*This content was translated by AI.
This is a surprising revelation. Takeshi Okada (70), vice president of the Japan Football Association, a legend of Japanese football and former head coach of the Japanese national team, directly confirmed that he had been in contact with former South Korea national team head coach Hong Myung-bo.
On the 25th, the Japanese media outlet "Weekly Bunshun" released an interview with Vice President Okada. Okada is well-known for leading Japan to its first-ever World Cup finals appearance at the 1998 France World Cup and guiding the Japanese national team to a historic away round-of-16 run at the 2010 South Africa World Cup.
In this interview, while recalling painful memories of having police patrol cars stationed outside his home 24 hours a day during past Asian qualifiers due to poor performance, with even his family being threatened, Vice President Okada mentioned Hong Myung-bo's recent situation.
Coach Okada has maintained a close and long-standing friendship with Coach Hong since the latter played in the J-League during his playing career.
According to "Weekly Bunshun," during the interview, Vice President Okada said, "I have known Hong Myung-bo well for a long time due to our prior friendship." He added, "Recently, he called me and said, 'Coach Okada, something terrible has happened.' I told him, 'Don't worry, come to Imabari; I will protect you.'"
He continued, "In the end, Hong Myung-bo departed for Los Angeles. Seeing him criticized even by the President was truly heartbreaking and pitiful."
Indeed, shortly after failing to advance to the round of 32 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup North America qualifiers with only one win and two losses, finishing third in their group, former Coach Hong faced intense backlash. Despite having a contract still in effect, he voluntarily resigned while in Guadalajara, Mexico, but the barrage of criticism following his return to Korea never ceased.
Especially, political attacks came under scrutiny. Immediately after his resignation, former Coach Hong appeared as a witness before the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee hearing, bowing his head amid allegations of poor management of the national team and player squad.
However, during that hearing, the investigation extended to personal matters such as the military service issues of Coach Hong's children, and politicians even questioned him regarding player selections in specific matches and tactical failures.
Adding to this, President Lee Jae-myung himself directly intervened via social networking services (SNS), targeting former Coach Hong by stating, "As the former honorary president of a professional football club and a spiritual Red Devil, I am not only surprised but utterly bewildered by the unexpected result." He further declared, "This failure to qualify for the World Cup finals, which left the nation feeling empty, appears to be the result of organizational and personnel failures."
President Lee then added, "Once again, it has been proven that personnel decisions determine everything. When leaders prioritize loyalty over ability and appoint incompetent individuals as commanders, the outcome is as clear as day," delivering a public rebuke.
Former Coach Hong, who had built strong ties with the Japanese football community since his playing days, reportedly could not withstand the overwhelming political pressure and public criticism from both domestic and international sources, ultimately leaving Korea for Los Angeles, USA.
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*This content was translated by AI.
