Progress of the Recruitment for the Korea National Team Interim Coach
The Korea Football Association has closed the application period for the interim national team coach position on August 9 at 17:00. The association will now conduct interviews with the external evaluation committee, aiming to complete the appointment of the interim coach by the 21st. According to a report by Wang Xiaorui from the Full Media of Sports Weekly, former Shanghai申花 coach Slusar is among the candidates, competing with former teammate Poyet for the position.
Recruitment Conditions and Candidates
The Korea Football Association requires applicants to provide personal resumes, self-introductions, team management plans, coaching licenses, and experience documents. The interim coach will mainly be responsible for the international A-level matches from September to November. If the team performs well, the coach may also have the opportunity to lead the national team in the Asian Cup in January next year. However, the association has stipulated that applicants must be a coaching team of 5-7 people, including local coaches.
Despite this, many well-known foreign coaches are not interested, and those currently employed in the K1 and K2 leagues are also unlikely to apply due to their contracts. Therefore, the final applicants mainly come from two groups: some unemployed local coaches and a few foreigners. Among them, the most closely watched candidates are Paul Bento and Poyet. Bento coached the national team from 2018 to 2022 and led the team to the 16th place in the Qatar World Cup, making him very popular. However, Bento did not apply. Poyet left the Saudi league recently and coached All South Korea in 2025, winning the K1 league and the Korean Football Association Cup, making him a strong contender after applying.
In addition, Slusar, who recently left Shanghai申花, and former assistant of Pep Guardiola, Domenech Torrent, are also among the candidates. Slusar is not short of job opportunities, as he was recently appointed as the head coach of the Russian national media football team, with a friendly match against the Tajikistan media team scheduled for September 4. However, after leaving Shanghai申花, there is a concern about whether Slusar will return to the Russian Premier League? In fact, his former club, CSKA Moscow, has been in constant communication with him, but they did not consider him a candidate for the new head coach position. In an interview, Slusar expressed his desire to continue his career in Asia, but he stated that his coaching career needs a break, and he has many things to do in the future.
Progress of the Korea Football Association's Selection Process
The Korea Football Association is still considering how to conduct the interviews after shortlisting the candidates. For example, will the interviews be face-to-face, or can they be conducted online? Another question is whether the interviews will be conducted in order of priority or with all candidates at the same time? The coaching committee has not yet made a decision. The Korea Football Association hopes to finalize the interim coach within 10 days, but it may take longer.
