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Jurgen Klinsmann, coach of the South Korean national soccer team who aimed to win the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years, appeared at the Incheon International Airport with a big smile on the night of the 8th. His laughter, lacking social empathy, was replaced by the anger of South Korean soccer fans.
Korea challenged for the first Asian championship in 64 years at this year's event. Expectations were high as the team was called the "golden generation" with players from overseas leagues including Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) playing in the K-League harmoniously.
However, the result was disastrous. The team garnered one win and two draws in the group league, but the result was nothing to be satisfied with considering the power gap with the rival team. It did not advance to the first place but ended up humiliatingly making it to the round of 16 as the second place finisher.
In the match against Saudi Arabia and the match against Australia, there was a fierce battle to go to extra time. Both games gave up the first run, but they showed their fighting spirit by scoring an equalizer in the second half of the extra time.
However, no miracle occurred until the semifinal match against Jordan. Team Korea, which lost points first to Jordan, lost 0-2 after allowing an additional point instead of the tying goal, and its challenge to become the top Asian player came to an end.
Although the performance was higher than that of the 2019 United Arab Emirates (UAE), Korean soccer fans urged Klinsmann to step down due to his disastrous performance and collapsed pride. Immediately after the match, and during an entry interview, questions about his resignation continued, but Klinsmann laughed and refused.
"I am happy to lead this team. It is very important to consider those positive aspects and prepare for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers," he said, adding, "Jordan was a much better team. The team was well qualified to advance to the final. However, we cannot say that it is a failure given that we have advanced to the semifinals," in encouraging Jordan, whose FIFA ranking is much lower than that of the national team.
Soccer fans who watched the scene got even more angry. Some soccer fans expressed their anger by throwing taffy candy at the scene. However, Klinsmann's laughter didn't go away, and soccer fans' anger didn't go away, either.
In Korea, only Klins is laughing because of soccer. Even comedians who should make people laugh were angry because of soccer on the show.
Comedian Lee Kyung-kyu, who has been making his debut for 43 years, is a famous soccer fanatic. In the past, Lee Kyung-kyu, the flagship program of MBC's "Sunday, Sunday Night," delivered vivid images of Taegeuk Warriors' performances at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, the 2002 World Cup Korea-Japan, and the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Lee Kyung-kyu watched the Asian Cup semifinal match against Jordan at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Alayan, Qatar, on the 7th with subscribers through his YouTube channel "God Kyung-kyu."
When Korea was eliminated after allowing two goals, Lee could not contain his anger. Lee himself yelled at Chung Mong-gyu, the president of the Korea Football Association, saying, "Get out of here! You have to take responsibility and step down." The video was later kept private, but the comment caught fire as it was aired on public television, and sympathetic messages poured in on online communities.
Another veteran comedian, Park Myung-soo, also sighed when Klinsman appeared in the search chart section on his radio show KBS CoolFM's "Park Myung-soo's Radio Show."
Park Myung-soo said, "Jordan player was attacking, but he couldn't catch it even though three Korean defenders were attached. Isn't this too serious? Looking at it, I said, 'This is a ridiculous story.' It would have been nice to have Kim Min-jae, but I thought this was really serious."
"(Klinsman) says it's only been a year, but who brought him here?" he said. "We should have seen how well our team and coach fit in by evaluating it with objective data. If the Korea Football Association recruited and brought a proper coach, wouldn't the public understand? It's not that, but if you brought him in with your own stubbornness and created this situation, you should reflect on yourself and give up your seat," he expressed anger.
The two comedians' anger does not stop there. The National Assembly's petition website, which had not been a hot topic for a while, even drew attention by posting a petition related to the dismissal of Klinsmann.
According to the National Assembly's petition site, a petition was released on the 9th, titled "A petition for the replacement of Coach Klinsmann, who surprised Asia with 'Lung' soccer, 'Do' soccer, and 'Bystand' soccer, which consists of the golden generation of all time."
The writer, who identified himself as a member of the "Red Devil" and a referee from the Korea Football Association, argued that South Korea "strongly petitioned for the replacement of coach Klinsmann, the mastermind who has made him a mockery of Asian countries with his worst performance."
The article is not currently visible if it has been deleted, but when it was posted, it became a hot topic with explosive reactions. 토토사이트
Daegu Mayor Hong Joon Pyo, who is currently the owner of Gyeongnam FC and Daegu FC, is related to soccer, said on CBS Radio's "Park Jae-hong's Match" on the 10th, "I'm angry because a coach seems to come to Korea as a part-time job after playing outside without thinking about breathing with the players."
"A coach is a professional. It's natural to cut him if he has bad grades and is incompetent," Hong said. "When the coach of Gyeongnam FC lost the second division due to his mistake, I fired him." The coach sued to ask for a contract term salary, but we won. Term of office is meaningless to a coach, and if you do something wrong, you get fired."
Furthermore, Mayor Hong emphasized Chung's responsibility, saying, "I don't know how the agreement is, but if there is a penalty, it should be paid at the president's expense, not at the Korea Football Association's money."
The soccer community may have wanted Korea to win the Asian Cup final at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar at 12 a.m. in November, during the Lunar New Year holiday. The ideal picture would have been for the whole nation to wish Korean soccer a championship at one place with their families.
However, such expectations have faded completely, and public opinion about the replacement of Klinsmann, who failed to stage a proper game and displayed poor leadership, has emerged as the topic of the Lunar New Year's Day meal. It comes in stark contrast to Klinsmann's expression, which steals people's laughter and is the only one smiling.