SINGAPORE – Son Heung-min has told South Korean football chiefs not to rush their search for a permanent coach, as former boss Jurgen Klinsmann lashed out over his sacking in February.
The Tottenham Hotspur star forward scored twice on June 6 as the Taegeuk Warriors booked their place in the final round of World Cup qualifying with a 7-0 away thrashing of Singapore.
The Koreans were playing under their second interim coach since Klinsmann was fired following their semi-final exit at the Asian Cup in Qatar earlier in 2024.
Kim Do-hoon, a former Lion City Sailors coach, will again be in caretaker charge against China at home on June 11.
“Even if it takes time, I think it’s important for us to find a coach that suits us and the kind of football we want to play,” South Korea captain Son told reporters in Singapore after the big win.
Under-23 coach Hwang Sun-hong was put in temporary charge for two World Cup qualifiers in March but his reputation took a heavy hit when South Korea failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Son said it “really is not easy” to be without a permanent coach, but added: “The players are making an effort to adapt, allowing us to play well in a relatively positive atmosphere.”
Klinsmann – a 1990 World Cup winner with Germany who has failed to impress in his managerial career – was fired after only a year at the helm after the Koreans were beaten 2-0 by underdogs Jordan at the Asian Cup.
Just prior to his sacking, it emerged there had been a bust-up on the eve of the semi-final between Son and Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain, leaving the skipper with a dislocated finger.
Klinsmann lifted the lid on the incident in an interview with The Athletic and blasted the Korea Football Association (KFA) for making him the scapegoat.
“In the Korean culture, somebody has to take responsibility, take the blame,” the former striker said in the interview with ex-England forward Alan Shearer.
“They made us (coaches) responsible for the fight.”
The KFA was in May rebuffed in their search for Klinsmann’s successor by their top target Jesse Marsch when the former Leeds United boss chose Canada instead.
It reportedly talked to the American and Iraq’s Spanish coach Jesus Casas, with Senol Gunes from Turkey and Frenchman Herve Renard, who coaches his country’s women’s team, also in the picture.