Japan has a long-standing rivalry with Korean soccer. Japan has been baffled by the hiring of Jürgen Klinsmann (59-Germany) as head coach of the South Korean national team, which is unlikely to be a full-time contract.

Nikkan Sports is the oldest Japanese sports newspaper with a 77-year history. “Klinsmann, the Korean national soccer team coach who likes to work from home, has returned to his U.S. home after five days,” the newspaper said in a pathetic response.

South Korea, ranked 28th in the world, drew 0-0 with 35th-ranked Wales on Sept. 8. They won a 1-0 friendly against 54th-ranked Saudi Arabia on Sept. 13 at a neutral site in Newcastle, England.

Korea National Football Team head coach Jürgen Klinsmann squats down to watch the home exhibition match against Peru. Photo by Chun Jeong-hwan
Klinsmann earned his first win in six A-League matches with a victory over Saudi Arabia after three draws and two defeats since his appointment in March 2023. He returned to Korea on Sept. 14 with the Korea National Football Team and watched two K League games on the field before leaving for Los Angeles on Sept. 20.

Nikkan Sports explained to its Japanese readers, “Klinsmann had planned to stay in Europe after the two away games, but changed his schedule after criticism mounted that he had broken his promise to live in South Korea when he signed on to manage the national team.”메이저사이트

South Korea was outscored by Saudi Arabia 17-4, with 7 draws and 6 losses. To Klinsmann’s credit, he oversaw South Korea’s fifth victory over Saudi Arabia in history.

It was also the first time South Korea beat Saudi Arabia in an A match since the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, 5412 days (14 years, 9 months, 26 days) after the Asian final qualifier.

However, ‘Nikkan Sports’ reported, “Coach Klinsmann, who has been in trouble for working from home, chose to travel to the United States again without staying in Korea for even a week. Is he triggering his homecoming instinct?” and pointed out.

“Homing instinct” refers to the tendency or ability of bees, ants, pigeons, swallows, etc. to return to their habitat or nest. Klinsmann suffered the humiliation of being compared to an animal in a negative way.

Nikkan Sports reported, “Klinsmann has been in South Korea for only 67 days as the national soccer team manager. At his inaugural press conference, when he said, ‘I want to touch a new culture,’ his curiosity turned to ‘If you don’t like my way, you can find another leader.'”

During his playing days, Klinsmann was a legendary player who was named one of FIFA’s 125 greatest players of all time. After retirement, he coached the German national team from 2004-2006, the U.S. national team from 2011-2016, and Hertha (Germany) from 2019-2020.

Klinsmann led Germany to back-to-back third-place finishes at the 2005 Confederations Cup and 2006 World Cup. Under Klinsmann, the United States won the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup and finished 15th at the 2014 World Cup.