"12 Candidates Are Lies... Myeongbohyeong Calls" Reevaluation of Lee Cheonsu's Remarks

Lee Cheonsu Criticizes Coaching Appointment Process on YouTube
KFA Appoints Ulsan Coach Hong Myungbo as Next Manager

With Hong Myung-bo, the Ulsan HD coach, appointed as the head coach of the Korea Republic national football team by the Korea Football Association (KFA), remarks by former footballer and broadcaster Lee Chun-soo, who had predicted such a situation in the past, are gaining renewed attention. On the 21st of last month, Lee Chun-soo uploaded a video titled "The Reason Why Foreign Coach Recruitment Keeps Failing" on his personal YouTube channel 'Richunsoo'.

[Photo by YouTube channel 'Richunsu']

In this video, Lee Chun-soo criticized the recent unsuccessful process of appointing a coach by the KFA. He said, "We are not just watching the final round of World Cup qualifiers now. With the increase in the number of World Cup participating countries, we are in a more advantageous position to qualify for the World Cup," adding, "We need to select with a bit of foresight. Having seen past mistakes, we should bring in a young and capable coach who can work with the national team looking toward the future."

Regarding the '12 candidates' mentioned by former committee chairman Jeong Hae-sung at the time, he said, "Now they emphasize Korean-style football again, saying we need to play football that is true to Korea. This means they are trying to pick a Korean coach," and added, "The 12 candidates are nonsense; they are trying hard to appoint a Korean coach. The talk about foreign coach candidates is just for show." He continued, "There is no one suitable among domestic coaches. If it’s (Shin) Tae-yong hyung or (Hong) Myung-bo hyung, then call them. If anyone is going to do it, it would be them. They would get less criticism than others. And communication would be possible. They might want to regain honor at the end rather than money. I support those two."

Earlier, on the 7th, the KFA announced, "Hong Myung-bo, the Ulsan HD coach, has been appointed as the next head coach of the Korea Republic national football team." It was reported that KFA director Lee Im-saeng personally visited Coach Hong on the 5th to ask him, and after careful consideration, Coach Hong accepted the position as the national team head coach. Coach Hong is returning as the national team coach for the first time in 10 years since the 2014 Brazil World Cup.