FIFA released several photos on its official channel on the 6th (Korea time) as it announced the meeting between Chairman Chung Mong-gyu and Infantino in Paris. Chairman Chung Mong-gyu presented Infantino with his autobiography "The Age of Football - 30 Years of Jung Mong-gyu Football," which was recently published by Infantino at FIFA's Paris office.
According to FIFA's official channel, Chung Mong-kyu talked about Korean soccer for about two minutes after presenting Infantino with his autobiography. He said, "We talked about the reality of Korean soccer and the situation of soccer in Asia and around the world. The surprising phenomenon in Korea is that the soccer fan base is highly established. Soccer has traditionally been a men's sport for 30, 40, and 50 years, but now there are many female fans as well. This is a new phenomenon in Korean soccer."
Chairman Chung Mong-gyu said, "Football is important for everyone. It is even more so for those in need. Soccer can change lifestyles and lives. It will give a great boost to those in need. We think FIFA's plan is really good. It is an honor to hold an important event in Korea."
Currently, the Korea Football Association is in an inflection point. It plans to move to the Cheonan Football Center in the future, opening a new chapter in Korean soccer. The national training center is being relocated from Paju to Cheonan, which is a massive 300 million dollars (about 413.5 billion won). According to Chung Mong-kyu, FIFA has reportedly provided an additional 2 million dollars (about 2.7 billion won) in addition to the basic 5 million dollars (about 6.8 billion won).
However, soccer fans' public sentiment towards Chung Mong-gyu is not favorable. Under a clear process at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Korea succeeded in advancing to the round of 16 teams after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but everything collapsed after the World Cup in Qatar.
Coach Klinsmann, who led the Asian Cup, was appointed by Chairman Chung Mong-gyu in a "top-down" manner. Coach Klinsmann had been calling for the Asian Cup title since his inauguration, but failed to lead the team properly. Rather than focusing on the national team, he was busy flying to the U.S. and Europe under excuse, and he repeated his poor performance at the Asian Cup to advance to the semifinals due to the individual capabilities of the team, but failed to win the title in the end.
As criticism grew against Klinsmann, he was sacked in a surprise move and sought the next coach. However, the process failed again this time, and Lee Im-saeng, the executive director of the department, gave a "eupso" to Hong Myung-bo, leading to controversy over the appointment process and a substantial audit by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Of course, Chairman Chung Mong-gyu argued in the essay that he was not at fault. "Korean soccer fans and the public seem to expect leadership like a father or a teacher from the national team coach," he said. "Coach Clinsman had a firm belief that each of us should be professional. He tried to be as free as possible in his daily life, activities at his lodging, and mealtimes. Through the Asian Cup incident, I realized the subtle relationship between creativity and the spirit of the original team, which is the most important in soccer," he said. "More than 50 energetic young men dominate the match between Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in, which will lead to emotional ups and downs and sensitive situations. There may be annoying and unsatisfactory things, but good results will come only when we respect and encourage each other. I need trust that the player next to me is not good enough for me and that I can prevent my mistakes. Everyone, not only the players but also the staff, becomes one, and only when they show restrained and mature attitudes without expressing their feelings or feelings as they are, can they become one team," he said, pointing an arrow at the players.
Chairman Chung Mong-gyu's unstable leadership became a voice of criticism during the Paris Olympics as well. Soccer fans are insisting that Chung Mong-gyu be out after the Archery Association, led by Chairman Chung Eui-sun, selected athletes in a transparent process and swept medals at the Paris Olympics.
In fact, there was a situation where people could not watch soccer for the first time in 40 years at the Olympics. At that time, Hwang Sun-hong was leading the Olympic team, and at the most important moment, he chose to temporarily join the "A" team in March. The Korean national team failed to advance to the finals of the Olympics after losing to Indonesia at the U-23 Asian Cup (Olympic Qualifier).
BY: 메이저놀이터