메이저놀이터 Is South Korea national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann really trying to understand Korean soccer?On the 23rd (KST), ESPN hosted a panel on its YouTube channel to analyze the second round of the 2023-24 Premier League (EPL) between Tottenham and Manchester United, as well as Lionel Messi and Harry Kane. One of the panelists was, surprisingly, Klinsmann.

Currently, Klinsmann continues to be criticized for his frequent foreign interviews while working abroad. Public opinion has gotten worse and worse. I’m sure Klinsmann is aware that public opinion is not in his favor right now.

During his press conference with South Korean media over the past 17-18 days, Klinsmann was asked about the remote work controversy. The questions must have given Klinsmann a good idea of the public opinion in South Korea about his working arrangements.

But his demeanor hasn’t changed. He is still willing to be interviewed by foreign media. After the press conference with the Korean media, he was interviewed by foreign media as well. This is very different from his attitude towards the K League. At the press conference to announce his appointment as national team manager, he said, “I will work in Korea. I’m a Korean coach, so it’s natural for me to stay here. I will live in Korea and learn the culture” now feels like a lie.

In the past six months or so, Klinsmann has been in Korea for just over two months, but he hasn’t been to more than 20 matches in the K League. Since March 9, when Klinsmann started his job as Korea’s head coach, there have been 622 K League games, 312 in K League 1 and 310 in K League 2. That’s an attendance rate of less than 5%.

Klinsmann said he watched “as many games as possible,” but the numbers tell a different story. It’s a far cry from the days of Paulo Bento, who often traveled to K League games with his team.

According to Klinsmann, advisor Chadoori and coach Michael Kim visit the K League regularly, and other coaches take turns watching K League players, but Klinsmann himself seems to have no interest in the K League. It’s even weirder that Klinsmann doesn’t question whether he’s really trying to understand Korean soccer.

“Not only do I watch the K League, but I also watch the U League and Osango in the higher leagues. I’ve also been watching the age-group national teams to get a better understanding of Korean soccer and who to include in the national team pool. My coaching staff and I watch a lot of players, both local and foreign, and we are constantly trying to find good combinations and figure out how to build the best team.” However, based on his actions so far, he doesn’t seem like someone who is trying to understand Korean soccer at all.

Rather, he seems to be interested in how world soccer works. Klinsmann himself admitted this. “I personally watch the UEFA Champions League (UCL) a lot. It’s the best soccer competition in the world, and it plays the highest level of soccer. If you look at the national team managers at the World Cup, they study the new soccer and tactics they see in the UCL and implement them in the major tournaments. It’s important for a national team coach to have an international perspective, to see the trends and changes in modern soccer, and to talk to the federation about how we can do better in the major tournaments.”

It’s also really important to watch the best competitions in the world like UCL. Klinsmann is often criticized for his lack of tactical skills, so watching a world-class competition like UCL can help him work on his weaknesses.

But first, he needs to understand the K League. The cold hard truth is that Korean soccer, ranked 28th by FIFA, is not world-class. The tactical level of the UCL can’t be translated to the national team, which is often called up on short notice. Therefore, it is necessary to study the level of soccer that can be transplanted to Korean players.

At a time when modern soccer is becoming increasingly managerial in its development, tactics that are not adapted to the level of the squad have mostly resulted in failure. This was certainly the case with Tottenham last season, although not with the national team. Antonio Conte’s tactics, which don’t take into account players’ abilities and inclinations, led Spurs to their worst season ever.

On the other hand, Manchester United’s manager, Eric ten Haag, realized that his tactics and the composition of his squad weren’t a perfect match after losing the first and second rounds of the Premier League (EPL). As a result, the Red Devils finished the season in third place in the league and won the Carabao Cup. This shows how important it is for a manager to understand his players.

While it’s time to get to grips with the K League, Klinsmann is looking to the Major League Soccer (MLS) to get a better understanding of Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, who have nothing to do with Korean soccer. While it is understandable to look to UCL to understand the international flow of soccer, the quality of the MLS is not the best in the world.

Watching Kane play for Bayern Munich is a way to understand what Kane is capable of in order to maximize the use of Son Heung-min, so that the South Korean strikers can learn from him. Neymar’s move to Al Hilal has nothing to do with the South Korean coach. I have less and less faith in Klinsmann.