[Anchor]
While the Korea Football Association has decided to play all remaining A-matches this year under an interim manager system, Gus Poyet, who managed K League club Jeonbuk last year, told our reporting team that he is willing to apply through the open recruitment, stating that being an interim manager is also fine.
Reporter Hong Seok-jun has the details.
[Reporter]
Last week, the KFA decided to play all six scheduled A-matches this year under an interim manager system and appoint a permanent head coach through the incoming executive board, sparking concerns.
Under the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee's newly reinforced regulations, openly recruiting an interim manager along with their coaching staff could narrow the pool of candidates. In addition, a permanent manager taking the helm in November would face major constraints, heading straight into the Asian Cup without any preliminary matches.
However, Poyet, who has consistently shown enthusiasm for the national team coaching job, reaffirmed his intention to apply despite these circumstances.
In an SNS message sent to SBS, Poyet responded, "Being an interim manager is fine," adding, "I am willing to help South Korean football in this year's friendly matches."
Having led Jeonbuk to a double by winning both the regular league and the cup competition last year, he expressed confidence, stating, "I know South Korean players well" and "I can do a good job."
When asked whether the original coaching staff from his Jeonbuk days would apply together, he kept silent, citing confidentiality.
The KFA plans to finalize the schedule and evaluation methods and issue a public notice this week. As criticisms continued over the new method that reduced the authority of the National Team Committee, the K-Football Innovation Committee stated yesterday (July 27) that it would discuss ways to enhance the committee's independence and the rationality of the appointment process.
(Video Reported by Hwang In-seok | Video Edited by Hwang Ji-young | Design by Hwang Se-yeon)
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