leadership and production void left by Harry Kane's move to Bayern, Son took on armband responsibility and moved up the ranks in the middle of the park as a center forward for much of the season . He thrives.
“Sonny is elite in every aspect,” Postecoglou said recently. “The example he sets as a person as much as a footballer. It's inspiring for me to see a person who has climbed a mountain many times in terms of his own footballing pedigree, but every day he loves that that he does.”
There is a certain serendipity to the Son-Postecoglou relationship that is helping the former get into shape ahead of what, at 31, is potentially his last chance to serve as South Korea's driving force at the continental level; Just over eight years ago, Postecoglou's Australia broke the hearts of Son and his teammates when the Socceroos beat South Korea 2-1 in the 2015 Asian Cup final in Sydney .
Son forced this match into extra time in its desperate final moments, only to see two substitutes introduced by Postecoglou – Tomi Jurić and James Troisi – combine to score a 105th-minute winner, securing Australia their international trophy on most important.
The ripple effect of this game was profound. Son left Bayer Leverkusen for Spurs in the months following that result, for a then-record fee for an Asian player. Postecoglou left his post in Australia after (only) guiding them to qualification for the 2018 World Cup, beginning a journey that saw him win league titles with Yokohama F Marinos and Celtic before landing in the north from London during the off-season.
“I am so grateful to work with [Postecoglou] and I learned so many things as a player and also as a human being,” Son told Optus Sport earlier this season. “I will do whatever he asks because he gives us so much good information as a human, as a manager. so we're very, very happy to work with him.”
Son will miss much of the football for Spurs in the Asian Cup, but Postecoglou was in no rush to downplay the Asian Cup, even if it meant he would lose his talisman. “I hope Sonny goes on and finishes second in Australia again, mate,” he said. “I would be really happy about that.”
Postecoglou was speaking in jest, but South Korea are no strangers to being runners-up, as the final hurdle has often been the toughest during their Asian Cup drought. There was a penalty shootout defeat to Saudi Arabia in the 1988 final, to go with extra-time defeats to Iran and Australia in 1972 and 2015 respectively. On three other occasions they were eliminated in the semi-finals, on penalties against Iraq in 2007 and Japan in 2011.
Klinsmann was named South Korea's new coach last February, on a contract that runs until 2026, replacing Paulo Bento who resigned after leading the team to the World Cup round of 16 . Bento, for his part, is now in charge of the UAE for their Asian Cup campaign.
Klinsmann, a serial winner during his playing career, heads to Qatar as one of the most highly credentialed coaches in the Asian Cup. As a coach, he led Germany to third place in the 2006 World Cup, arguably helping lay the foundations for the team's victory in 2014, managed Bayern Munich and spent five years at the head of the United States. This mandate which was marked by continental successes, an appearance in the round of 16 of the 2014 World Cup and an emphasis on development and pathways.
But Klinsmann's time at Bayern lasted less than a full season before he was fired, with Philipp Lahm later writing that he was tactically inept. His tenure with the USMNT came to an end after he was fired while bottom of the World Cup qualifying group following a 4–0 loss to Costa Rica, setting the stage for a failure to reach a World Cup final for the first time in 32 years. His last coaching role before South Korea was a disastrous 76-day stint in charge of Hertha Berlin from late 2019 to early 2020, which led to the German exit. Deutsche Welle “It is clear that assistant coach Joachim Löw was the real force” behind his success with the German national team.
Less than a year after arriving in South Korea, Klinsmann is once again under scrutiny, although an improvement in results has ended rumors of a pre-Asian Cup dismissal that emerged after he was without victory in its first seven months. His tactics and game strategy were criticized – criticisms familiar to USMNT fans – and he was accused of failing to fulfill his commitment to move to Korea; Media and fans have gone so far as to calculate how much time he spends in Korea compared to his home in California.
Klinsmann defended himself above all by emphasizing the international nature of his role and declaring: “I'm a workaholic. I like to work like Koreans like to work. If I'm not maybe 24/7 /7 in the country, I always work 24/7.” He did, however, hit out at criticism over his request for Wales captain Aaron Ramsey's shirt after a 0-0 draw at Cardiff, calling it “absolutely stupid” and insisting he was doing it on behalf of his son, Jonathan.
But soon, the time for discussions will end. If their reputation holds up, South Korea will meet fellow Iranians in the tournament quarterfinals – the tournament stage in which they were eliminated in 2019 by eventual champions Qatar. Then-coach Bento bounced back to guide the Taegeuk Warriors to the knockout stage of the World Cup, but doubts remain over whether Klinsmann will get the same opportunity under similar circumstances.
The easiest way to avoid finding out is to end the drought. This is a completely achievable task with the talent we have. But the history of Korean football suggests that's much easier said than done.
