K League's two giants moving in opposite directions early in new season

The two best teams in South Korean football over the past four years are traveling in opposite directions in the early going of the 2023 season, with one club having won the first five matches of the season and the other having managed just one victory in the same stretch. Ulsan Hyundai FC and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors have reigned supreme in the K League 1 since 2019. Jeonbuk won titles in 2019, 2020 and 2021, with Ulsan finishing in second place in all three of those seasons. Ulsan finally claime

April 3, 2023

S. Korea chasing first win under Klinsmann in World Cup rematch vs. Uruguay

South Korea will take their second crack at winning their first match under new head coach Jurgen Klinsmann this week, hosting Uruguay in Seoul in a rematch of last year's FIFA World Cup. The kickoff between 25th-ranked South Korea and 16th-ranked Uruguay is set for 8 p.m. Tuesday at Seoul World Cup Stadium. South Korea settled for a 2-2 draw against Colombia on Friday, frittering away a 2-0 lead after the restart with some defensive breakdowns. Captain Son Heung-min scored both goals for t

March 27, 2023

Captain Sonny scores 1st goals in Klinsmann era

ULSAN -- Who else but Sonny? Son Heung-min, captain of the South Korean men's national football team, fittingly scored the first goal under new head coach Jurgen Klinsmann on Friday. In fact, Son had the first two goals for Klinsmann, though they weren't enough as South Korea settled for a 2-2 draw against Colombia at Munsu Football Stadium in the southeastern city of Ulsan. Son had been captain under the previous coach, Paulo Bento, for the past four years. Klinsmann, who was appointe

March 25, 2023

Klinsmann hints at increased role for young midfielder

Early in his tenure as head coach of the South Korean men's national football team, Jurgen Klinsmann has already displayed one major difference from his predecessor, Paulo Bento. Klinsmann, who was appointed on Feb. 27 and will make his South Korea coaching debut Friday night against Colombia, has not been shy about discussing merits of individual players. In Thursday's prematch press conference, Klinsmann touched upon an immensely popular player whose name Bento was loath to even ment

March 24, 2023

Under bright spotlight, Klinsmann sets out on mission to silence critics

PAJU -- South Korea's football friendly match against Colombia on Friday will be a rare occasion where one man on the bench will be under a brighter spotlight than any player on the pitch. It will be the South Korea coaching debut for Jurgen Klinsmann, a German football icon with an impeccable playing resume but a coaching CV with a few question marks. Klinsmann will also take the first step toward putting his fingerprints on a team that played for one head coach for the past 4 1/2 years.

March 22, 2023

Klinsmann inherits World Cup roster for S. Korea coaching debut

South Korea on Monday announced their 26-man national football roster for Jurgen Klinsmann's upcoming coaching debut for the Taegeuk Warriors, featuring many players who competed at last year's FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The Korea Football Association posted the squad list on its website, rather than have Klinsmann unveil the roster at a press conference, as is the tradition for national team announcements. Klinsmann, a German football legend, only arrived in South Korea last Wednesday.

March 13, 2023

New S. Korea football coach Klinsmann determined to end Asian Cup drought

INCHEON -- Jurgen Klinsmann, new head coach of the South Korean men's national football team, wasted little time stating his goal for the team: winning. "Our goal is to win the Asian Cup next year," the German football legend told reporters at Incheon International Airport early Wednesday, arriving in the country that announced his appointment at the end of February. "When you have a team and a history of the last 20, 25 years here, it was built by coaches like Guus Hiddink

March 8, 2023

[Graphic News] German icon Klinsmann named new men’s soccer head coach

Jurgen Klinsmann, a German World Cup hero synonymous with the country’s success in the 1990s, has been named the new head coach of the South Korean men’s national soccer team. The Korea Football Association said Monday Klinsmann has agreed to a deal that will take him through the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Klinsmann, 58, will make his South Korea coaching debut on March 24 in a friendly match against Colombia in Ulsan, some 30 kilometers sout

March 2, 2023

Incheon United coach looking to become mainstay in K League upper echelon

CHANGWON -- For years in the top South Korean football league, Incheon United barely avoided getting relegated to the second division, collecting just enough points near the end of the season to stay alive. That changed in 2022, when they finished in fourth place and punched their first ticket to the Asian Football Confederation Champions League, the top club competition on the continent. Head coach Jo Sung-hwan now wants his Incheon team to be a regular in the big tournament. "We have to

Feb. 15, 2023

[Graphic News] Messi named best player of 2022

A panel of 206 judges have selected the world’s top-100 male soccer players of 2022. Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who led Argentina to World Cup glory for the first time since 1986, was voted the No. 1 player of 2022, with Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe coming in at second place and Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema at third, according to British newspaper The Guardian. South Korea’s Son Heung-min placed at 26th, climbing 13 ranks from 39th place the previous year.

Feb. 7, 2023

Chasing knockout berth at Women's World Cup, top scorer sees parallels with men's tournament

ULSAN -- Preparing for her third FIFA Women's World Cup, South Korean star Ji So-yun couldn't help but notice parallels with the men's national team at their World Cup in Qatar last year. Starting in July in Australia, South Korea will play in Group H at the Women's World Cup against Colombia, Morocco and Germany: a South American team, an African side and a heavily favored European team, respectively. The South Korean men also played in Group H at their tournament against Ur

Jan. 31, 2023

S. Korean defender Park Ji-su signs with Portuguese club Portimonense

South Korean international defender Park Ji-su has signed with the Portuguese club Portimonense. The club unveiled Park as one of their five new signings on Thursday. Park, 28, is the second South Korean on the team, alongside the 19-year-old winger Kim Yong-hak. Park made his club debut with Incheon United in the K League 1 in 2013 and also had a stint with the Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande starting in 2019. Park spent the past two seasons with the South Korean military club Gimcheon Sangmu

Jan. 26, 2023

Scottish football champions Celtic sign S. Korean forward Oh Hyeon-gyu

The reigning Scottish club football champions Celtic have signed South Korea international Oh Hyeon-gyu. Celtic, who won the Scottish Premiership title last season and are also leading the competition this campaign, announced their acquisition of the 21-year-old Wednesday evening. Celtic said Oh's five-year deal is subject to international clearance. Financial terms weren't disclosed, but the transfer fee was reportedly 2.5 million euros ($2.7 million). Oh, formerly of Suwon Samsung Bl

Jan. 26, 2023

S. Korean coach ends successful Vietnam tenure with loss in regional tournament

It was a bitter ending of an otherwise successful run for South Korean football coach Park Hang-seo, as his Vietnamese team bowed out to Thailand with a regional title on the line Monday night. Thailand successfully defended their ASEAN Football Federation Championship title with a 1-0 victory over Vietnam in the second leg of the final, prevailing on a 3-2 aggregate. Thai captain Theerathon Bunmathan scored the lone goal in the match at Thammasat Stadium in Pathum Thani, Thailand. This was Park

Jan. 17, 2023

Son Heung-min ends drought in Spurs' rout of Crystal Palace

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min has found the back of the net for the first time in nine Premier League matches. Son scored off his left foot in the 72nd minute of Spurs' 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in London on Wednesday. Son now has four goals in 16 matches in the league this season. He had scored in only one other match this season, with a hat trick against Leicester City in September. This has been a down season for Son, who tied Mohamed Sal

Jan. 5, 2023

K League career assists leader Yeom Ki-hun back with Suwon Samsung as player-coach

Suwon Samsung Bluewings announced Monday their veteran midfielder Yeom Ki-hun will be back for one more season as a player-coach. Yeom, 39, had told the K League 1 club after the 2022 season that he wanted to retire. Head coach Lee Byung-geun, however, convinced him to return for another go, and Yeom agreed to a new one-year deal as a player-coach. Yeom made his K League debut with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in 2006 and joined Suwon four years later. Over the past dozen years, the crafty midfielder

Jan. 2, 2023

From WBC to Asian Games, no shortage of intl. sports competitions for S. Korea in 2023

The Beijing Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar bookended the action-packed sporting year of 2022 for South Korea. And there will be no shortage of international events for the country in the new year, with the World Baseball Classic getting the ball rolling in March. It will be followed by the FIFA Women's World Cup in July, with Australia and New Zealand as co-hosts. The 19th Asian Games, postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are scheduled for September in the Chin

Jan. 2, 2023

Sans mask, Son Heung-min can't keep Spurs from home loss to Aston Villa

Playing without his protective mask for the first time since suffering facial injuries in November, Son Heung-min still couldn't guide Tottenham Hotspur past Aston Villa at home on New Year's Day. Son tossed aside his black facial mask midway through the first half of a Premier League match against Aston Villa at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday (local time). He appeared visibly frustrated after getting stripped of the ball in the preceding play and played the rest of the

Jan. 2, 2023

Pele tributes from around the world

Pele, the Brazilian soccer legend who died of cancer Wednesday at age 82, is widely regarded as one of the best players in sports history. His numerous accolades include being the only player to win three World Cups in 1958, 1962 and 1970, and being the most prolific goal-scorer in Brazil’s history by netting 77 goals, a record he shares with Neymar. In 1999, the International Olympic Committee elected Pele the Athlete of the Century, while he was also selected as FIFA Player of the Centur

Dec. 30, 2022

Pele, Brazil’s mighty king of ‘beautiful game,’ has died

Pele, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died Thursday. He was 82. The standard-bearer of “the beautiful game” had undergone treatment for colon cancer since 2021. The medical center where he had been hospitalized for the last month said he died of multiple organ failure as a result of the cancer. “Pele changed everything. He transformed football into art, entertainment,”

Dec. 30, 2022