Former Germany and United States World Cup coach Jurgen Klinsmann will return to the sideline after being appointed as the brand new supervisor of South Korea’s males’s national team, the nation’s soccer federation introduced on Monday.
Klinsmann’s contract runs by way of the 2026 World Cup, which will probably be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The German, who did not instantly reply to a request for remark by FOX Sports, replaces Brazilian Paulo Bento, who led the Taegeuk Warriors to the spherical of 16 at Qatar 2022.
Klinsmann mentioned in a press release that he was “honored to follow in the footsteps of the great coaches who have led the Korea national team,” together with Bento and Dutchman Guus Hiddink, who took Korea to the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup – nonetheless the nation’s finest exhibiting on the worldwide stage.
“I look forward to doing my utmost to help the team achieve success at the upcoming Asian Cup and the 2026 World Cup,” he added.
Klinsmann’s return to administration comes three years after he abruptly stepped down because the boss of Bundesliga aspect Hertha Berlin following a turbulent, two-and-a-half-month spell there. At that time, it was truthful to marvel if he’d ever get the prospect to coach on the prime stage once more.
The former Germany striker started his managerial profession by main his nation to the semifinals of the 2006 World Cup on residence soil. That run was broadly lauded on the time. His successor, Jogi Loew, went on to win soccer’s final prize eight years later in Brazil, giving Germany its fourth title.
Klinsmann served as U.S. boss from 2011-16 – a run marked by a number of highs and some crushing lows. He certified the Americans for Brazil 2014, with the usfinishing atop the CONCACAF area, forward of rival Mexico. The U.S. then survived a bunch that contained the eventual champs, Ghana and Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal earlier than dropping to Belgium in further time within the knockout section.
After a dreadful exhibiting on the Gold Cup the next yr, Klinsmann took the pink, white and blue to the semifinals of the 2016 Copa America Centenario, the place they misplaced 4-0 to Lionel Messi and Argentina.
But fissures within the U.S. dressing room had already begun to type. They morphed into obvious structural cracks later that yr, and Klinsmann was fired after the U.S. opened the ultimate stage of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup with losses to El Tri and Costa Rica. The Americans by no means recovered from these defeats, ultimately failing to qualify for the largest occasion in sports activities for the primary time in additional than three a long time.
Combined with a brief and unsuccessful spell because the supervisor of Bayern Munich in 2008-09, Klinsmann’s popularity in Europe had plummeted by the point he was let go by the U.S. The debacle at Hertha solely bolstered that notion.
Klinsmann, a 1990 World Cup winner as a participant who’s thought to be the most effective goalscorers of his technology, had been working largely within the media since.
Now he is again in administration in a job that, if he succeeds in main South Korea again to the World Cup in 2026, would take him full circle. Klinsmann has lived in Southern California along with his American spouse since hanging up his boots following the 1998 World Cup in France. He remained stateside even throughout his time teaching Germany, commuting to video games and coaching camps – an association that rankled his bosses.
That will not be a difficulty in his new gig, although: In its information launch saying the rent, the Korea Football Association mentioned that Klinsmann would dwell within the nation whereas he is on the helm. After failing to make it to the top of his deal in his final three jobs, how lengthy that will probably be stays to be seen.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer author for FOX Sports. Before becoming a member of FOX Sports in 2021, he was a employees author with ESPN and Yahoo Sports, and he has coated United States males’s and ladies’s national groups at a number of FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
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