South Korea's Paper-Thin Unity

When an interim national team manager openly admits to spending more time conversing with his players than actually training them, the official narrative of harmony begins to crumble under its own weight. Robert Moreno took the podium on Thursday for a press conference lasting over an hour, tasked with presenting a facade of unity for South Korea’s national football team. His solution to a dressing room reportedly on the verge of mutiny is simple: double down on established status quos and declare the patient cured.

In selecting his squad for upcoming friendly matches against Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Moreno confirmed that 34-year-old Son Heung-min will remain team captain. The former Tottenham Hotspur attacker, currently plying his trade in Major League Soccer with LAFC, finds himself at the center of growing discontent among the squad’s core talent. Reports indicate that senior Europe-based figures—including Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae, Hwang Hee-chan, and Hwang In-beom—were ready to step away from international duty as recently as last month.

The tensions boiled over publicly during a goal-less draw against Venezuela earlier this month, when Kim threw his boots in anger following a second-half substitution. The defender later remarked that every player needs to put their head down and give it their all, an utterance that effectively confirmed the existence of deep internal divisions.

South Korean football is currently suffering the hangover of a failed World Cup campaign in North America, which ended in a group-stage exit and the swift departure of former coach Hong Myung-bo. In an effort to contain the fallout, the country's football association recently issued an appeal to supporters to cease excessive personal attacks against national team players.

Moreno, whose temporary contract expires after the November friendlies, insists there is no crisis to manage, maintaining that the team is healthy. Addressing the media, the Spaniard defended his management style, noting that even in the best teams, people can have different opinions. What matters is how those differences are resolved.

Whether a temporary caretaker can resolve structural fractures in two friendly fixtures before the Asian Cup takes place in Saudi Arabia this January is debatable. Korean football administrators may yet extend Moreno's mandate through the tournament, but his attempt to shut down debate over the captaincy was absolute: The captain is Son Heung-min. I have nothing more to say. Proclaiming authority is easy; commanding respect in a divided locker room often proves far more demanding.

Written by Martina Kirchner martina.kirchner@alpineweekly.com