Korea waits for Dutch coach`s decision over coaching job

Only a decision remains before the top on the shortlist for the next Korean national soccer team’s manager, the Netherlands’ Bert van Marwijk, is named.

Technical Committee chief Lee Yong-soo of the Korea Football Association (KFA) said during a briefing on the next head coach held at the KFA headquarters on Thursday that he had met van Marwijk in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He is one of the three candidates for the job. The Dutch football manager expressed interest in taking the helm of the Korean national soccer team. Yet no conclusion or agreement has been reached, Lee said.

Lee left for the Netherlands with KFA Vice Chairman Kim Dong-dae and International Affairs Division chief Jeon Han-jin on Tuesday and met with van Marwijk for approximately two hours there. Lee said the Dutch coach knew more about Korean soccer than they had expected. According to Lee, he knew about how the Korean team played during the Brazil World Cup, as well as the names of the players and how they played. His high interest in Korea was apparent, Lee said.

After the interview, van Marwijk asked for more time to consider. The KFA hopes he will inform his acceptance of the offer within one week going forward.

Unusual is that the KFA met only van Marwijk in Europe. It was different from past practice, where all candidates were met with and negotiations held. Lee said the schedule for meeting with was done in a hurry and the other candidates were not scheduled beforehand, so due to the short notice, they met with only van Marwijk. The KFA has not even contacted the other two.

On the way van Marwijk has become the top priority in negotiations with the KFA, Lee said the Dutch coach has experience in reaching the finals of the World Cup, which sets him apart from the others on the shortlist. He also had good results while coaching European club teams.

A KFA official said it appears the KFA did not even want to meet the other two in the first place. Lee, who has his eye on van Marwijk, has ostensibly said that there were three candidates to get leverage on negotiations.