Search Leads to Spanish Coach: Who Is the New National Team Manager With No Pro Playing Career?

The vacant position for the head coach of the South Korean men's national football team, left empty since former manager Hong Myung-bo's departure, has finally been filled.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) held a board meeting today (Sept. 1) at the Korea Football Park in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, and approved the appointment of Spanish manager Robert Moreno as the interim head coach of the national team.

Manager Moreno will lead the team for six A-match games scheduled from September to November.

Well known as the former assistant coach to Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique, Moreno marks the first Spanish manager to take the helm of the South Korean national team.

Previously, a negotiation committee led by National Team Committee Chairman Hyun Young-min departed for Europe to meet with candidates in person and conduct negotiations.

While candidates such as Domènec Torrent, who served as Pep Guardiola's right-hand man, and Jesus Casas, the current manager of Singapore's Lion City Sailors, were on the shortlist, Moreno was ultimately chosen.

Although Moreno has a meager playing career with no professional experience during his active days, he began his coaching career in his 20s.

His coaching career began to blossom after meeting Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique.

Starting with AS Roma in 2011, he assisted manager Enrique at Barcelona and with the Spanish national team.

During the 2014–2015 season, he helped Barcelona achieve a treble.

Moreno has shown interest in the South Korean national team manager position for a long time.

He expressed interest in moving to South Korea and even had actual contact when the association was searching for a successor to former manager Paulo Bento, but the Korea Football Association chose Jürgen Klinsmann at that time.

Having applied once again when the open recruitment was posted this time, Moreno reportedly received high marks for his meticulous preparation.

(Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Lee Da-in | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.