The South Korea Football Association hope to appoint a new technical chief this week, the first step in a overhaul that will end with a new head coach after their disappointing World Cup showing in Brazil.
Former skipper Hong Myung-bo stepped down as coach after the Koreans managed just one point in their group stage exit in Brazil following losses to Belgium and Algeria, with technical head Hwangbo Kwan following him out of the door. The Korean FA met on Monday with Hwangbo’s successor the top priority, followed by a restructuring of the technical committee and the inclusion of former national team coaches to it before they appoint a new manager.
“The consensus at today’s meeting was that we must never rush to pick the new head coach,” KFA official Lee Hae-doo was quoted as saying by Yonhap News on Tuesday.
“I understand it may seem as though we might be taking too much time, but we all agreed that we’d rather err on the side of caution.”
Former Celtic player and head coach Neil Lennon has been linked with the role as has ex-Croatia international Robert Prosinecki. Northern Irishman Lennon coached South Korea internationals Ki Sung-yueng and Cha Du-ri during his time in Scotland. South Korea play friendly matches against Venezuela and Uruguay in September, with the Asian Cup in Australia fast approaching in January.
Fernandez heads list of possible Ivory Coast coaches
Four Frenchmen, including former international Luis Fernandez, have been named on a shortlist of five prospective candidates to take over as national coach of the Ivory Coast, the country’s football federation said.
Francis Gillot, Frederic Antonetti, Herve Renard and Fernandez are joined on the shortlist by Manuel Jose, the Portuguese coach who won four African Champions League titles during his time at Egyptian club Al Ahli.
The shortlist was put together from a list of 37 prospective candidates, unusually all named on the Ivorian Football Federation’s website (www.fif-ci.com).
A decision on the new coach must now be taken by the federation’s executive committee, who have previously promised to announce their final choice by the end of the month.
Fernandez, who won 60 caps and a European Championship title with France, last worked as national team coach of Israel but has been a radio pundit for the last three years.
Renard won the African Nations Cup with Zambia two years ago but last season, failed to save Sochaux from relegation from Ligue 1 after being brought in for the second half of the campaign.
Gillot was coach of Girondins Bordeaux last season while Antonetti has had a long career as a coach in Ligue 1, most recently with Stade Rennes.
The new Ivory Coast coach will take over from Sabri Lamouchi, whose two-year contract was not renewed after the country failed to reach the second round at the World Cup in Brazil. In September, the Ivorians begin the qualifiers for next year’s Nations Cup in Morocco.
