[Official Announcement] South Korean Football Appoints 'Former Spain National Team Coach' Moreno as Interim Head Coach... Full-Time Appointment Possible

*This content was translated by AI.

Roberto Moreno (48, Spain), who previously led the Spanish national football team, has been appointed as interim head coach to lead South Korean football.

The Korea Football Association announced on the 1st that it has appointed Roberto Moreno as the interim head coach for the men's national football team.

On the 1st, the association held its seventh board meeting of 2026 at Cheonan's Korea Football Park and approved the appointment of a total of six coaching staff members, including Coach Moreno, to fill the vacant Nam Ja-guk-ga (CEO) team coaching positions following the World Cup.

Coach Moreno has experience leading the Spanish national team as senior coach and head coach from 2018 to 2019. From 2014 to 2017, he served as first assistant coach at FC Barcelona.

The association explained that "despite his relatively young age, his proven experience leading top-tier clubs and national teams worldwide, along with exceptional tactical design and opponent analysis capabilities based on advanced data utilization, are key strengths." Most recently, in the 2024–2025 season, he led Russian club FC Sochi.

The interim coaching staff working alongside Coach Moreno consists of five experts in their respective fields. Eduardo Docompo, first assistant coach who previously worked with Moreno at FC Sochi; Hasint Magriña, a coach specializing in analysis and training methodology with diverse experience; and Victor Bravo de Soto, a coach who achieved outstanding results as a manager in Spain's lower leagues, will assist Coach Moreno.

All members of the interim staff are from Spain: Javier Chocaro, physical coach who has worked in major European leagues; and Nico Bosch, goalkeeping coach with over 10 years of experience in Spain's La Liga.

This marks the first time the football association has selected an A-team head coach through a public recruitment process. Earlier, at its board meeting held at the end of July, the association approved the selection procedure for an interim coach to lead six scheduled A-match window games from September to November, following regulations set by the Korean Olympic Committee.

Previously, the football association formed an evaluation committee comprising some members of the Power Strengthening Committee and external evaluators. Final discussions were concluded last weekend after a process involving initial document review, second-stage online interviews, face-to-face meetings, and contract condition negotiations.

Hyun Young-min, Jeon Ryeok-gang-hwa (Chairman), stated, "Given the significant public interest in procedural legitimacy and fairness regarding this interim coach appointment, we made considerable efforts to comply with the Olympic Committee's standards."

He added, "Coach Moreno already demonstrated a high level of understanding of Korean football and presented various tactical alternatives, showing remarkable enthusiasm. We expect the Moreno-led team, selected through a rigorous process, to play a key role in revitalizing the national team's atmosphere and improving performance."

The contract period for Coach Moreno's team extends until November 27. It is reported that after evaluating the six games, conditions may be included allowing him to continue leading the men's national football team through the Asian Cup.

Meanwhile, at today's board meeting, the football association approved the need to replenish members of the Power Strengthening Committee, citing overlapping schedules between the A-match window and Asian Games period, as well as the necessity for objective and multi-faceted evaluation of men's A-team operations.

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*This content was translated by AI.