Disaster, another disaster, another ‘don’t know’… Jeong Mong-gyu, head of the Korea Football Association, is on the verge of responsibility – Seoul Newspaper VRESP

Olympics canceled for the first time in 40 years

‘Return to Korea’ Hwang Seon-hong “Operating issues by age group”
“If things continue like this, the gap with other countries will further increase.”
There is also insufficient preparation for setbacks in recruiting European players.
“National team A’s forced two-job strategy is unreasonable” pointed out
Chairman Chung remains silent despite criticism from fans

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Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu, who is equally responsible as the head of the Korean football world, visited the women’s football evaluation match held in Icheon on the 5th.
yunhap news

The blame for the failure of Korean men’s soccer to advance to the Olympic finals for the 10th consecutive time is focused on Chung Mong-gyu, president of the Korea Football Association. Hwang Seon-hong, the coach of the U23 national team and the culprit behind the ‘Doha disaster’, also admitted that there are problems with the current system.

After entering the country with the players at Incheon International Airport on the 27th, Coach Hwang bowed his head to reporters and said, “The coach is responsible for this result.”

Previously, the national team failed to advance to the semifinals by losing 10-11 in a penalty shootout after drawing 2-2 after 120 minutes in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Asian Cup against Indonesia, led by coach Shin Tae-yong, on the 26th. . In the tournament that also serves as a qualifying event for the Paris Olympics, Korea was eliminated in the quarterfinals and failed to advance to the finals for the first time in 40 years since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Since the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the record for consecutive Olympic appearances has also stopped at ‘9’.

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Coach Hwang Seon-hong of the Korean U23 men’s soccer team, who failed to achieve his goal of advancing to the Olympics for the 10th consecutive time, bows his head during an interview on his way home from Incheon International Airport on the 27th.
yunhap news

Regarding this, Coach Hwang said, “What I felt after leading the team for about two years is that if the current system is the same, the gap with other countries will widen further,” and “(The Football Association) must have a long-term plan.” “The current age-specific team management structure and system do not fit,” he emphasized. Coach Hwang explains that if a coach’s lifespan is determined by his performance in the Asian Games, he has no choice but to focus only on the Asian Games, and since the preparation period for the Olympics is short, the system needs to be changed. However, some point out that the Asian Games performance is an intermediate evaluation of the coach.

Also, regarding the failure of European teams such as Yang Hyun-jun (Celtic), Kim Ji-soo (Brentford), and Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City) to be called up, Coach Hwang said, “I visited the club and was promised a call-up, but my team refused the call-up as the battle for rankings intensified at the end of the season. “I did it,” he said.

An official in the soccer industry said on the 28th, “The U23 Asian Cup is not an A match, so it is not a mandatory selection tournament for FIFA.” He added, “As the proportion of young players playing overseas increases, it will inevitably be difficult to form a national team in the future.” He said. He pointed out, “There was a lack of preparation for Plan B and Plan C in case the European faction failed to join.”

This is not the only turmoil in the Korean soccer world. As former coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who was unexpectedly hired, left the team due to a poor performance in the AFC Asian Cup, Coach Hwang took on ‘two jobs’, including taking on the role of temporary head coach of the national team A in the two-game qualifier for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup against Thailand last month. In response to the criticism that he was unable to fully concentrate on his ‘main job’ because of this, Coach Hwang said, “I don’t think it had a big impact,” but telling him to ‘kill two birds with one stone’ was an ‘irrational move’ on the part of the Football Association and Chairman Chung. ‘The criticism is growing.

The Football Association apologized, saying, “We are well aware that the Football Association has overall responsibility,” but Chairman Chung, the head of the Korean football world, remains silent and unaware of fans’ criticism.

Shin Tae-yong will face ‘difficult enemy’ Uzbekistan at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar at 11pm on the 29th, Korean time, to advance to the finals.

Senior Reporter Lee Ki-cheol

2024-04-29 Page 23