The Korea Football Association is working to appoint a successor to the sacked coach Klinsmann. Coach Hong Myung-bo, who led Ulsan to its second consecutive victory in the K League 1, is on the rise.
“It was really hard for a while. It was difficult for me to appear in the media against my will. “I knew nothing, and it was a difficult time.”
Coach Hong Myung-bo, who is leading professional soccer K-League 1 (1st division) Ulsan HD's challenge for three consecutive wins, drew a line at his recent name being mentioned in connection with his appointment as the national soccer team's head coach, saying, "It was a difficult time."
Coach Hong met with reporters ahead of the 'Hana Bank K-League 2024 K-League Opening Media Day' at the Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu on the 26th and expressed this position.
The Korea Football Association dismissed coach Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany) on the 16th after the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup and began appointing a new head coach.
The association has decided to quickly put out the fire with a temporary supervision system for the 2026 North, Central and American World Cup Asia 2nd round qualifiers in March.
However, in the early stages, domestic coaches were considered strong candidates, and naturally, the name of coach Hong, who led the team to two consecutive wins in the K League 1, was mentioned as a strong candidate.
With the opening of the K-League imminent, there was strong public backlash against the association's move to appoint a manager from the league in a one-way manner.
In particular, the Ulsan supporters 'Cheoyong Warriors' issued a statement, saying, "We strongly condemn the appointment of all active K-League coaches, including coach Hong Myung-bo, and will not hesitate to make any effort to protect them."
He continued, “The K-League is no longer an exclusive property that must follow the decisions of the association, but is the result of the efforts of fans, players, clubs, and managers.” He added, “We demand that the discussion on the appointment of the league’s current manager be nullified, and that no organization be formed to do so.” “I declare that I will take no action,” he emphasized.
Coach Hong said, “(Fan protests, etc.) itself was difficult. “I used to be in the association, and now I’m in the K-League, and I was heartbroken to see people in important positions being so conflicted,” he said. “The most important thing is that I had no personal thoughts on this. “It was difficult because [the name] kept coming up,” he said.
He added, “Last year, 3 million spectators came to the K-League. “It is important to have more spectators come this season,” he said. “Now let’s talk about the K-League.”
Regarding the goal for the season, he said, “We won two games in a row in K-League 1, so of course winning three games in a row is a big goal.” 성인웹툰