Son tells South Korean football bosses not to rush to find a coach

LONDON:

Son Heung-min has told South Korea’s soccer chiefs not to rush into the hunt for a permanent manager as Jurgen Klinsmann lashed out over his sacking in February.

Tottenham star Son scored twice as South Korea booked their place in the final round of World Cup qualifying on Thursday with a 7-0 thrashing of Singapore.

The Koreans were playing under their second caretaker manager since Klinsmann was sacked following their semi-final exit at the Asian Cup earlier this year in Qatar.

Kim Do-hoon will again be provisional against China at home on Tuesday.

“Even if it takes time, I think it’s important for us to find a coach that suits us and the kind of football we want to play,” skipper Sean told reporters in Singapore after the big win.

Under-23 coach Hwang Soon-hong was temporarily put in charge of two World Cup qualifiers in March, but his reputation suffered a major blow when South Korea failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

Sean said it was “really not easy” to be without a permanent manager, but added: “The players are making an effort to adapt, allowing us to play well in a relatively positive atmosphere.”

Klinsmann was sacked after just a year in charge after the Koreans were beaten 2-0 by underdogs Jordan in the Asian Cup.

Shortly before his dismissal, it emerged that there had been a clash on the eve of the semi-final between Son and Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in, leaving the skipper with a dislocated finger.

Klinsmann lifted the lid on the incident in an interview with The Athletic and blamed the Korea Football Association for scapegoating him.

“In Korean culture, someone has to take responsibility, take responsibility,” the former Germany striker said in the interview with ex-England striker Alan Shearer.

“They made us (the coaches) responsible for the game.”

The KFA were last month rejected in their search for Klinsmann’s successor by their top target Jesse Marsch when the former Leeds United boss opted for Canada.

The KFA have reportedly spoken to American Mars and Iraq’s Spain coach Jesus Casas, with Turkey’s 71-year-old Senol Gunes and former Saudi Arabia coach Herve Renard also pictured.

Klinsmann said the KFA should have known what they were getting when they hired him to replace Portugal’s Paulo Bento.

“I tried to adapt to a lot of things, but if you want me to adapt 100 to 100 percent of what you do, then why did you hire a foreigner in the first place?” he said.

“If you wanted it to just be the Korean way, it would be much easier to get a Korean coach, right?”