Shin Tae-yong to lead Korean football team

By Baek Byung-yeul

Shin Tae-yong, the former under-20 national football team coach, was named new head coach of the senior team, Tuesday.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) held a technical committee meeting and decided to appoint Shin as a new coach through next year’s FIFA World Cup.

“Shin previously worked as an assistant coach for the national team and that’s why he knows the players better than anyone else,” KFA technical director Kim Ho-gon said at a press conference at the National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

The KFA fired Uli Stielike just two days after the national team was stunned by Qatar in the final Asian qualifying round for the World Cup, June 14.

The technical director added they decided to appoint Shin as they were impressed with his communication skills. “One of his specialties is his communication skills, so he will manage the team atmosphere well. Shin also shows good tactical acumen, so we believe he will deliver victories for Korea in the remaining matches.”

Korea currently ranks second with 13 points from four wins, a draw and three losses in Group A. For automatic qualification for the World Cup, Korea needs to have at least one win and one draw in the remaining matches. Korea will play Iran at home, Aug. 31, and an away match against Uzbekistan, Sept. 5.

Only the top two teams from each of the two groups will directly advance to the World Cup while two third-place teams will go through a two-legged playoff. The winner will then advance to the international playoff against a team from the North, Central American and Caribbean section for a place.

Kim said Shin will lead the team even if Korea finishes third in the group, but his contract will be terminated if the team fails to qualify for the World Cup.

Shin started his professional football career in 1992 playing for the Ilhwa Chunma FC, now Seongnam FC in the K League. The 46-year-old quickly rose to stardom from his debut season receiving the Rookie of The Year award. The two-time MVP winner retired in 2005 and has had a successful coaching career leading Seongnam to clinch the AFC Champions League title in 2010 and FA Cup title in 2011.

Shin managed the under-20 team at the FIFA U-20 World Cup at home, where they suffered a round of 16 loss. He was also head coach of Korea’s under-23 team at last year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics and helped the team reach the quarterfinals.

The KFA said it is fully ready to help Shin get a grip of the team.

“We don’t have enough time, so we will communicate with Shin as much as possible,” Kim said. “We will utilize our resources effectively to analyze our opponents and check out the players.”