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South Korean skipper Son Heung-min aft the nonaccomplishment to South Africa knocked his broadside retired of the World Cup
ByYuna Ku
BBC News Korean Reporting fromSeoul
South Korean shot is dormant - those words connected the motion floating supra the aggravated assemblage said it all.
Fans had gathered extracurricular Seoul's Incheon airdrome to face the nationalist squad arsenic they returned location aft being knocked retired of the World Cup successful the radical stage.
Their ire was directed astatine 1 antheral successful particular: manager Hong Myung-bo, a erstwhile skipper and footballing leader present faulted for his team's unimpressive tally connected the biggest sporting stage.
And they couldn't person made that clearer. Supporters bushed drums and shouted, "Hong out!", immoderate adjacent pursuing him each the mode to his car, adjacent arsenic others cheered for the players walking down Hong. One shot instrumentality told the BBC that up of the World Cup, radical talked little astir the squad and "kept saying Hong should measurement down".
His assignment was met with absorption close from the start, embroiling the Korea Football Association (KFA) successful a drawn-out controversy. Critics person agelong accused it of lacking transparency and fairness, saying coaches and cardinal figures were often picked due to the fact that of idiosyncratic connections alternatively than a merit-based process - an allegation the KFA has denied.
"At the bosom of the occupation is KFA's incompetence," said sports professional Choi Dong-ho.
Those charges and questions resurfaced aft an earlier-than-expected exit from this World cup, triggering what immoderate accidental is simply a agelong overdue reckoning successful South Korean football.
Hong apologised and resigned - saying the work "rests wholly with me" - portion President Lee Jae Myung called for an investigation.
"When favouritism and cronyism instrumentality precedence implicit competence successful selecting a commander, the effect is arsenic wide arsenic day," Lee wrote connected X, adding that it "appears to beryllium the effect of organisational and unit failures".
Image source, Reuters
This is Hong's 2nd stint arsenic caput manager of squad South Korea
Hong, who captained the nationalist broadside to a historical fourth-place decorativeness astatine the 2002 World Cup, utilized to beryllium 1 of South Korea's astir celebrated footballers.
He started disconnected his coaching vocation connected a palmy enactment - nether him, South Korea reached the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup successful 2009 earlier winning the bronze medal astatine the 2012 London Olympics.
And yet erstwhile helium was picked arsenic the nationalist team's caput manager successful 2024, the backlash was swift.
This was his 2nd stint, and galore fans inactive blamed him for what happened the 2014 World Cup. The squad was thrashed 4-2 by Algeria successful what is remembered by galore South Korean fans arsenic 1 of the worst World Cup performances - until the 1-0 nonaccomplishment to South Africa successful this year's tournament.
The 'cartel' wrong the KFA?
Hong wasn't expected to pb South Korea this time. His predecessor, Jurgen Klinsmann, who had been successful complaint for conscionable nether a year, was sacked pursuing a disappointing tally to the semi-finals of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
Several high-profile names were reportedly nether consideration, including Jesse Marsch, who is present coaching the Canadian squad and was wide seen arsenic a beardown candidate.
Hong was chosen, it was alleged astatine the time, due to the fact that elder KFA officials, including president Chung Mong-gyu, a South Korean businessman from the Hyundai family, favoured him personally. Some adjacent claimed 1 of the reasons was that they had attended the aforesaid university.
The questions intensified aft erstwhile Park Joo-ho, a erstwhile subordinate and a subordinate of the KFA committee that recommended coaches, alleged that Hong's assignment had not followed procedure. "Nothing was done arsenic portion of the process," Park said successful a YouTube video, claiming that the candidates were denied a just enactment process.
The KFA rejected Park's claims, insisting Hong's assignment followed owed process, and warned him that it was considering ineligible action. But his allegations drew enactment from immoderate fans and adjacent salient figures successful Korean football. Among those backing Park was Park Ji-sung, a nationalist footballing fable and erstwhile Manchester United midfielder.
"I deliberation radical person mislaid spot successful the KFA, and it volition instrumentality a agelong clip for the relation to regain that trust," helium told section media. "I don't expect things to alteration aft this interview. But I felt I should astatine slightest explicit my thoughts."
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South Korean fans protesting against Hong extracurricular a World Cup stadium successful California
Then came a authorities audit successful precocious 2024 which concluded that Klinsmann's removal and Hong's assignment some lacked transparency.
It recovered that "the KFA's Technical Director, who was not authorised to bash so, interviewed Hong astatine the president's (Chung's) acquisition without a just oregon transparent process", and besides said that helium was "effectively been chosen earlier the assignment was presented to the board, which was aboriginal asked to o.k. the determination successful writing, making its relation small much than a formality".
Parliament summoned Chung for questioning doubly successful 2024 and Bae Hyun-jin, a lawmaker from the governing People Power Party, told Chung of "rumours" that wrong the KFA was "a cartel based connected alumni ties to a circumstantial university".
The authorities recommended disciplinary enactment against 3 KFA executives, including Chung, and called connected the KFA to code the audit's findings, which could see restarting the process to name a caller caput coach. But the KFA challenged the determination and secured a suspension of its enforcement, allowing Chung to stay successful the job.
The pursuing twelvemonth Chung began his 4th consecutive term. Hong remained successful complaint nether a unreality of uncertainty and disapproval arsenic the satellite cupful drew closer. Fans were jubilant erstwhile the squad won its opening lucifer for the archetypal clip successful 4 World Cups, coming from down to decision the Czech Republic 2-1.
But past came the lacklustre losses, archetypal to Mexico and past to South Africa. In the second match, they remained mostly antiaircraft throughout, adjacent aft conceding a goal. Commentators and fans attributed the decision to a deficiency of tactical strategy.
Especially shocking was the determination to exclude the skipper and the team's biggest star, Son Heung-min, from the starting line-up, fuelling speculation astir Hong's tactical judgement and adjacent his narration with a subordinate beloved by overmuch of the country.
Hong often seemed seemed to support Son, the archetypal Asian subordinate to triumph the English Premier League's aureate boot, astatine a distance, frustrating the striker's fans. He near Son retired of the squad for the 2012 Olympics earlier selecting him for the 2014 World Cup. Ahead of this World Cup, Hong caused a disturbance by hinting astatine the anticipation of appointing a caller captain.
"Hong didn't cognize however to get the champion retired of Son," said Choi, adding the skipper was often near isolated up beforehand with excessively small enactment to power the game. "Instead of changing the team's tactics oregon benignant of play, Hong simply tried to lick the occupation by substituting players.
When South Korea was knocked out, the backlash against Hong, and the KFA, returned.
Image source, Getty Images
South Korean fans were devastated by the country's aboriginal exit from the World Cup
For galore supporters, the effect particularly stung fixed the calibre of the squad, which boasts Son, a erstwhile Tottenham Hotspur captain, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in and Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae, on with different players successful apical leagues.
"I don't cognize wherever to start," Son posted connected Instagram connected Tuesday, apologising to fans. "To beryllium honest, it's hard to judge the reality… I judge what the fans are feeling wouldn't beryllium each that antithetic from what I'm feeling."
South Korea's emotion of shot kicked into afloat cogwheel successful 2002, erstwhile the state co-hosted the World Cup with Japan. The team's singular tally to the semi-finals thrilled millions arsenic they cheered into the streets and lifted the spirits of a federation inactive recovering from the Asian fiscal crisis.
But successful the years since, Japan has raced ahead. South Korea fell to 32nd successful the Fifa rankings, its lowest presumption successful 4 years, aft the World Cup exit, portion Japan climbed to the 17th spot to go the highest-ranked Asian team.
The 2 sided person agelong been rivals but this clip galore South Korean fans had small assurance successful their ain team's chances against Japan.
Some South Koreans mocked their ain squad aft Japanese media reported that Japan had a beardown accidental of reaching the quarter-finals if it faced South Korea successful the past 16. "That's precise benignant of them to presume South Korea volition adjacent marque it to the knockout stage," 1 instrumentality wrote connected societal media.
"It seems the Japanese nationalist squad has recovered a wide reply to the cardinal question of what the squad should strive for," said sports professional Choi, explaining that Japan has built beardown teamwork implicit a agelong period.
"By contrast, it feels arsenic though South Korea starts from scratch each 4 years," helium added, pointing to much than 10 coaches who person travel and gone since 2002.
All of this, helium said, "makes it hard for the nationalist squad to physique acquisition oregon make a accordant semipermanent strategy. The KFA has failed to found a wide footballing individuality rooted successful a semipermanent philosophy".
Many fans, including President Lee, look to hold that the KFA needs sweeping reform. A instrumentality who didn't privation to stock his sanction said helium hoped that the existent backlash volition spark that alteration due to the fact that that is their request - transparency and greater absorption connected semipermanent strategy.
Younger radical are progressively delicate to unfairness arsenic they conflict to vie successful the world, helium said. But present "even successful athletics - wherever fairness should substance much than thing other - we've watched shot administrators disregard that principle. People tin nary longer judge that."
Why are South Korean fans truthful aggravated astatine their shot coach?
English (US)·