"Making a Fuss About Bringing in Foreign Coaches...
A Word from a Professional Football Club Owner"
South Korea's under-23 (U-23) national football team was eliminated from the Olympics for the first time in 40 years after losing to Indonesia in the quarterfinals, prompting Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo to sharply criticize the Korea Football Association (KFA).
On the 26th, Mayor Hong posted on his social media platform Facebook, "During the 'Lee Kang-in incident,' the response was lukewarm and chaotic, and now because there was no one else, (Hwang Sun-hong) was made to double as the Olympic team coach, resulting in this mess." He continued, "Despite having numerous national team coaches, they bring in a foreign coach who has lost his connection and left Busan. Stop ruining Korean football and leave." He also mentioned that he is the owner of the citizen club Daegu FC, adding, "I spoke as a professional football club owner."
Previously, after dismissing former coach J?rgen Klinsmann, the KFA appointed U-23 football team coach Hwang Sun-hong as the interim head coach of the national team. This led some in the football community to speculate that preparations for the Olympic qualifiers were disrupted from the start.
Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo criticized the Korea Football Association and Chairman Chung Mong-gyu after the South Korea U-23 soccer team failed to qualify for the Olympics. [Image source=Facebook capture]
Mayor Hong has consistently voiced harsh criticism of the football community since the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. In a broadcast interview on February 9, he criticized the KFA and Chairman Chung, saying, "After sending Klinsmann away, appoint a domestic football figure as coach," and added, "They brought in someone completely incompetent as a coach." He further stated, "Since coaches are professionals, it is natural to dismiss them if their performance is poor or they are incompetent," and "The coach's term is meaningless; if they do wrong, they should be fired." He also added, "If there is a penalty fee, it should be paid out of Chairman Chung Mong-gyu's personal funds, not the KFA's money."
Additionally, when reports emerged of conflict between Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min within the national team, Mayor Hong posted several critical comments. On his online political community 'Youth's Dream' in the section 'Hongmun Hongdap' (Hong Jun-pyo answers youth concerns), when it was revealed that internal strife occurred among players during the Asian Cup, he criticized, saying, "Get rid of players who are rude, lack manners, or act recklessly out of vanity." When a netizen asked, "Should Lee Kang-in be selected for the football match against Thailand on the 21st?" he firmly replied, "No. His character is unsuitable for team sports."
Meanwhile, the Olympic football team led by coach Hwang Sun-hong lost 10-11 in a penalty shootout after a grueling battle that ended 2-2 after 90 minutes of regular time and 30 minutes of extra time in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup quarterfinals held in Doha, Qatar. South Korea, stopped at the quarterfinals, missed the chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics finals, which are granted to teams reaching the semifinals or higher in this tournament. This marks the first time in 40 years since the 1984 Los Angeles (LA) Olympics that Korean football has failed to reach the Olympic finals stage.
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