Another possibility of appointing a Korean coach follows Hong Myung-bo, as South Korea faces a 'dilemma'

*This content was translated by AI.

The destinations of coaches who were once mentioned as candidates for the head coach position of the South Korea national football team are being gradually confirmed. From the perspective of Korean football, the 'options' are dwindling. As time passes, promising coaches are likely to seek new teams and prepare for the FIFA World Cup four years from now. The Korea Football Association (KFA), which has decided to appoint a 'permanent coach' only after November, is facing a dilemma as it must first select an interim commander.

Savi Hernandez (Spain), known as the 'FC Barcelona Legend', who reportedly desired to lead continental tournaments including the AFC Asian Cup and had shown interest in the South Korea national team head coach position, took charge of the Netherlands national team on the 13th (Korea time). Coach Savi was reportedly interested in the permanent head coach role but had no interest in an interim position. Ultimately, he signed a four-year contract with the Royal Dutch Football Association and will lead the Netherlands national team until the 2030 FIFA World Cup in North America.

Moreover, Zlatko Dalic (Croatia), who led the Croatia national team to a runner-up finish at the 2018 Russia World Cup, was appointed as the head coach of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) national team today. Hervé Renard (France), who had consistently been mentioned as a candidate for the next South Korea head coach, also quickly became the new commander of the Ivory Coast national team. In this situation, coaches linked to the South Korea national team are now finding their own paths one by one.

From the perspective of Korean football, the options will inevitably decrease as time passes. Even worse, South Korea is currently in the process of hiring an interim coach to lead only six A-match games this year: four matches during the September-October A-match period and two matches in November. Rather than selecting a new permanent head coach amid the departure of Jeong Mong-gyu (Chairman) and the absence of a KFA president, the plan is to operate under an interim coaching system first, elect a new president, and then proceed with the proper procedures to appoint the next head coach.

While this may seem logical, the problem is time. The six A-match games scheduled for this year are not merely about discovering new players and refining team organization; they are part of the preparation process for the AFC Asian Cup in January next year. It would be the most ideal scenario if an interim coach who leads these six matches achieves proper results and gets promoted to permanent head coach, but otherwise, South Korea will have to restart the head coach appointment process from scratch after playing the six A-match games.

A bigger problem is that there is a very slim possibility that so-called 'promising' coaching candidates will remain after this much time has passed. While Korean football goes through an unsettled period with an interim coaching system and a new presidential election, other national teams or club teams with better environments or conditions are likely to team up with the remaining candidates. There is no way a 'promising foreign coach' would wait for the KFA's permanent head coach public recruitment period with the intention of taking charge of the South Korea national team.

The worst-case scenario is that promising foreign coaches who were previously linked to the position have already taken charge of new teams, leaving no options. The moment the argument 'there are no suitable candidates' becomes a shield for the KFA, it is highly likely that Korean coaches will once again be mentioned as candidates for the next commander. Of course, significant backlash would be inevitable, but after Coach Hong's major failure, the possibility of appointing another Korean head coach could resurface.

However, it is not feasible to suddenly shift the interim coach recruitment process, which has already completed its document submission deadline, into a 'permanent coach recruitment' process. Proceeding with the permanent head coach appointment procedure before a new president is elected would also pose procedural issues in the future. Ultimately, until a new KFA president is elected and the permanent head coach appointment process begins, South Korea will be stuck in a situation where it can neither move forward nor backward. As a result, the appointment of a permanent head coach could be delayed much longer than expected. This is the frustrating dilemma facing Korean football.

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*This content was translated by AI.