Jurgen Klinsmann reveals why South Korea can become an international football powerhouse

South Korea take on Wales in Cardiff on Thursday seeking their first win under Klinsmann following his appointment as their head coach in February.

Four home friendlies have produced draws against Colombia and El Salvador and defeats to Uruguay and Peru, but the former Germany striker and World Cup winner believes South Korea are heading in the right direction.

“Korea just reached the final four of the Under-23 World Cup and you see more Korean players coming to Europe, to grow and to learn and to establish themselves,” Klinsmann said at his pre-match press conference in Cardiff.

“They have their own role models in the team like Sonny (Tottenham captain Son Heung-min) and (Bayern Munich defender) Kim Ming-jae.

“If you want to have a successful team in the World Cup you need your best players in the best leagues and that’s what we are trying to do.

“This is another test for us towards the Asian Cup in January and February. I am very pleased we get this opportunity to be here and testing things out, rejuvenating the team step by step.”

Klinsmann has been criticised in South Korea for spending so little time in the country since his appointment.

Eyebrows were also raised when the United States-based Klinsmann named his squad for September friendlies against Wales and Saudi Arabia in the form of a press release rather than holding a press conference.

“Criticism is normal. You can win all four games in the beginning and there will still be criticism,” said Klinsmann.

“Maybe the way you play, yourself, that is part of the job – 80 per cent of your pay cheque is dealing with that. But it’s been a wonderful experience so far and I see a team that brings so much quality.

“It’s a huge learning curve for me and I want to see the progress happening. I want to win absolutely, no doubt about it, but the must-win comes in Qatar and to go for the Asian Cup, which Korea hasn’t won for 60 years. This is the main goal.”

Klinsmann was a frequent visitor to Wales during his playing days as Germany were regularly paired with the Dragons in qualifying groups in the late 1980s and 1990s.

He said: “We had an interesting history with Wales with Germany. We had the clash before the World Cup in Italy where Wales almost kicked us out.

“Then we had some qualifiers and it was always an emotional, traumatic match-up with Wales. The history was always an exciting one.”