Outside Help - Foreign Coaches In The K-League
-by Mark Trevena-
Guus Hiddink's high-profile stint as Korean coach in the run-up to and during the 2002 World Cup suggested that Korean football could reap more rewards if foreign methods and influence were implemented. But Hiddink wasn't the first and certainly won't be one of the last foreigners to be involved with the national team set-up. German Detmar Kramer worked as an assistant coach to the Korean Olympic team in the early-1990s, and USSR coach Anatoli Bychovets coached the Olympic side from 1994-96, and took charge of the full national team for several friendly matches in 1994.
Humberto Coelho, taking over the position from Hiddink's ill-fated replacement Park Hang-seo, was appointed to the job but failed to live up to the huge weight of expectation on him and tendered his resignation in mid-2004. To replace the man from Portugal, the Korea Football Association again decided to go Dutch, hiring former Nigeria national team manager Jo Bonfrere.
After Bonfrere tendered his resignation from the job ten months prior to the 2006 World Cup, former Dutch coach Dick Advocaat became the third man from Holland to occupy the national team hotseat. Advocaat's decision to return to club football management immediately after the World Cup meant that a fourth Dutchman, Pim Verbeek, would take charge of the side.
The foreign influence has also been sought at domestic level, with twelve different foreign coaches of various standing within the game having occupied domestic club dugouts. For the 2008 season three foreign coaches will be in charge of club sides. Jeju United's incoming Brazilian coach Arthur Bernardes, joins FC Seoul's Senol Gunes and Pohang's Sergio Ricardo de Paiva Farias as the current foreign K-League managers.
The first foreign coach to enter the K-League, Frank Engel, joined up with Daewoo after having previously been on the coaching staff of the East German national and youth teams, as well as a managerial stint at East German club side Chemie Bohlen.
The German coach spent one year with Daewoo, leading the side to a 2nd place finish in the 1990 K-League, finishing only four points behind champions Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso.
Engel left Daewoo after one season, only to be replaced by another foreigner, Hungarian Bicskei Bertalan, who had previously coached the Hungarian national side in qualifiers for the 1990 World Cup where they finished third behind Spain and Ireland. Bertalan went one better than Engel, lifting Daewoo's third K-League championship, finishing a clear ten points ahead of Hyundai Horang-i. 1991 was to be Bertalan's only season as Daewoo boss before he too departed, eventually returning to the Hungarian national job for the qualifiers for Euro 2000, where Hungary finished a distant fourth.
Yukong Elephants, who had spent a couple of seasons stuck in the basement of the K-League during the early nineties, turned to Russian coach Valeri Nepomniatchi to try to revive their fortunes. Nepomniatchi had stunned the football world in 1990 by leading Cameroon to the quarterfinals of the World Cup, and it was quite a coup for Yukong to appoint such a coach. Yukong recorded a massive improvement in his debut season of 1994, finishing only three points behind champions Ilhwa Chunma as well as winning the Adidas Cup, which he was also to win in 1996, and finish runners-up in 1998. Two consecutive fourth place finishes were followed up by a last place finish in 1997, and although finishing seventh out of the 10 league sides in 1998, Nepomniatchi was on his way.
Daewoo Royals had turned again to the foreign influence in 1996, bringing in Yugoslav coach and former Karlsruhe player Dragoslav Sekularic, who had previously enjoyed a successful spell with Australian side Melbourne City. Sekularic's side finished seventh in the first section of the 1996 Championship and fourth in the second section, recording the 6th overall best league record, before he departed Daewoo after one season.
Former three time champions Ilhwa Chunma were struggling in the league after their move to Cheonan in 1996. They had high hopes that the appointment of Belgian coach Rene Desaeyere in 1997 would help return them to the top of Korean football. Desaeyere had a track record as something of a journeyman coach, having led no less than eight sides since 1984, including Berchem, Standard Liege, Beveren (on two occasions) and Beerschot. His Ilhwa Chunma side finished a distant eighth in 1997, and when the finished rock bottom of the league in 1998 with only 11 points from their 18 games, Desaeyere left the club, going on first to Japan with Cerezo Osaka before returning to Belgian football.
Bucheon SK chose the foreign option again in 2002 with the appointment of former Turkish national coach Tinaz Tirpan. Tirpan had spent a year as boss of Fenerbahce, where he was the manager appointed to succeed Guus Hiddink, the man in charge of the Korean national team at the time of Tirpan's arrival in Korea. Tirpan's side struggled home eighth in the 2002 K-League season, and in 2003 fared even more disastrously, losing their opening six games. The hideous run of results ultimately cost coach Tirpan his job.
Scottish globetrotting boss Ian Porterfield, who had enjoyed coaching spells at Sheffield United, Aberdeen, Chelsea and the national teams of Zambia, Zimbabwe, Oman and Trinidad & Tobago, arrived at Busan for the 2003 season and set out on his task of rebuilding the ailing club. Despite struggling near the foot of the league for most of the first two seasons, Porterfield's side lifted the FA Cup at the end of 2004 and claimed victory in the first stage of the 2005 K-League season. His side also went on a remarkable run to the AFC Champions League semi-finals. Domestically however the club's fortunes were waning and, after a run of 21 matches without victory, Porterfield stepped down as manager in early 2006.
At the beginning of the 2004 season, Incheon United took the bold step of appointing former Munich 1860 boss Werner Lorant as their inaugural manager. The appointment was ill-fated though, as Lorant left the position midway through the season due to personal problems.
After Ian Porterfield's resignation as Busan manager in 2006, he was replaced by Swiss coach Andy Egli, however he found the task of revitalising the club almost impossible and tendered his resignation just over a year later.
