[Saba Sports News] Recently, Hong Myung-bo, the South Korean head coach who has become the target of widespread criticism, decided not to wait any longer and tendered his resignation less than 24 hours after the national team’s elimination was confirmed. Hong Myung-bo is an iconic figure in South Korean football history. As a player, he earned 136 caps for the national team, tied with Cha Bum-kun for second place on the all-time list, only trailing Son Heung-min. After moving into coaching, he held various posts across South Korea’s youth national teams. He steered South Korea’s Olympic side to a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, marking the country’s first Olympic football medal. In 2013, he took charge of the senior men’s national team for the first time. However, he stepped down following a dismal 2014 World Cup campaign that yielded just one draw and two defeats and saw South Korea knocked out in the group stage. He embarked on his second stint as South Korea head coach in July 2024, with a contract running until after the 2027 Asian Cup. Just two weeks ago, he was brimming with confidence and his side won widespread praise, yet everything fell apart after two consecutive losses. Over the past seven World Cup tournaments this century, South Korea has advanced out of the group stage three times. Among these seven campaigns, the two worst performances in terms of results both came under Hong Myung-bo’s leadership.
The editor believes that South Korea’s top priority is to appoint a head coach with innovative thinking who can break free from the existing system and reshape the country’s football landscape. The national team’s steadily declining performances have been slammed by Korean public opinion as “tactically barren football”.