“I think the most important thing for a national team coach is to prepare for major competitions.” This is what Jürgen Klinsmann, 59, said about the role of the national team coach in a video interview with a sports magazine on April 18.토토사이트
It’s a no-brainer. The national team coach has to focus on preparing for the quadrennial Asian Cup and World Cup. The most important thing for the national team right now is the Asian Cup in Qatar next January. The focus should be on preparing for the tournament, which is five months away.
The problem is, Klinsmann’s record is far from sincere. In the more than five months since his appointment, Klinsmann has only spent about two months in Korea. Moreover, while in the U.S., he freely appeared on TV to talk about Lionel Messi’s performance, analyze the English Premier League, and make predictions on matters unrelated to his job. The national team manager seems to have no interest in the domestic league at all.
Nevertheless, Klinsmann continues to actively participate in activities unrelated to the A team’s work. At the press conference, Klinsmann said, “I’ve been to high school and college games. I’m watching a lot of players and thinking about them. I’m constantly checking up on them,” he said, adding that the controversy against him was ‘exaggerated’ and somewhat unfair.
In fact, it’s misleading and creates more negative publicity for Klinsmann. According to Klinsmann, preparing for a major tournament is the top priority for a national team coach. The likelihood of him watching high school and college games to make player selections is zero. In fact, Klinsmann dismisses the need to watch so many players, saying, “The national team should be trying to get the best possible team out of 30 players.” His statement about watching different age groups is a contradiction in terms.
That’s how he saw Lee Kang-in (22-Paris Saint-Germain) being sent to the Asian Games. “If I can help, I will,” Klinsmann said. If there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll do it,” Klinsmann said, adding that he would try to get Lee to the Asian Games outside of the FIFA mandatory transfer window.
If Klinsmann had done his job diligently and produced meaningful results in the March and June A matches, these statements would have been supported. Klinsmann is a legend in world soccer. He is a man of influence in many organizations, including FIFA, UEFA, and clubs, and it is not a bad thing for him to use his diplomatic skills to help Korean football’s struggles. However, since his appointment, he has been questioned for his most basic quality: hard work. His comments about diplomatic and administrative duties could be seen as a way to make up for his own shortcomings.
The same goes for the perception of Korean soccer. “Me and the KFA think about how we can develop further,” Klinsmann said, citing Japan’s 50-60-strong European contingent as an example. We also discuss the direction and plans of the federation.” It’s a statement that makes me wonder if a manager who isn’t doing his job as an A-team coach is dealing with too much discourse. It’s an approach that could be praised if he was doing his job with the A team.
His predecessor, Paulo Bento, was strictly focused on the A team; he was a bit unfriendly to the external activities required by the federation, and he was aloof, but he gave 100% to his job. As a result, he accomplished the feat of reaching the last 16 of the World Cup. That’s what a national team coach is supposed to do. Going off on tangents like Klinsmann did will only lead to unnecessary misunderstandings and will not help your cause.