[Official Announcement] 'New Korean Head Coach' Moreno's Arrival Schedule Confirmed... First Squad List Expected to Be Announced

*This content was translated by AI.

The first schedule for Roberto Moreno (49, Spain), the new interim head coach of the South Korea national football team, has been officially confirmed.

On the 9th, the Korea Football Association announced that "Interim Coach Moreno will arrive at Incheon International Airport at 11:35 a.m. on the 13th."

According to the association, Coach Moreno will hold a press conference on the afternoon of the 14th, the day after his arrival, on the second floor of the Korea Football Park Stadium in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do, and personally announce the national team roster for the integrated September and October A-match schedule. Through this press conference announcing the first roster, the initial vision of the Moreno-led team will be revealed.

Previously, on the 1st, the Korea Football Association officially approved the appointment of a total of six coaching staff members, including Coach Moreno, during its seventh board meeting of 2026 held at Cheonan Korea Football Park. This selection process was conducted through an open recruitment method compliant with the Korean Sports Council regulations for the first time in the association's history. It passed document evaluation, online interviews, and face-to-face consultations by an evaluation committee composed of some members of the Performance Strengthening Committee and external experts.

The basic contract period for Coach Moreno's staff extends until November 27. After completing six scheduled A-match fixtures from September to November, an extension option is included to lead the team through the Asian Cup organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in January 2027, following evaluations of performance and coaching ability.

Hyun Young-min Jeon Ryeok-gang-hwa (Chairman) stated at the time of Coach Moreno's appointment that "the criteria for procedural legitimacy and fairness were strictly adhered to," and added, "Coach Moreno demonstrated strong enthusiasm by showing a high understanding of Korean football and presenting various tactical solutions."

Roberto Moreno is a figure who built his coaching career based on tactical analysis and precise data utilization skills. He served as a senior coach assisting Luis Enrique at AS Roma (Italy), Celta Vigo, and FC Barcelona (all in Spain). He contributed to Barcelona's treble achievement in 2014-2015 and took charge of tactical coaching for the Spanish national team starting in 2018. When Coach Enrique temporarily stepped down in 2019, Moreno led the Spanish national team, guiding them to qualify for the Euro 2020 finals with nine consecutive matches without defeat (seven wins, two draws).

He later led AS Monaco in France's Ligue 1 and Granada in Spain's La Liga. Recently, he took charge of Russian club FC Sochi and achieved promotion to the top division. Although controversy arose regarding the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) due to recent remarks by a former Sochi director, Coach Moreno clearly drew a line through an op-ed in Spanish media, stating that AI was used solely for simple language translation purposes.

The five coaching staff members who will assist Coach Moreno have all been confirmed as Spanish nationals. Alongside Eduardo Docampo, the senior coach from Sochi, and assistant coach Jacinto Magriña, coaches Victor Bravo de Soto, Javier Chocaro (physical coach), and Nico Bosch (goalkeeper coach) will join him.

The first stage for the Moreno-led team is a four-match home series in autumn A-matches held domestically. Due to schedule restructuring by FIFA, the September and October A-match periods are being operated as an integrated block, so the national team will play four consecutive matches at home. Starting with the first match against Ecuador at 8 p.m. on September 24 at Suwon World Cup Stadium, they will face Uruguay at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 28th. This is followed by a match against Venezuela at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium on October 2, and Uzbekistan at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 6th.

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*This content was translated by AI.