Mark Fotheringham (40), a former interim analyst on the Klinsmann, has spoken out in praise of former South Korea national soccer team coach Jürgen Klinsmann (50).
On July 7 (KST), Scottish newspaper The Courier published an interview with Fotheringham. Fotheringham reflected on his career as a professional player, coach, manager, 토토 and professional scout.
He also talked about Klinsmann. Fotheringham joined the South Korean national team during the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar as part of the analytics staff. Klinsmann reportedly reached out to him directly to recruit him.
However, Klinsmann’s Asian Cup campaign, which featured an all-time great squad and an all-time great staff, ended in failure. South Korea struggled throughout the tournament and were eliminated in the quarterfinals with a 0-2 loss to Jordan.
With a golden generation that included Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), they were never able to dominate their opponents. Furthermore, he was criticized for failing to manage the squad, with squad discord erupting.
In the end, Klinsmann was sacked on March 16 after less than a year in charge. “Coach Klinsmann has not shown the leadership and leadership required of a national team coach, such as game management, player management, and work attitude to bring out the competitiveness of the national team,” said President Chung Mong-kyu.
But Fotheringham disagreed. “Fotheringham’s enthusiasm was fueled by his ‘unforgettable adventure’ with the Koreans in Qatar,” The Courier reports. The more experienced Klinsmann was ruthlessly dismissed, and harsh reviews rang out, but Fotheringham was full of praise for Klinsmann.”
“It’s easy to see how Klinsmann accomplished what he did,” Fotheringham said. “He’s a very positive person, and he has a real presence. He also knows how to handle the biggest stars,” Fotheringham said, rebutting Chung’s criticism.
“It’s not always about discipline. Klinsmann treats his staff and players in a loving manner and allows everyone to work freely.”
In conclusion, Fotheringham said: “It’s been an amazing experience, they are very friendly and passionate people. From a soccer perspective, it was great to see how world-class players like Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-Jae and Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min work,” he reflects on the Qatar Asian Cup.
However, Duisburg coach Michael Pretz, 57, is unlikely to agree with Fotheringham’s assertion. He was linked with Klinsmann in 2019 when he was the head coach of Hertha. Pretz invested heavily in Klinsmann, who was taking a break after parting ways with the US national team at the time.
But it was a bad match. Klinsmann resigned abruptly after only two months. He announced his decision on Facebook Live without any consultation with the club, which was a real slap in the face. Hertha’s management was slammed for standing by, and the fans were furious, saying “the coach ran away”.
In a recent interview with Germany’s Bild, he was asked if he could bring Klinsmann back to Duisburg, and he laughed: “I think the world would have to end before that…”. As if to say that there was no way he would ever bring Klinsmann back.
“Of all the coaches during my time at Hertha, I was most disillusioned with Klinsmann. I have not had any contact with him since his legendary resignation from Hertha, and I don’t need to change that,” he said.