After former head coach Hong Myung-bo stepped down, the South Korean men’s national soccer team appointed a new leader.
However, Roberto Moreno’s appointment was not an announcement confirming a long-term head coach; it is an interim system with a defined duration and number of matches.
The explanation surrounding Son Heung-min’s selection should also be distinguished as the position of former head coach Hong Myung-bo’s side.
3-line summary
1. Moreno was appointed on an interim basis after former head coach Hong Myung-bo
2. The contract runs through November 27, and he will lead 6 matches
3. Whether to extend the arrangement will be decided after evaluating the 6 matches
The Vacancy Left by Former Head Coach Hong Myung-bo Was Filled Through an Open Hiring Process
According to a report by Kyunghyang Shinmun, after former head coach Hong Myung-bo stepped down following the South Korean men’s A national team’s elimination from the 2026 North and Central American World Cup group stage, the position of head coach became vacant. On September 1, the Korea Football Association held a board meeting at Korea Football Park in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do, and approved the appointment of an interim coaching staff, including head coach Roberto Moreno.
Moreno is a coach from Spain. It was reported that he is the first Spanish coach to take charge of South Korea’s men’s A national team. This appointment was conducted through an open hiring process, and it was also described as the first case in which the Football Association selected an A national team head coach through open recruitment.
The candidates were reviewed in the order of document evaluation, online interviews, and in-person discussions. Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that, in addition to Moreno, Domènec Torrent and Jesús Casas were included among the final candidates. The reasons cited for the Football Association’s final selection included data-based tactical design, the ability to analyze opponents, and an understanding of Korean soccer.
In a report by SPOTV NEWS, former Technical Development Committee chairman Hyun Young-min explained that Moreno presented various tactical alternatives and that his enthusiasm was impressive. This was the evaluation stated by the Football Association during the appointment process. A change in the national team’s atmosphere or an improvement in performance was an area in which the chairman expressed expectations, not a result confirmed by the appointment alone.
Through November 27, the Assignment Is 6 A Matches
Moreno’s contract runs through November 27. The key point is that he is an interim head coach who will lead 6 A matches in total: two matches in September, two in October, and two in November. Therefore, the fact that a new head coach has been appointed and the statement that a long-term system has been decided do not mean the same thing.
Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that the contract includes conditions under which it may be extended through next year’s Asian Cup after evaluating performance and results over the 6 matches. There are reports that conditions permitting an extension exist, but there has been no report that the extension itself has already been decided.
The first match was reported to be scheduled for the Ecuador match on the 24th. This will be followed by the Uruguay match on the 28th, then matches against Venezuela and Uzbekistan in October, with two more A matches scheduled in November. SPOTV NEWS reported that the Ecuador match will be held at Suwon World Cup Stadium and the Uruguay match at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
Through the official website, Moreno described taking charge of the South Korean national team as both an honor and a grave responsibility. He said that he would not promise results but would promise effort, honesty, and respect, and he also made remarks to the effect that if there were things he needed to say, he would show them on the field. These were the coach’s own comments about taking office.
His History Assisting Enrique Is Separate From New Results With the National Team
Moreno is known for having assisted head coach Luis Enrique for an extended period. According to Kyunghyang Shinmun, he assisted Enrique at FC Barcelona from 2014 through 2017, and worked as a coach for the Spanish national team in 2018∼2019. In 2019, when Enrique was away from his position, Moreno served as head coach of the Spanish national team and led the UEFA European Championship qualifiers.
SPOTV NEWS reported that he later led France’s AS Monaco, Spain’s Granada, and Russia’s PFC Sochi. The coaching staff appointed alongside him included assistant head coach Eduardo Docampo and Jacint Magriñá, Víctor Bravo de Soto, Javier Chocarro, and Nico Bosch.
This career can be viewed as part of the background behind the Football Association’s evaluation of Moreno. However, it is not yet possible to determine what performance or results his past analytical and tactical experience will produce with the South Korean national team before the evaluation of the 6 matches. This is why it is necessary to distinguish among the interim appointment, the contract end date, and the possibility of an extension after evaluation.
Discussion of Son Heung-min’s Selection Is an Explanation From the Former Head Coach’s Side
Former head coach Hong Myung-bo’s side explained to KBS that, during preparations for the North and Central American World Cup match against Mexico, there had indeed been discussion of leaving Son Heung-min out of the starting lineup due to concerns about his performance. However, the position of the former head coach’s side is that this discussion involved performance and tactical considerations unrelated to the so-called interview boycott.
According to the former head coach’s side, the final decision was made to start Son Heung-min in consideration of the importance of the match against Mexico. It also stated that no report concerning the interview boycott had been made to former Football Association president Chung Mong-gyu, and that the starting lineup had not been discussed with anyone outside the coaching staff.
What is confirmed here is the scope of the explanation given by former head coach Hong Myung-bo’s side. Both the point that there had been discussion of leaving Son out of the starting lineup and the explanation that the reason was not the interview boycott were conveyed as that side’s position. What has been confirmed under Moreno’s system is that he will lead 6 matches through November; whether the team will be operated on a long-term basis will be evaluated afterward.
References
Tags #HongMyung-bo #CoachHongMyung-bo #RobertoMoreno #CoachMoreno #NationalSoccerTeam #KoreanSoccer #KoreaFootballAssociation #ANationalTeam #SonHeung-min #NorthAndCentralAmericanWorldCup #InterimCoach #NationalTeamSoccer