Jurgen Klinsmann was fired as head coach of the South Korean men's national football team Friday, days after the country suffered a disappointing exit at the top Asian tournament. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said it informed Klinsmann of its decision to sack him following a 2.5-hour meeting held by its president, Chung Mong-gyu, with other senior executives. Klinsmann wrote a thank-you message to his players just after 1 p.m. on his Instagram. Chung is scheduled to hold a press conference to formally announce his decision around 2:40 p.m. at the KFA House. The move comes after South Korea lost to Jordan 2-0 without a shot on goal in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar on Feb. 6, with Chung in attendance. The shocking loss to a team ranked 64 spots below ended South Korea's dreams of winning their first AFC title since 1960. Klinsmann immediately began hearing calls to resign to take the fall for not taking his talented squad to the top. His team featured, among others, Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in and Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae. Klinsmann had defied those demands, saying he was planning to review and analyze South Korea's performance at the Asian Cup with the KFA and to start preparing for World Cup qualifying matches scheduled for March. South Korea had eight wins, six draws and three losses under Klinsmann. South Korea defeated Saudi Arabia 4-2 on penalties in the round of 16 at the Asian Cup, but a shootout victory goes into the books as a draw. Source: Yonhap News Agency
