Football officials to meet over naming new national team coach

By Yoo Jee-ho SEOUL, June 19 (Yonhap) -- A day after South Korea qualified for its eighth consecutive FIFA World Cup, the Korea Football Association (KFA) announced a Wednesday meeting for football officials to discuss the naming of the new men's national team head coach. The KFA said members of its technical committee will open a meeting at noon Wednesday to find a replacement for the outgoing coach Choi Kang-hee. Choi took over the national team in December 2011, in the midst of the penultimate Asian qualification round for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and said from the beginning that he would only coach South Korea until the end of the final qualification stage, whether or not the team would actually make it to the World Cup. South Korea dropped to Iran 1-0 on Tuesday in Ulsan, about 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, but still earned one of four automatic berths to the quadrennial tournament given to Asia. After the match, Choi confirmed his intention to step down from the national team and return to his former professional club, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the domestic K League Classic. On Wednesday, the KFA said it accepted Choi's offer to resign as the national team bench boss. "We'd like to thank coach Choi for accomplishing the goal (of qualifying for the World Cup) in difficult circumstances," the KFA said in a statement. "We wish him all the best in his future endeavors." The KFA denied a local media report that Hong Myung-bo, former head coach of the South Korean men's Olympic team, has been tabbed as Choi's successor. An official of the KFA said Hong is "one of the candidates under review" but nothing has been determined. Hong, 44, has long been regarded as a front-runner among South Korean nationals, thanks to his success with national teams at lower-age groups. The former national team captain led South Korea's under-23 team to the bronze medal at the London Olympics last year for the country's first Olympic football medal. Before that, South Korea under Hong won bronze at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, also open only to players under 23 years of age. In 2009, Hong coached the U-20 national team to the country's first quarterfinals at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 18 years. Key players from the London Olympics have also made the senior national team during the qualifying rounds and are likely to stay on, which would mean familiarity with Hong's philosophy should he succeed Choi. Choi, on the other hand, has said a foreign coach on the national team would likely have more independence and leeway on the bench. South Korea has had mixed success with foreign coaches. The Dutchman Guus Hiddink guided South Korea to the semifinals at the 2002 World Cup, the country's best showing at the tournament, but those who came after him never quite matched that success. With Dick Advocaat, also from the Netherlands, as the head coach, South Korea earned its first away World Cup victory at the 2006 tournament in Germany but fell one point shy of a spot in the group stage. Then under South Korean coach Huh Jung-moo, the team made it past the group stage at the 2010 South Africa World Cup, the country's first appearance in the knockout stage at an away World Cup. Senol Gunes of Turkey is also seen as a viable candidate. The 61-year-old coached FC Seoul in the K League Classic from 2007 to 2009, finishing as the league runner-up in 2008. He took Turkey to the semifinals at the 2002 World Cup and has also enjoyed success with the Turkish pro club Trabzonspor. The new coach will likely be named within the next month or so. Starting on July 20, South Korea will host the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) East Asian Cup, a tournament that will bring together South Korea, Japan, Australia and China on the men's side. Between August and November, South Korea will also look to schedule some international friendlies. jeeho@yna.co.kr (END)