"Despite several rejections," Gus Poyet receives 'love call' from Lee Dong-gook, director, for national team coach role... Expected to join if appointed as interim head coach

*This content was translated by AI.

As former Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors manager Gus Poyet has applied for the interim head coach position of the South Korean national football team, it has been confirmed that he proposed a coaching role to "football legend" Lee Dong-gook, Yongin FC Technical Director.

A source from Yongin Club told StarNews on the 13th: "Director Lee Dong-gook received a love call from Coach Poyet."

Following the elimination of former head coach Hong Myung-bo in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the national team's head coach position remains vacant. The Korea Football Association is currently proceeding with the selection process for an interim manager and coaching staff to lead the team during A-matches scheduled from September to November.

The Korea Football Association previously closed the application period for public recruitment of an interim head coach on the 9th.

Poyet has applied in this public recruitment and is awaiting the decision of the football association. If Coach Poyet is ultimately appointed as the interim head coach after leading Jeonbuk to the K League 1 title in the 2025 season, discussions regarding Director Lee Dong-gook joining the coaching staff are expected to gain momentum.

Yongin Club also left the possibility open. A club source explained: "If Coach Poyet is appointed and the proposal for Director Lee Dong-gook to join as a national team coach becomes concrete, the club will positively consider it."

It was reported that Coach Poyet has consistently extended love calls to Director Lee Dong-gook. The source said: "We have received reports that despite several rejections from Director Lee Dong-gook, Coach Poyet's side continued to extend love calls."

Even if Director Lee Dong-gook actually joins the national team coaching staff, he is expected to continue fulfilling his duties as Yongin FC Director.

A club source stated: "If he ends up serving together as a national team coach, it will likely be in a dual-role capacity."

Ultimately, the most critical factor is whether Coach Poyet will be appointed as the interim head coach.

The source emphasized: "Coach Poyet has not yet been officially appointed as the interim manager of the national team, so we are currently in the discussion phase. Since no formal decision has been made, the club has not finalized any specific details."

Meanwhile, after closing the application period, the Korea Football Association plans to appoint some members of its Power Strengthening Committee and external committee members this week to form a separate evaluation committee.

Once the composition of the evaluation committee is finalized, it will review the adequacy of documents submitted by candidates next week and assess interim manager candidates through online interviews.

Following this, based on the evaluation results, the priority negotiation order for candidates will be determined, and negotiations will begin in earnest starting with the top-ranked candidates.

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*This content was translated by AI.