National soccer team coach Jürgen Klinsmann was criticized for working remotely and not keeping a close eye on his players while abroad. As the K League’s box office was heating up, the mixed reactions to Klinsmann were especially loud.
“As of 3:30 p.m. on the 16th, a total of 1,837,901 paid spectators attended 176 games,” the Korean Professional Football Association said.
This is the highest single-season attendance record since 2018, when the league began tracking paid attendance. The previous record was 1,827,061 (228 games) in 2019.
The K League concludes its 30-round schedule this weekend, with eight games per team and 52 games remaining. It’s on pace to reach 2.38 million spectators.
Klinsmann finally got his first win after six games in charge of the Korean national team this year. He was criticized for his management of the team and his lack of understanding of the players, not just the results.
The intensity of the criticism came as he continued to work remotely, contrary to what he said when he took over. His explanation that he was checking on players in Europe and keeping up with world soccer was not enough to convince soccer fans.
On the contrary, it was criticized as neglecting K League players. He said that he left it up to the coaching staff to identify players by watching K League games, and he even started players who would not be in good shape in K League, once again raising the ire of soccer fans.
Klinsmann, who recently completed his national team tour, abruptly changed his schedule and traveled to South Korea. He left the country on March 1 and touched down on South Korean soil just over a month later.
“I heard that many people were waiting for me,” he said, “and I think we will meet again in the K League.”
It is meaningful that he felt the importance of the K League again, whether voluntarily or unwillingly. It is also deeply related to the reason for the success of the K League. The competitiveness of the K League is getting higher and higher, and the growth of promising young players is the reason why more and more spectators are coming to the field. As a national team coach, you’re supposed to know these players better than anyone else.
Klinsmann will also be visiting a K League stadium this weekend. On the 16th, he will be at Jeonju World Cup Stadium to watch Jeonbuk Hyundai and Gangwon FC, and on the 17th, he will be at Seoul World Cup Stadium to watch FC Seoul and Gwangju FC.스포츠토토
This year’s K League 1 was hot from the opening game. An average of 10,443 fans are attending each game. Expectations are high that the average attendance will reach the 10,000 mark for the first time since paid spectators were counted.