International Football
Jurgen Klinsmann in trouble after seven months and no wins with South Korea
South Korea face Saudi Arabia in a friendly at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park on Tuesday, with Jurgen Klinsmann under severe pressure after a wretched start as coach.
The German legend was appointed only in February, but his South Korea side have failed to win in the five games since, losing twice and drawing thrice.
The latest disappointment was a drab 0-0 stalemate away at an equally off-colour Wales last week, after which skipper Son Heung-min came to the defence of the 59-year-old Klinsmann.
“I understand where fans come from, as someone who’s been on the national team for a long time. I am not saying the coach is always right, but I also don’t think fans are always right either,” the Tottenham Hotspur forward said in Cardiff.
“Many different players have been getting opportunities. In some ways, the coach is trying to identify new players, instead of trying to put up results right away. I am sure he knows what he’s doing.”
South Korea, ranked 28th in the world, reached the last 16 of the Qatar World Cup before being outclassed 4-1 by Brazil, after which coach Paulo Bento said he would not stay on.
The Korea Football Association launched a protracted search for his successor before settling on Klinsmann, a World Cup winner as a player but whose coaching career has never hit the same heights.
Many South Korean fans were underwhelmed by the appointment, and the performances since have only added to those misgivings.
Klinsmann, whose previous coaching job was a short stint with Hertha Berlin more than three years ago, started with a 2-2 home draw with Colombia, before home defeats by Uruguay and Peru.
Then came a 1-1 home draw with El Salvador, but the result and listless performance in the goal-less stalemate with Wales have piled the pressure on the former United States coach.
It does not help that the Koreans’ fierce rivals Japan are in fine form, beating four-time world champions Germany 4-1 on Saturday.
Despite boasting Asia’s finest attacker in the talisman Son, South Korea conjured up just one shot on target against the 35th-ranked Welsh. They have scored four times in five matches under Klinsmann, who was a prolific striker in his pomp.
However, it is what the former Germany skipper and coach is doing off the pitch that has equally angered fans.
Supporters and media accuse him of reneging on a pledge to move to the country, saying he spends more time at home in California than in South Korea.
Klinsmann’s media duties away from the Korean job have also been touted by critics as more evidence that he is not sufficiently committed to the job.
Choi Dong-ho, a commentator and director of the Centre for Sports Culture research group, said Klinsmann appeared “negligent”.
“Considering his limited familiarity with Korean players, he should at least be watching all K League games in person rather than being ‘briefed’ by other coaches while he stays abroad,” said Choi.
The German, however, sees things differently.
“The only way for me to improve this team and this programme is I come to Europe say hello and I talk to people all day long,” he said in an interview released by football YouTube channel Dalsu Live on Monday.
“When I come to Korea, in and out, in and out, that is the only way I can improve. If not, it’s better somebody else. No problem.”
Failure to beat Saudi Arabia, who are ranked 54th in the world, would leave Klinsmann clinging to his job after less than seven months in charge.
“Klinsmann’s seeming lack of urgency in light of poor performances hasn’t sat well with South Korean fans, many of whom have already begun calling for the German tactician’s head,” Yonhap news agency said on Monday.
Klinsmann insists that the team are in transition and his focus is on the Asian Cup in Qatar in January and February 2024.
“How prepared are they mentally for a big tournament? Can they deal with all the pressure, all the expectations and all those different elements?” Klinsmann said after the Wales draw.
“It’s a growing process. And I’m pleased overall with what the players showed, and we’ll keep growing game by game.”
-AFP
International Football
Former Brazil coach Tite taking break to take care of mental, physical health
Former Brazil coach Tite said he is taking an indefinite career break in order to take care of his mental and physical health.
The 63-year-old, who led Brazil to the 2019 Copa America title, was hospitalised due to a heart issue last August. He was sacked by Flamengo the following month and had most recently been linked with the Corinthians job.
“I realised that there are times when you have to understand that, as a human being, I can be vulnerable and admitting that will certainly make me stronger,” Tite said in a statement posted on his son Matheus Bachi’s Instagram on Tuesday.
“I’m passionate about what I do and I’ll continue to be so, but after talking to my family and observing the signals my body was giving off, I decided that the best thing to do now is to take a break from my career to look after myself for as long as it takes.
“As has become public, there was a conversation in progress with Corinthians, but it will have to be paralysed by a difficult but necessary decision.”
Tite, who stepped down as Brazil coach after their quarter-final exit from the 2022 World Cup, has previously coached a string of Brazilian sides including Gremio, Atletico Mineiro and Palmeiras.
-Reuters
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Brazil have sacked head coach Dorival Jr, the country’s football confederation (CBF) said on Friday after the five-time world champions were thrashed 4-1 away to fierce rivals Argentina in a humiliating qualifying loss in Buenos Aires.
The 62-year-old was appointed in January 2024 after the team spent a year under two caretaker coaches as the Brazilian FA were unable to lure Italian Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid.
“The Brazilian Football Confederation informs that coach Dorival Jr is no longer in charge of the Brazilian national team,” the confederation said in a statement.
“The management thanks (Dorival) and wishes him success in continuing his career … the CBF will work to find his replacement,” it added.
Dorival was handed the job after his success with Flamengo in 2022 where he won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Cup, a trophy he lifted again the next year with Sao Paulo.
However, he never seemed to get to grips with the national team job and failed to earn the trust of Brazil’s demanding fans after winning only seven of his 16 games in charge.
Sources told Reuters the CBF was not confident in Dorival’s work, considering there had been little to no progress since a lacklustre Copa America campaign when Brazil were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Uruguay last year.
Still, the CBF was willing to wait and see until the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June to reassess the situation following the end of the European season and the Club World Cup in the U.S. in June and July.
But after Brazil slumped to their heaviest-ever loss in a qualifier when they were thrashed by Argentina this week, CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues decided to pull the trigger.
IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sources told Reuters Ancelotti was still the ideal candidate but he is under contract with Real until July 2026 and there is no indication he would leave the European and Spanish champions.
Brazilian media have reported that Al Hilal’s Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus is the favourite to replace Dorival.
Brazil have been in unfamiliar territory for over two years since crashing out of the 2022 World Cup against Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals, a heartbreaking elimination that led to the exit of long-time manager Tite.
Their humbling defeat in Buenos Aires was the latest of a series of negative records Brazil have set under caretakers Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz and with Dorival in charge. They had never conceded four goals in a World Cup qualifier.
Brazil are in the midst of their worst-ever World Cup qualifying campaign. They are fourth in the South American standings with 21 points, a point above sixth-placed Colombia who currently occupy the final direct qualifying berth.
Never have Brazil lost so many games, conceded so many goals or set so many negative records in the qualifying competition. They have lost five of their 14 games and conceded 16 goals.
Brazil’s 1-0 defeat by Argentina in the Maracana late in 2023 was their first-ever qualifying loss on home soil.
They also lost to Colombia for the first time, saw the end of their unbeaten run against Uruguay stretching back over two decades and were defeated by Morocco and Senegal, having never previously lost to an African nation.
-Reuters
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International Football
England’s German manager Tuchel will not sing the English anthem in his first game
England manager Thomas Tuchel said he would have to “earn the right” to sing the national anthem, God Save the King, after announcing his 26-man squad on Friday ahead of the team’s World Cup qualifiers.
Tuchel, who was appointed as Gareth Southgate’s successor in October and named his first squad to face Albania and Latvia this month, said he would not sing the anthem in his first games in charge.
“It means a lot to me, I can assure you, but I can feel that because it is so meaningful and it is so emotional and it is so powerful, the national anthem, that I have to earn my right to sing it,” the 51-year-old German told a news conference.
Former caretaker manager Lee Carsley was criticised last year for not singing the anthem during his tenure.
However, Tuchel added that while he is proud to be in charge of the team and knows the words to the anthem, he plans to earn the right with results.
“Maybe I have to dive more into the culture and earn my right from you, from the players, from the supporters, so everyone feels like ‘he should sing it now, he’s one of our own, he’s the English manager, he should sing it’,” he said.
-Reuters
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