South Korea’s negotiations with Bert van Marwijk, a former Dutch national head coach who had expressed interest in leading the South Korean national men’s senior football team, have broken down due to a disagreement on salary and the length of his stay in the country, according to the local football association Sunday.
Officials from the Korea Football Association (KFA) had been in talks with van Marwijk in Amsterdam since early August to fill the national football head coach position that has been vacant since Hong Myung-bo’s resignation from the seat last month. Hong stepped down after the national team’s winless exit from the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
“We were not in agreement on a range of issues,” a high-ranking KFA official said on condition of anonymity. “We will have to pursue negotiations with other candidates.”
The talks reportedly failed due to disagreement on the amount of tax to be levied on the proposed annual salary of 2 billion won
(US$1.96 million), as well as the number of days van Marwijk would be required to stay in South Korea, if he were to be named the head coach.
A KFA official previously said van Marwijk needed more time to review tax issues.
Seoul had also wanted van Marwijk to spend more days coaching the national team in South Korea while he wanted more time with his family back in Amsterdam, according to insiders.
The KFA is planning to announce the recent development in a news conference Monday.
Last month, the KFA said it had narrowed down its candidates to three foreign national coaches. Van Marwijk was the No. 1 choice.
It has refused to reveal who the other two are.
With the recent breakdown of negotiations, the South Korean national men’s senior football team is likely to play friendly matches against Venezuela on Sept. 5 and against Uruguay three days later without an official head coach.
The 62-year-old Dutchman coached the Netherlands from 2008 to 2012, steering his native country to the final of the 2010 World Cup. (Yonhap)
