Newly appointed head of KFA’s National Team Committee Michael Müller said he would start from scratch in the search for a new coach to lead the men’s national team, whilst fulfilling his role as a liaison between the association, the coaches and the players.

The 58-year-old German began his tenure with a press conference at the KFA House on Wednesday, having been appointed as the head of the committee following the resignation of his predecessor Lee Yongsoo last week.

Müller has worked as the head of KFA’s Technical Development Committee over two tenures, since he was appointed as an instructor for KFA’s coaching programmes in April 2018. He has not only worked as a coaching instructor, but also contributed to the development of youth football in Korea – introducing the 8-a-side games to the elementary school league in the process. Prior to his arrival in Korea, Müller had worked as a coaching instructor for the German football association (DFB), whilst also working as coach and scout for their youth national teams.

He greeted the journalists in Korean before explaining in detail the process and the criteria of appointing a new coach as well as his role and mission as the head of the committee.

Please find below excerpts from the press conference:

What are your reactions upon the appointment as the head of the committee?

[In Korean] Hello, nice to meet you. I wish you all the best for the new year. I’m Michael Müller.

[In English] You can call me Michael from now on. I’m delighted to have been appointed as the head of the National Team Committee. It’s a great honour for me to work for the development of Korean football.

The priority at the moment is to appoint a new coach for the men’s national team. Can you tell us about the progress so far? Are you planning to guarantee a fixed tenure that would run through the next World Cup? What about the nationality of the new coach – is it open to anyone inside or outside the country?

As you probably know there have been some changes in the meantime. I will discuss this further in the first meeting of the committee in due course. I’ve already established the criteria for the appointment, and we’ll commence the process in accordance with the guidelines. There’s no criterion regarding the nationality of the coach. We’ll implement the process according to the clear guidelines. We haven’t decided on the duration of the contract, which depends on our negotiations with the candidates. I personally think that it would be better to have a longer term.

Can you share with us the guidelines for the appointment?

I’ve listened to the requirements from the KFA, and then established five major criteria: expertise, experience, motivation, teamwork as well as environmental factors, which means whether we could meet the requirements from the coach on and off the field. We’d also have to see whether they could in fact live in Korea. But all of these things should be considered individually, so we’ll begin the process after reviewing their CVs. That is the guideline I can tell you.

Your predecessor Lee Yongsoo has reportedly submitted the shortlist of the candidates. Have you added some more candidates to the initial list?

I’ve received the shortlist from the former committee. I appreciate their efforts but at the moment I’d start with a clean slate, and I’d also like to see who would be available amongst the ones I know personally.

Lee Jaesung, a Korea Republic international, has said that the players would like to have their voices heard in the process of appointing a new coach. Are you willing to listen to their opinions?

Personally I think I’m a communicator and coordinator, and my role is to communicate with everyone including the players and the staff. I hope there will be enough opportunities to talk about it, but I’m afraid the details of the communication won’t be open to the public.

Can you tell us about the process of the appointment?

We’re implementing the process logically and comprehensively. We make a list, conduct the interviews, evaluate the candidates, and then shorten the list. We report the process to the association, before meeting the candidate in person to negotiate and sign a contract. A coach has an important role as a leader, which means his leadership amongst the coaching staff is also important. [Assembling the coaching staff] will be discussed with the candidate.

Do you think the next coach would continue to build on the football philosophy established in the past four years?

Certainly. We will appoint the coach who can continue to develop the philosophy we have built so far. It is important for the coach to understand what we want and what we have done.

Do you have a foreigner on top of your list? You said earlier that you’d also consider someone you know personally. There are many renowned coaches from Germany – is it possible that they are considered as candidates as well?

I’m German, which means I’m supposed to think globally. Therefore I’m open to any possibilities. I’ve just explained the process and criteria of the appointment, and I’ll give you as much information as I can during the process.

Do you think it’s possible to appoint a good coach considering the budget suggested by the KFA?

I’m sorry, but it’s difficult for me to comment on the budget given my position.

What would the process of communicating and collaborating with the coach be like, from the viewpoint of the committee?

As I told you before, I’m a communicator and coordinator. When a new coach will have been appointed, everything else will change accordingly. I will support the new coach and his staff and give them my feedback, with all my expertise and abilities.

Do you have any plans to support the national teams at various levels, as well as developing Korean football in general?

I’m proud of my efforts in bringing about some changes during my time at the KFA for the past four years and a half. I’ve changed the systems of coaching education and youth development programmes as well. It is important to continue the development – not only the national teams, but also the individuals: players and coaches.

You cannot open the windows on the fifth or sixth floor, when you’re on the basement level. I will do my role as a communicator between the coaches as well as the teams, so they can share their opinions with one another.

What do you think, as the head of the committee, is the right direction for the development of Korean football? And what do you think was the trend in the World Cup in Qatar?

We’ve actually discussed the vision and philosophy of the KFA last week. I think that philosophy needs to include the value of Korean football – strong mentality and fighting spirit. It’s also important to improve individual characters. We should know what we want: we need to establish the direction. The style of play, on the other hand, is a separate issue.

I’ve watched all the games as a member of the Technical Study Group at the World Cup in Qatar. I don’t think there are weak teams or strong teams anymore. The semi-finalists had strong mentality and fighting spirit. I’ve seen more of dynamic plays in terms of decision making process, not just running fast with the ball. Secondly, there were more variety – with the teams making various tactical changes during the matches or for each game. It was also surprising to see the players making individual progress while establishing teamwork at the same time. Lastly, it was the strong mentality.

KFA said KFA would finish appointing a new coach by the end of February. But if you start from scratch now, would it be possible to get the job done by then?

It is difficult to predict a specific date in the business of football. I think it’s important to go into the right direction. I’m confident that we can appoint a new coach in accordance with the right guidelines, rather than speeding things up in the process.

At which point the opinions of the players will be taken into consideration during the appointment process?

I haven’t thought about that part, to be honest. Thank you.