Former U.S. men’s national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann is back on the international level after being hired to a new position on Monday.
Klinsmann was hired as the South Korea national team manager, the federation announced Monday. The 58-year-old last served as manager of Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin from November 2019-February 2020.
“I know that the Korean national team has been improving and achieving results over a long period of time,” Klinsmann said in a statement. “I am honoured to follow in the footsteps of the great coaches who have led the Korean national team, from Gus Hiddink to my predecessor, Paulo Bento.
“I look forward to doing my utmost to help the team achieve success at the upcoming Asian Cup and the 2026 World Cup.”
Klinsmann served as USMNT head coach for over five years from 2011-16, posting a 55-27-16 record in charge. He led the Americans to the Concacaf Gold Cup title in 2013 and a runners-up spot at the 2015 Concacaf Cup.
A former standout forward for Bayern Munich, Tottenham, and Inter Milan, Klinsmann also served as manager of the German national team and Bayern Munich from 2004-06 and 2008-09 respectively.
South Korea had been on the hunt for a new head coach following Paulo Bento’s departure following the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The South Koreans reached the Round of 16 in Qatar, before being eliminated by Brazil.
Klinsmann’s first match in charge will come on March 24 in a friendly against Colombia.
Seems like a good gig for Klinsmann. Hope he does well.
I hope we don’t take as long to pick a new coach as we did last time. While we don’t have to qualify, it would be nice to get a coach in fairly soon so that he can get going.
I agree. I hear the brass are being complacent about it right now.
Feels like they are waiting for the end of this latest Euro season to see what shakes out. Who leaves, who is fired, etc.
My guess is that they will go for an affordable big name if they can get them.
Sounds like they want the director first, but it seems interest as it was last time is pretty limited. Director is a job that I don’t think anyone really knows what they do it’s not like they’re making transfers and there’s no academy to oversea anymore. As Vacqui says I think they wait for Euro seasons to end.
It’s old school vs. new school.
An old school guy like SAF in the early years would coach the team in training, manage the game on game day, work with the scouting department AND negotiate the transfers and contracts. This is the more authoritarian model
In the new school mode teams started going to more of an American sports model (like you see in the NFL or MLS) where you have more of a division of labor.
The manager just handle the players in training and on game day.
The general manager. technical director/Sporting director/ whatever is responsible for player scouting and acquisition, contracts, etc., etc.
There are obviously lots of variations on this where some managers have more influence and power with the general manager side ( Bill Belichick is the Pats general manager in reality if not in name) than others.
“I don’t think anyone really knows what they do”
They know exactly what they are doing. The fact that we don’t know what they are up to , is a stylistic choice by the USSF.
The behind the scenes people there seem bent on not providing the kind of target that Sunil Gulati used to be. They handle criticism well.
The longer they wait the less money they will have to pay out to the manager over time. And if he does reasonably well ( whatever that means ) I wouldn’t rule out them retaining Hudson. They are sending him to Europe to run the rule over our Euros.
They gave Gregg a chance to learn on the job. They could do the same with Hudson.
We’ve all seen this movie before.
He fits the profile , affordable company man, not likely to make waves. Plus he has an opportunity to make a case.
As far as I’m concerned, they need to hire the manager in time for them to have sufficient time to build up for a good run in Copa America 2024 which is likely to be the best and only really dress rehearsal this team will get for 2026.
If the team really sucks at Copa, then the USSF have time to either increase the remedial managerial training for Hudson or bring in a real manager.