Ahn Jung-hwan "Trying to Become National Team Coach Somehow..." 20 Years Ago KFA Expos?

"Many People Aimed for Coach Jo Bonfrere's Position"
Kim Nam-il: "Felt Like There Were Two Coaches"

Amidst the recent turmoil in the football world over the appointment of the national team coach, former national team player Ahn Jung-hwan has voiced criticism toward the Korea Football Association (KFA).

On the 18th, Ahn Jung-hwan released a 30-minute video titled "Young-kwang, don't feel wronged. The truth will be revealed someday and everyone will know" on his YouTube channel ‘Ahn Jung-hwan 19’. The video featured Ahn Jung-hwan along with Kim Nam-il, Kim Young-kwang, and Cho Won-hee, who played together during their active careers, discussing the situation from 20 years ago when they were national team players.

In the broadcast, Kim Young-kwang recalled the preparations for the 2006 Germany World Cup, saying, "Coach Jo Bonfrere told me, 'I plan to use you as the starting goalkeeper in the World Cup finals, so prepare well,'" and added, "(If Coach Bonfrere had continued leading the national team longer) I would have been the starting goalkeeper at the Germany World Cup."

In response, Ahn Jung-hwan revealed, "At the time, some people thought Bonfrere's career was inferior to other coaches," and "Although not a confirmed fact, many tried to remove Coach Bonfrere by any means to take the national team coach position for themselves." The panelists agreed with Ahn’s statement, saying, "We think we know who that is." Kim Nam-il added, "Players at that time felt like there were two coaches."

Dutch-born Coach Bonfrere led the Korean national team from June 2004 to August 2005, achieving a record of 10 wins, 8 draws, and 8 losses in A matches (a winning percentage of 41.67%) over about 1 year and 2 months. He later voluntarily resigned amid criticism from domestic football fans. Subsequently, the KFA appointed Dick Advocaat as coach in September 2005, and the national team recorded 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss in the group stage of the 2006 World Cup, failing to advance to the round of 16.

Recently, after dismissing former coach J?rgen Klinsmann, the KFA spent five months searching for a new coach. During this process, many foreign coaches expressed interest in the national team coaching position, but the KFA faced criticism for appointing Hong Myung-bo, who was managing K League’s Ulsan Hyundai, without clear reasons and by disregarding proper procedures.