Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Seoul: The Korea Football Association (KFA) is set to continue its search for a new national team coach after Dutchman Bert van Marwijk turned the role down at the weekend.
Van Marwijk, who guided the Netherlands to the FIFA World Cup final in 2010, had been in prolonged talks with the KFA, but issues surrounding tax and how much time the 62-year-old was willing to spend in Korea saw the discussions come to an end.
"I feel bad that the negotiations with Van Marwijk did not work out," Lee Yong-soo, head of the KFA's technical committee, told reporters on Monday.
"We did not have much time so we asked him to make a decision by last Friday, but the final response from him was a 'no.'"
The KFA had previously revealed that it had considered 17 local and 30 international candidates for the position, before reducing that list to just three foreign coaches.
"Of the many qualities we are looking for in a new coach for the national team, the most important requirement is how passionate the coach is about Korean football and how devoted he is to advancing the level of Korean football," Lee added.
Korea Republic will continue their preparations for next year's AFC Asian Cup extravaganza when they face Venezuela and Uruguay in September friendlies.
At the Asian Cup itself, Korea Republic have been drawn in Group A. They will begin their campaign against Oman on January 10, before facing Kuwait three days later, and host nation Australia on January 17.
Photo: AFP
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