Ulsan has released an official statement on the news that Hong Myung-bo has left Ulsan HD to take the helm of the South Korean national team, but fans’ anger has not subsided.
On July 7, the Korea Football Association announced, “Hong Myung-bo has been nominated as the next head coach of the national soccer team. At 10 a.m. on the 8th, at the Football Hall, Lee Im-seng, general director of the technical center, will brief the relevant contents,” the KFA announced.
The soccer federation has been searching for a new coach for five months after the sacking of Jürgen Klinsmann. Foreign managers such as Jesse March and Senol Günesch were among the candidates, but domestic coaches were also on the shortlist. Two interim coaches were appointed to allow for more careful consideration and to ensure that the appointment would be satisfactory to most. Hwang Sun-hong and Kim Do-hoon were entrusted with the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 North and Central American World Cup.
After four games, the finalists were announced. According to the Power Enhancement Committee, which was in charge of the selection, there were two domestic coaches and four foreign coaches. The list includes Hong Myung-bo, who has been consistently touted as the next coach.
Then, Jeong Jung-sung, the chairman of the Power Enhancement Committee, suddenly announced his resignation, and Lee took over the task of selecting a coach. Lee traveled to Europe and met with Gus Poyet and Davit Wagner, who were considered the finalists for the job, but neither met the requirements, so Lee met with Hong Myung-bo himself. After a day of deliberation, Hong accepted the job.
It was a different decision from what Hong had said. When his name kept coming up, he said, “If the Football Association brings in someone more experienced and accomplished than me, my name will naturally not come up. My position is always the same, so fans shouldn’t worry,” he said. He reassured Ulsan fans that he would not be the national team coach.
He also made a strong statement. “Looking at the whole process until the appointment of Klinsmann and what happened afterward, I would like to ask how 카지노사이트 추천 much the KFA has learned. If there is anyone in the KFA who acted for personal gain in this case, I hope they will quickly think of other options. Otherwise, there will be no progress.”
Hong Myung-bo made it clear that he would never coach the national team, but the technician persuaded him to accept the job.
Ulsan fans were furious. They were angry at the decision of the Korean Football Association to suddenly remove the head coach in the middle of the season, and they were angry that Hong Myung-bo, who had reassured the fans, suddenly made a different decision.
Ulsan released a statement. “Coach Hong Myung-bo is leaving, and many fans are upset. They are also angry that he broke promises, lied to them, and didn’t respect them. We fully respect the feelings of our fans,” he said.
Ulsan continued, “Coach Hong is going to Kookmin University. We sent him a message from time to time that if we failed to select a national team coach and he asked us to help him, we should help him. It’s not because our club takes the league lightly or takes the goals of the club and the wishes of the fans lightly, because we have our own pride and confidence, but we don’t deny that the final decision and responsibility is his own.”
Finally, Ulsan concluded, “But Coach Hong is ours to let go. If someone is moved by new challenges and goals, they should be let go. The time has come for him to leave. We want him to have a nice send-off,” and added, “We ask the fans to have a nice parting with Mr. Hong. Making fans happy is the reason for our club’s existence. I will make you happy because I am a fan of Ulsan. I hope we can overcome this difficult situation with the club and move forward with one mind.”
The organization asked fans to give Hong a good send-off as he was moved by the new challenges and goals of being the national team’s head coach, but that didn’t quell the anger of Ulsan fans.
The social media posts announcing the statement were dominated by angry comments from Ulsan fans. Some fans told the team not to pack up because there is no such thing as a goodbye, while others criticized the selection process, saying that Hong Myung-bo had broken the process he created.
The statement did not make up for the federation’s decision to remove the head coach of a team in contention for the title in the middle of the season and Hong’s sudden change of heart after reassuring fans that there would be no national team coach. Ulsan fans are still burning with anger over the inexplicable decision.