“It was really hard for a while, being in the media against my will. I didn’t know anything, and it was a difficult time.”

Hong Myung-bo, the coach of professional soccer’s K League 1 (1st Division) Ulsan HD, who is leading the team’s bid for a third consecutive title, has drawn a line in the sand, saying that it was “a difficult time” when his name was recently mentioned in connection with the appointment of the national soccer team’s head coach.

Hong made the remarks to reporters at the Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu on Saturday ahead of the ‘Hana Bank K League 2024 K League Opening Media Day’.

The Korea Football Association sacked Germany coach Jürgen Klinsmann on Jan. 16 after the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar and began searching for a new head coach.

The KFA has decided to put out the fire with an interim coach in time for the Asian second qualifying round of the 2026 North American World Cup in March.

In the early stages,

However, a domestic coach was the leading candidate, and naturally, Hong’s name was among the favorites after overseeing two consecutive K League 1 titles.

With the K League Kickoff just around the corner, 스포츠토토 the association’s move to appoint a coach from the league in a one-way street was met with a lot of public backlash.

In particular, Ulsan supporters ‘Churyong Warriors’ issued a statement saying, “We strongly condemn the appointment of all active K League managers, including Hong Myung-bo, and will not hesitate to make any effort to defend them.”

“The K League is no longer the sole preserve of the association, but the result of the efforts of fans, players, clubs, and managers,” he said, “We demand that the entire discussion on the appointment of the league’s active managers be nullified and declare that we will not hesitate to take any collective action to achieve this.”

“It was hard (the fans’ protests),” Hong said, “I was in the association before, and now I’m in the K League, and it hurt my heart to see people in important positions confront each other like this. It was hard because (the name) kept coming up,” he said.

“Last year, three million people came to the K League, and it’s important to get more people to come this season,” he said, adding, “Let’s talk about the K League now.”

As for his goals for the season, he said, “We lost two consecutive K League 1 titles, so of course a third is a big goal.”