Jeonbuk in crisis, former coach Kim Sang-sik goes to Germany

Jeonbuk will have a shaky start to this season. It has failed to garner a single win in the opening five games of the 2024 season, and is currently at the bottom of the K-League 1 ranking.

The modifier for Jeonbuk teams has been “famous” or “famous.” “Last place” Jeonbuk is unfamiliar. Due to sluggish performance in the early days of the season, coach Petrescu stepped down after 10 months. Jeonbuk, which broke up with Kim Sang-sik last season due to poor performance, also ended the season with a tough finish with its successor. With the situation turning out to be like this, some fans in Jeonbuk are wondering where Kim Sang-sik will go, saying, “Things are better then.”

The Olympic soccer team led by Hwang Seon-hong was summoned to Incheon International Airport on Wednesday to leave for the upcoming U-23 Asian Cup, which will determine the qualification for the Paris Olympics. Coincidentally, former coach Kim Sang-sik stayed at the same venue on the day. However, he was at the airport two hours ahead of the Olympic team. And the destination was Germany, not Qatar, which is different from the Olympic team.

Kim Sang-sik, former coach of KBS, who visited the airport to cover the departure of the Olympic soccer team while quietly leaving for Germany earlier in the day, said, “I’ve had enough rest now. I’m going to stay in Germany for about a month to study the flow of world soccer.” In particular, he added, “I will meet Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) who played for Jeonbuk in the past, and watch and study their games in person.”

Coach Kim Sang-sik was the first player to watch Mainz Lee Jae-seong play after arriving in Germany. In the game, Lee Jae-seong scored two goals and one assist, literally “one man show,” and led his team to a landslide 4-0 victory against Darmstadt. Starting with Lee Jae-seong’s game, Kim Sang-sik plans to spend a long period of time to watch and observe the game again. After taking a break for about six months after leaving the baton of Jeonbuk last season, Kim Sang-sik is seeking to resume his leadership activities by applying for the position of head coach of the Vietnamese national soccer team. According to Vietnamese media, the Vietnam Football Association received application documents from five foreign leaders regarding the position of head coach of the Vietnamese national team, including former Jeonbuk coach Kim Sang-sik and former Ulsan coach Kim Do-hoon.

Jeonbuk, which is currently at the bottom of this season, is also planning to make a fresh start to reverse the mood of the season with coach Kim Sang-sik preparing for a fresh start. The appointment of the next coach is the first step. Rumors are circulating in the soccer community that foreign coaches, Indonesian national soccer team coach Shin Tae-yong, and Jeonbuk Legend-turned-Ulsan coach Kim Do-hoon are being considered candidates. Some are expressing concern over the possible repetition of issues raised by the appointment of foreign coaches under Petrescu, while Shin Tae-yong is currently in charge of the Indonesian team, and former coach Kim Do-hoon is currently in charge of the K-League, two years after the absence of K-League leadership. Since the team has played only six league matches, Jeonbuk’s mood rebound is sufficient after the appointment of the new coach.

Fans are more interested than ever in whether Jeonbuk will be able to move up to the top ranks that it has been in, rather than the current ranking after the appointment of a new coach.

BY: 스포츠토토