[스포츠한국 김성수 기자] Coach Jürgen Klinsmann (58) has been appointed as the new coach of the national soccer team to succeed Paulo Bento.
The Korea Football Association announced on the 27th that it had appointed German coach Jurgen Klinsmann as the new head coach of the national soccer team.
The contract period with coach Klinsman is regarding 3 years and 5 months from March to the 2026 World Cup finals in North and Central America. He decided not to disclose his annual salary according to an agreement between the two parties.
The coaching staff who will assist the coach will soon be decided following discussing with Klinsman and the Korea Football Association. It was also a condition of his contract to live in Korea during his tenure. Coach Klinsman plans to return to Korea sometime next week and begin his full-fledged activities as the coach of the Korean national team. His debut match is a friendly match once morest Colombia to be held in Ulsan on the 24th of next month.
After signing the contract, coach Klinsman sent a greeting to the Korea Football Association, saying, “I am very happy and honored to be the head coach of the Korean national soccer team. He is well aware that the Korean national team has been continuously developing and producing results over a long period of time. He feels honored to be following in the footsteps of great coaches who have directed the Korean national team from Guus Hiddink to former coach Paulo Bento. I will do my best to achieve successful results in the upcoming Asian Cup and 2026 World Cup.”
Coach Klinsmann played an active role as a world-class striker representing Germany as a player. He participated in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and consecutively competed in the European Championships (Euro) in 1988, 1992 and 1996. He went on to participate in three consecutive World Cups from 1990 to 1994 and 1998. In particular, he played a key role in helping Germany win the 1990 World Cup in Italy and the 1996 European Championship.
In the 1994 World Cup in the United States, he scored two goals once morest the Korean national team. He worked for clubs such as Stuttgart, Bayern Munich (Germany), Inter Milan (Italy), and Tottenham (England). Klinsmann, who finished his career in 1998, coached the German national team from 2004 to 2006 and participated in the 2006 World Cup held in his country. reached 3rd place in
From 2011, he served as the head coach of the U.S. national team for five years. During this time, he won the 2013 North and Central America Championships and reached the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. During his tenure as head coach of Germany and the United States, coach Klinsmann played once morest the Korean national team once and recorded 1 win and 1 loss. In December 2004, when he was coach of the German national team, he lost 1-3 to Korea in a friendly match held in Busan. In February 2014, in a friendly match held in the United States, he led the U.S. national team to a 2-0 victory over Korea. In the group stage of the 2014 Brazil World Cup, he faced Portugal and the United States national team coach with former Korean national team coach Paulo Bento, and drew 2-2.
Meanwhile, Michael Müller, head of the Korea Football Association’s National Team Strengthening Committee, will hold a press conference on the appointment of coach Klinsmann at the Soccer Hall at 2:00 pm on the 28th.
