New Korean manager Jurgen Klinsmann expected to arrive in Seoul next week

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New Korean manager Jurgen Klinsmann expected to arrive in Seoul next week

Jurgen Klinsmann  [AP/YONHAP]

Jurgen Klinsmann [AP/YONHAP]

 
New national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann is expected to arrive in Korea next week, the JoongAng Ilbo reported Tuesday.
 
The Korea Football Association announced the appointment of the former Germany striker and manager on Monday. Michael Muller, head of the National Team Committee, said in a press conference Tuesday that Klinsmann was the first choice for the job.
 
"Jurgen Klinsmann is a strong personality,” Muller said. “From the first second it was clear he wanted the job. He was focused, motivated and he was interested. He wants success."
 
Klinsmann is a huge figure in European football, both as a player in the late 1980s and 1990s and as a manager over the last two decades.
 
Klinsmann was one of the top German strikers in the 1990s, picking up 108 caps for Germany including winning the 1990 World Cup and 1996 Euros.
 
He spent a large part of his playing career with VfB Stuttgart, where he got his big break, moving to Inter Milan in 1989. Klinsmann moved to Monaco and then Tottenham Hotspur for two years each, before heading back to Germany to play for Bayern Munich.
 
He won the UEFA Cup twice, with Inter and Bayern, where he also won the Bundesliga.
 
Klinsmann managed the German national team from 2004 to 2006, leading the side to a third-place finish at the 2006 World Cup. He briefly managed Bayern Munich from 2008 to 2009, then took the helm at the United States for five years from 2011 to 2016.
 
The spell in the United States marked the most successful period of Klinsmann’s managerial career, as he helped revitalize the squad and lead it to win the Concacaf Gold Cup and qualify for the 2014 World Cup. His tenure wasn’t without controversy, however, with his selection for the World Cup excluding top-scorer Landon Donovan and focusing on a number of players with German heritage.
 
Since leaving the United States, Klinsmann has had one managerial post with Hertha BSC from 2019-20. He has been working as a pundit since, including at the 2022 Qatar World Cup where he controversially accused the Iranian football team of using dirty tactics to beat Wales, blaming it on the country’s footballing culture.
 
Korea has been without a manager since finishing in the round of 16 in Qatar. Former manager Paulo Bento left the squad after the tournament, having failed to agree new terms with the KFA.
 
Klinsmann will need to adjust quickly once he arrives in Korea next week. His first game at the helm of the Korean squad will be against Colombia on March 24.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]
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