It was the speech of a person who came out to receive criticism.
The Korea Football Association held a press conference on the 28th with Michael Müller, head of the National Team Power Enhancement Committee, on the appointment of a new Korean national team coach Klinsmann. The appointment of manager Klinsman was announced on the 27th. His contract period is until the ‘2026 North and Central America World Cup’ finals.
There was little substance in Chairman Mueller’s remarks. It was specific that there were 61 candidates, but it was reduced to 5 including Klinsman, but he did not give any hint about the rest. He answered about the timeline of the appointment process, but most of the remarks were close to the usual selection process. Even though it was already included in the press release of the Korea Football Association, he spared his words. The explanation of the new director’s philosophy was also general.
Saying that the criteria for selecting a director are ‘professionalism안전놀이터, experience, motivation, teamwork, and environmental factors’ seems like a specific statement, but in fact it is too comprehensive, and the criteria already mentioned before starting the appointment work were the same. Rather, like an alumnus, he spent a long time talking about the intimate relationship between Klinsman and Korea.
This attitude of coach Müller is in line with the observations of football officials that he had no real power. In the soccer world, it was observed that some leaders, including Chung Mong-kyu, the head of the Korea Football Association, decided to appoint Klinsman as manager and pushed forward. It is already a well-known fact that the strengthening committee members could not communicate with Chairman Mueller, but it is an observation that even Chairman Mueller did not act on his own convictions, but acted according to instructions. Chairman Müller is from the same German Football Association as coach Klinsmann, but they have no ties to each other. Rather, he actively searched for a non-German leader to avoid misunderstanding, but he failed to suggest an alternative.
If Müller’s personal beliefs or reasonable procedures were confirmed at this press conference, the observation that director Klinsman was the will of the leadership would be refuted. But nothing like that happened.
The statement consistent with the football world’s observations is that “I received too much contact and pressure during the process.” Chairman Müller had to go through various arguments and pressures from various footballers in the process of his appointment, and it is known that the difficulties were great in a state where there was no real power to listen to someone’s will.
It is also a problem after his appointment. In the case of former coach Paulo Bento, then-chairman Kim Pan-gon, who was in charge of the appointment, communicated closely and supported him at the beginning of his tenure. On the other hand, in the case of coach Klinsmann, it is questionable whether Chairman Muller has received the recognition and authority to fully support. There is a lack of experts outside the national team to provide opinions.