Verdict on Klinsmann: not good enough

Jurgen Klinsmann, head coach of the Korean men's national football team, speaks to reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, Feb. 8, after returning from the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. / Yonhap

The Asian Cup was a strange experience for South Korea. A week ago, the team and fans were looking forward to a semi-final against Jordan, a team ranked 64 places below. It was not just a winnable game but the trophy looked to be on its way to Seoul for the first time in 64 years.

After all, this was a team that had played quite badly for most of the tournament yet had still gotten quite far. This was a team that had, in the knockout stages, somehow survived elimination against Saudi Arabia and Australia and then managed to squeeze past the twin Asian powerhouses.

Surely then, if Korea could be under par but still manage to knock out these teams, a decent performance would’ve been enough against Jordan. That was not the case at all as Jordan, playing its first-ever semifinal, won 2-0.

"We badly wanted to win the Asian Cup, and we were on a good track until we hit Jordan in this game, and Jordan in this game was the better team and they deserved to win," head coach Jurgen Klinsmann told reporters as he arrived back at Incheon International Airport last Thursday. "But overall, I think we played a very good tournament. Yes, we were disappointed after the game, which is normal, but then there's a lot of positives to take out of the tournament for every player, for every coach.”

In that statement, some parts were true and others were less so. It is correct that Korea badly wanted to win the Asian Cup after not doing so since 1960. The team was on the right track to get to the semifinal. However, Jordan was the better team and deserved to win by a wide margin. The Middle Eastern side was superior to their star-studded opponents in every department.

It is a stretch to say that Korea played a very good tournament. Their performances were poor overall. Despite having some of the biggest stars in the 24-team competition, there was just one win in 90 minutes in the six games: the opener against Bahrain. Then followed draws with Jordan and Malaysia. Then came the knockout games with Saudi Arabia and Australia, which were high on drama and low on quality; ending with another clash with Jordan. The fact that Korea got to the last four was due to the individual abilities of the players not due to any style of play — such a thing was conspicuous by its absence.

There were doubts about Klinsmann’s coaching abilities when he got the job a year ago. Unfortunately, he has not done anywhere near enough to suggest that he has what it takes to take Korea to the next level, to make a difference when the pressure is on and when games are tight. Jordan’s head coach Hussein Ammouta had a fine record in Africa and has worked wonders with this team but he would never be considered for the Korea job as he does not have a big name like Klinsmann.

Fans in Korea are calling for the famous head of the German. Such demands are understandable. He said last year that he should be judged on the Asian Cup. The verdict is in: not good enough.