The Korean national soccer team, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, will challenge to win the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar starting on May 12 for the first time in 64 years. It is a great opportunity to overcome such a long-cherished desire.
Before that, there is something we need to check. This is the “national team trainer crisis” that has occurred in two major competitions in a row. 토토사이트 순위
Four years ago, the national team under head coach Paulo Bento wrapped up the tournament in the quarterfinals with a 0-1 loss to Qatar at the 2019 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). At the time, there was a shocking incident when two medical trainers accompanying the national team left the squad during the tournament and returned to Korea.
During the competition, major players such as Ki Sung-yueng (FC Seoul) and Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) continued to be injured, raising doubts about the “team’s physical care,” and a trainer left the scene for the first time.
As a result, the KFA faced criticism for failing to properly implement administrative procedures, including the issue of how to hire trainers. Kim Pan-gon, the current head coach of the Malaysian national team who was KFA vice chairman at the time, apologized there.
This is not the end. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, controversy over trainer Ahn Deok-soo’s alleged “2701 incident” broke out. When Ahn targeted the KFA on his SNS account, he caused controversy with his “prophetic prediction of exposure.”
Ahn is the personal trainer of Son Heung-min, a key member of the national team. Son’s side requested Ahn’s joining ahead of the World Cup, but KFA did not accept his request.
Ahn’s license was a problem. Ahn obtained his license in 2002 but did not renew it. In other words, because he is “unqualified,” KFA did not hire him.
The KFA also allowed Ahn to personally manage Son during the World Cup rather than official duties within the national team. It was a huge achievement.
The problem occurred here. Not only Son but many other players in the national team received treatment from Ahn. Ahn and his players gathered in the “2701” room, which sparked controversy over disclosure of the situation.
Since then, it has not been clear exactly why trainer Ahn publicly shot KFA as he remained silent, but KFA could not avoid responsibility as problems related to the medical team arose again within the national team.
A KFA official said, “After the last incident, we announced an improvement plan and notified the team that ‘if a personal trainer joins, he should work as a member of the team.’ Hwang In-beom and Cho Kyu-sung recommended trainers and received opinions from the team, and they checked their qualifications and decided to join finally,” he explained the procedure.
He also emphasized prevention of recurrence. “The previous incident took place at a time when each other’s jurisdiction was unclear, claiming expertise. This time, we decided to increase the number of team staff by conducting a demand survey on players to prevent the same problem from occurring. The basic framework will not be shaken,” he said.