▲ Former South Korean national football team manager Hong Myung-bo, who resigned after failing to advance to the Round of 32 at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, arrives at Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 on June 30.
Arrigo Sacchi, the 80-year-old Italian master and pioneer of pressing football, did not make a name for himself as a player.
After playing in Italy's lower leagues and retiring in his mid-20s, he worked as a shoe salesman by day and studied tactics by night, nurturing his dream of becoming a great manager.
When he finally took the helm of the prestigious AC Milan at age 41 after strenuous efforts, the Italian media mocked him, asking, "Is a shoe salesman going to teach football to stars?"
However, Sacchi immediately dispelled such prejudices by leading the team to a Serie A title in his first season.
The remark he left behind at the time is still cited as a classic in managerial theory.
"To be a jockey, you don't have to be a horse."
Conversely, Diego Maradona, the "God of Football," remained a failure as a manager.
Despite national expectations, he led Argentina in the 2010 South Africa World Cup but was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Brazilian football hero Zico took charge of the Japanese national team for the 2006 Germany World Cup but tasted the bitterness of being eliminated in the group stage.
Jurgen Klinsmann, the legendary German striker, also took the South Korean managerial post based on his reputation, only to step down with the stigma of being an irresponsible manager.
South Korea is no different.
Lee Hoe-taik, known as the "Leopard of Asia," recorded three losses in the group stage at the 1990 Italy World Cup.
Cha Bum-kun, who dominated the European stage, was dismissed after a 0-5 crushing defeat to the Netherlands at the 1998 France World Cup.
The failure of many star-turned-managers is often compared to the inability of a genius to understand the average person.
This is because they overlook the fact that plays that are effortless for them as geniuses are not easy at all for the players.
The role of a manager is to help individual players understand their own sense and tactics and to bind them into a cohesive unit, but those who were stars are often unskilled at these basics.
When the team does not function as expected, they often express frustration by saying, "Are you even a player?" or "Is this a team?" instead of offering warm encouragement.
From that moment on, players develop resentment, thinking, "Do you think you're special just because you were a star?" and the manager's leadership begins to falter.
Manager Hong Myung-bo has finally resigned, taking responsibility for the team's elimination in the group stage of the North and Central America World Cup.
His departure, as a living legend of Korean football once called the "Eternal Libero," is more than just a personal failure; it is a loss that South Korean football must bear together.
Now, as South Korean football faces the task of choosing a new leader, it must move away from the practice of appointing managers based solely on their reputation and past glory as players.
Guus Hiddink, who created the miracle of reaching the semifinals in the 2002 World Cup, was not a star player, but he became a world-class manager by demonstrating leadership that drew out the potential of his players and united them as one team.
For South Korean football to choose a "good manager" rather than a "star manager," it must first break away from the culture of "cronyism," such as selecting players and hiring coaches based on their university affiliations.
If the sport continues to bring back past stars without cutting out these deep-rooted problems, Hong Myung-bo's failure will only be the beginning of another.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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