Moreno takes interim charge of South Korea and says he wants to make fans happy
South Korea’s new interim coach Robert Moreno said on Monday that he wants to make supporters “happy” after a poor World Cup and a run of damaging rows at home.
The former Spain coach, who earlier this year had to deny using ChatGPT to prepare matches, will take friendlies over the coming months. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said he could stay through the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia in January and February, subject to an evaluation. Moreno named captain Son Heung-min in his first squad and said the staff would work “honestly” to produce good games and help the players. He is the first Spaniard to coach the side.
South Korea will play Ecuador and Uruguay in September and Venezuela and Uzbekistan in October. The team had been without a manager since Hong Myung-bo resigned after a group-stage exit at the World Cup in North America in June.
That departure did not end anger over the campaign or over how Hong was hired. Police raided KFA offices last month as part of an inquiry into the 2024 appointment. The association also apologised over allegations that it provided sexual entertainment for foreign referees.
Moreno included Son, now with Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer, plus Atlético Madrid’s Lee Kang-in and Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae. Hong’s choice to leave Son on the bench for the first half against South Africa still rankles. Moreno called Son versatile enough for three positions.
On the artificial-intelligence claims from his time at Russian club Sochi, which he left in September 2025, Moreno said the story was “completely false and went viral.” He uses technology, he said, but the reports had been “taken out of context and put together to cause harm.”
An interim coach inherits a dressing room and a scandal file. Moreno’s public offer is modest: honest work, Son on the team sheet, smiles if the friendlies allow it. The KFA’s evaluation clause means January is not guaranteed. Four home games will show whether the noise around hiring, referees and old headlines can be quieted by results—or whether the next raid and the next apology still sit closer to the job than the next win.
