German Legend Jürgen Klinsmann Named Korean Football Head Coach

Legendary German forward Jürgen Klinsmann will take the helm of the Korean national squad.

The Korea Football Association on Monday said that it has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Klinsmann as head coach of the national team that will take him through the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.

He will arrive in Korea next week and guide the Korean squad in a friendly match against Colombia in Ulsan on March 24 as he starts his job here.

Making his professional debut in 1981 with Stuttgarter Kickers, he had an illustrious playing career that stretched across Europe, playing for Inter Milan (1989-1992), Tottenham Hotspur (1994-1995) and Bayern Munich (1995-1997). He gained the nickname "the Golden Bomber" and is considered one of the best German strikers of the modern era, finishing the 1987-88 season as the Bundesliga's top scorer. He was also the runner-up in 1995 for the Ballon d'Or, which recognizes the best football player in all European leagues.

Klinsmann has a history with Korea, scoring twice in Germany's 3-2 defeat of the country in a group match during the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.

He coached the German national team after retiring in 2004 and helped the squad reach third place in the 2006 World Cup on home turf. He then became coach of Bayern Munich in 2008, but was sacked in less than a year.

In 2011 he was appointed head coach of the U.S. national team and under his guidance the team won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2013 and advanced to the round of 16 in the 2014 World Cup. But he was fired in 2016 when the U.S. suffered consecutive losses during regional qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and finished at the bottom of the qualification table. During his five years as coach, the U.S. national team won 55 matches, tied in 27 and lost 16.

"I'm very happy and honored to be following in the footsteps of great coaches who have directed the Korean national team," said Klinsmann, who succeeds Portuguese coach Paulo Bento, who stepped down after guiding Korea to the round of 16 in last year's World Cup in Qatar.

"I know that the Korean national team has been improving and achieving results over a long period of time. I will do my best to achieve successful results in the upcoming Asian Cup and 2026 World Cup," he added.