Lee Dong-jun, the representative of coach Park Hang-seo, said his client is a strong candidate to lead the Korean team, but is only excited about the interim role.
South Korea has just had a disappointing 2023 Asian Cup. They stopped in the semi-finals after losing 0-2 to Jordan and returned to internal turmoil after two top stars Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in got into a fight. Therefore, the Korea Football Association (KFA) decided to fire coach Jurgen Klinsmann on February 16.
After that, KFA set up a council to find a new coach for the team, and coach Park Hang-seo was one of the candidates being considered.
"Coach Park is a strong candidate. It is very likely that he will become the head coach of the Korean national team," representative Lee Dong-jun told VnExpress on the evening of February 26 when asked about the possibility of his client leading the Korean national team. "But Coach Park will only accept the offer under two conditions. First, all Korean people as well as those involved in football agree with him joining the national team. Second, he will only be an interim coach while waiting for an official coach."
Lee Dong-jun and Coach Park at VFF headquarters in 2022. Photo: Pham Duong
Coach Park and Hwang Sun-hong are the candidates to temporarily lead the Korean team for the first two matches against Thailand in March, in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Meanwhile, the KFA will continue the process of selecting an official coach for the team.
"Mr. Park really doesn't want to be the long-term coach of the Korean team. He wants to leave that job to his juniors. He is willing to sacrifice his own opportunity to be an interim coach, helping Korean football overcome the current difficult period," Lee Dong-jun added.
Coach Park was an assistant to legendary coach Guus Hiddink when the Korean team made a miracle reaching the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup at home. But the biggest mark of the 1957-born coach was the period when he came to work in Vietnam. With Coach Park, Vietnamese football achieved unprecedented achievements, finishing second in the 2018 U23 Asian Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 Asian Games, winning the 2018 AFF Cup, winning the gold medal at the 30th and 31st SEA Games, and entering the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup - Asia for the first time.
After leaving Vietnam, the Korean coach has not accepted any invitation to lead any team, although he is often contacted to lead some teams in the region such as Indonesia, Malaysia or Thailand.
It is expected that KFA will announce the identity of the interim coach tomorrow afternoon, February 27.
"Everything will be decided tomorrow. I am doing what I can so that Coach Park can take on the task. He will do his best to develop Korean football, no matter what the result is. Let's wait and see," Mr. Lee Dong-jun added.
Lam Thoa
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