SEOUL (AFP) – South Korea’s top football officials recommended Thursday that coach Jurgen Klinsmann be fired, saying “leadership change is necessary” after their Asian Cup semi-final exit and in-fighting among star players.
“We’ve reached a consensus that Klinsmann cannot exercise his leadership as national team head coach for various reasons and that a change of leadership is necessary,” Hwangbo Kwan of the Korea Football Association’s national team committee said.
The committee is not a decision-making body but will make its recommendation to the KFA’s executive board, which will make a final decision.
After a three-hour meeting, Hwangbo said the committee had decided Klinsmann’s “tactical preparation fell short” during the team’s disappointing Asian Cup campaign.
“There were opinions that Klinsmann failed to show his resolve to find new talent and that he failed to grasp internal conflict or mood among squad members in management,” he said.
“There were also reviews that he is appearing to ignore the Korean public for his short stays in South Korea and that he had lost trust from them,” he added.
Klinsmann has been under pressure after South Korea lost to Jordan 2-0 last week despite boasting a talented squad featuring the likes of Son Heung-min.
Klinsmann attended the meeting on a video conference from his home in the United States, Yonhap news agency reported.
