National team coaches argue over who gets Lee Kang-in

The senior Korean national team has a schedule conflict with the U-24 squad, as managers of both teams want to call up players based in Europe for training in September.

From left: Korean national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann, head of the National Team Committee Michael Muller and U-24 national team manager Hwang Sun-hong [YONHAP]

The senior Korean national team has a schedule conflict with the U-24 squad, as managers of both teams want to call up players based in Europe for training in September.

Senior team manager Jurgen Klinsmann is planning to train with the likes of Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain, Jeong Woo-yeong of VfB Stuttgart and Hong Hyun-seok of KAA Gent — all based in Europe — starting on Sept. 4 ahead of a friendly with Wales in Britain on Sept. 7.

Klinsmann’s plan overlaps with U-24 manager Hwang Sun-hong’s planned training session ahead of the Asian Games — although PSG are yet to announce whether the club will release Lee for the Asiad. Hwang plans to train with his squad from Sept. 4 through 19, before the Hangzhou Asian Games starts on Sept. 23.

The three players have not played or trained together under Hwang this year, as Lee and Hong had senior national team duty. Jeong was in action with the U-24 team during a two-game series against China in June, but has not had the chance to play with either Lee or Hong this year.

The lack of time spent together on the pitch with K League players is also concerning for Hwang’s squad, as he will have less than a month to build cohesion.

Although a call up to the senior squad is typically the bigger honor, appearing at the Asian Games as a well-oiled machine could be crucial to Lee, Jeong and Hong's careers.

The Asiad is one of the few tournaments where Korean athletes can earn an exemption from mandatory military service if they win a gold medal. For players like Lee, Jeong and Hong, all of whom are yet to complete their service, the tournament could be the difference between a successful European career and the promise of a one-and-a-half-year disruption that knocks them out of the transfer market for years to come.

Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur and Kim Min-jae of Bayern Munich both earned their exemptions from the 2018 Asiad.

Klinsmann, however, needs the Europe-based players too, as he is looking to earn his first win with the team after four winless games in charge.

Having taken the helm of the national team in February, Klinsmann has recorded two draws and two losses so far — a 2-2 draw with Colombia and 2-1 loss to Uruguay in March, followed by a 1-0 loss to Peru and 1-1 draw with El Salvador in June.

The two managers are not able to meet each other in person and resolve the schedule conflict, as Klinsmann jetted off to the United States last week to work there remotely until heading to Britain in September.

It will be up to Michael Muller, head of the National Team Committee at the Korea Football Association (KFA), to mediate between the two and decide which players join which team.

A KFA official was quoted by Korean media Monday as saying that Muller will soon come up with a plan that works for both the senior and U-24 teams.

With the senior team’s schedule expected to end possibly on Sept. 12 — the KFA is trying to arrange another friendly after the Wales game — the U-24 team will have less than two weeks to train before the Asiad begins.

Defending champions Korea will face Bahrain, Thailand and Kuwait in Group E of the Hangzhou Asian Games.

The U-24 team this year takes the place of the more traditional U-23, as the age limit has been raised for this year's Asiad due to the tournament's one-year postponement caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

BY PI JOO-YOUNG [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]