Klinsmann not quitting Korea after semifinal loss
Korea head coach Jurgen Klinsmann awaits the start of his team's match against Jordan in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, Feb. 6. Yonhap
Korea head coach Jurgen Klinsmann isn't stepping down even after failing to accomplish his stated goal of winning the top Asian men's football tournament.
Korea lost to Jordan 2-0 in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar on Tuesday. Yazan Al-Naimat and Mousa Al-Tamari each had a goal, while Korea, whose last Asian Cup title came in 1960, were blanked for the first time in this tournament.
Klinsmann's tenure with Korea, which began last March with lethargic friendly matches, has been marked by scathing criticism from fans and media — on things ranging from his decision to spend more time overseas than in Korea to his lack of tactical acumen and his ill-timed smiles after an opponent's goal and, in Tuesday's case, after Korea's loss.
Calls for Klinsmann's head will only grow louder in the aftermath of Korea's exit, especially considering his team boasted the top Asian player today in Son Heung-min and a few other Europe-based stars.
When asked if he was planning to resign, however, Klinsmann was defiant.
"I am not planning to do anything," Klinsmann said at the postmatch press conference at Ahamd bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, west of Doha. "I plan to analyze this tournament, go back to Korea and obviously talk with the federation about what was good and what was not so good in the tournament."
Klinsmann acknowledged that a coach is "always responsible for how a tournament goes for the team" but he will stick around to ensure a better future for Korean football.
"I think there was a lot of good stuff that we saw. This is a team that's growing, a team that still has to develop toward the World Cup in the U.S., Mexico and Canada over the next two and a half years," Klinsmann said. "A very difficult qualifying campaign, obviously, so there's a lot of work ahead of us. Other than that, I am not thinking about anything."
Klinsmann has an easy smile that can sometimes rub people the wrong way. He was caught on camera with a grin on his face after Malaysia scored a stoppage-time equalizer to pull out a 3-3 draw in the group stage on Jan. 25. The result prevented Korea from winning Group E.
After Tuesday's match, Klinsmann was seen smiling as he was walking toward his counterpart, Hussein Ammouta, to congratulate him, even as many of Korean players were reduced to tears.
Klinsmann defended his display of emotion.
Korea head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, left, consoles his captain Son Heung-min following their team's 2-0 loss to Jordan in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, Feb. 6. Yonhap
"For me, it's normal to congratulate the other coach when his team was better in a game. This is a sign of respect," he said. "If you say I shouldn't smile at someone who deserves compliment in that moment, maybe we have different approaches."
His exchange with Ammouta aside, Klinsmann said he was "angry."
"I am very disappointed. I am angry because we should have done better tonight," he said. "Our pregame talk was very clear on how to accept battles in one-on-one situations, how we wanted to approach tactically right away. We were not existent in the first 20-30 minutes. Jordan deserved this win. They played more aggressive than we did. They wanted it more.
"I am certainly not walking around tonight smiling all over the places," the coach added. "There's a reason why we lost this game. The other team showed more on the field. Then we have to give them respect." (Yonhap)