SEOUL, Former K League coach Kim Do-hoon served as South Korea’s caretaker manager for their two World Cup qualifying matches this month, a stint that ended with a 1-0 win over China in Seoul on Tuesday.

Though Kim was only with the team for less than two weeks, the 53-year-old tactician said he is taking away memories that will last a lifetime.

“It’s been an honor to be able to work with these players. I’ve been really happy,” Kim said at his postmatch press conference at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul. “I’ve been impressed with the professionalism and work ethic of these players. The backroom staff worked tirelessly behind the scene, and that was really touching as well.”

South Korea have been without a full-time head coach since Jurgen Klinsmann was fired on Feb. 16, days after the Taegeuk Warriors were eliminated in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. And instead of rushing to name Klinsmann’s replacement, the Korea Football Association (KFA) went with Hwang Sun-hong,
then head coach of the men’s under-23 national team, as the caretaker boss for two World Cup qualifying matches in March.

The KFA then set out to appoint the new coach by early May. But after talks with multiple candidates broke down, the KFA named Kim as the second temporary head coach on May 20. South Korea then gathered for training camp in Singapore on June 2 and beat Singapore 7-0 four days later, before coming home this week for the win over China.

“After getting an offer for this position, I thought long and hard about whether I should take it or not,” Kim said. “I decided I wanted to give back to football for everything it has done for me, especially at a difficult juncture for the national team.”

Kim said he’s only glad to have taken the job, though he doesn’t want the KFA to resort to another caretaker coach again.

“Personally, I was able to identify a lot of things that I have to do when I get to coach a team later,” said Kim, who previously led Incheon United and Ulsan HD FC in the K League an
d Lion City Sailors in Singapore. “But I hope I will be the last caretaker manager for this team. There’s a lot of pressure on this position, and I experienced my share of challenges. But the players were really cooperative and followed my lead.”

Kim said he hoped to see a new, full-time coach who can steer South Korea in the right direction.

“I think we are capable of winning the possession battles and controlling matches,” Kim said. “With the players that are available, I think we have to play a proactive brand of football. In order to maximize our talent, we have to possess the ball and dominate matches.”

Source: Yonhap News Agency