Jürgen Klinsmann’s reputation on the line as he dives into South Korea job

A fter a career spent in Europe and North America, Jürgen Klinsmann is now in Asia. He announced his first South Korea squad this month at the country’s National Football Centre in Paju, where buses pass moments before unloading tourists into Odusan Unification Tower to look through big binoculars into North Korea.

The German will become used to the drive southeast, passing Seoul World Cup Stadium in about 30 minutes and then soon after, traffic permitting, arriving in the middle of the capital and turning right into a secluded street and a swanky neighbourhood of trendy restaurants, expensive wine bars and the headquarters of the Korean Football Association. The journey from the edge of the demilitarised zone to downtown Seoul is a short one but the two worlds are very different.

Perhaps travelling regularly up and down that corridor helps explain why Klinsmann’s compatriot and predecessor, Uli Stielike, found it hard to separate his team from the country’s unique situation. “There is no peace agreement between North and South Korea, so the country is on constant alert,” Stielike said in an interview in Germany when asked to offer advice to Klinsmann. “This caution is of course reflected in the character of the people, including in football. They defend quite well because they have the discipline, will, coordination and toughness required. On the offensive, however, there is a lack of creativity and risk-taking.”

That certainly was the case when Stielike was in charge of South Korea, from 2014-17, and while few would argue that creative attacking play is a longstanding strength of Korean football, connecting that to the 75-year division of the peninsula did not go down well in Seoul. After all, while Korea may be