ZCZC
BSP-15
FBL-ASIA-KOR-POR-BENTO
Ex-Portugal boss Bento to coach South Korea: Yonhap
SEOUL, Aug 16, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Former Portugal boss Paulo Bento will be
unveiled Friday as South Korea’s new coach, the Yonhap news agency reported
Thursday.
Bento took the Portuguese reins in 2010 after four seasons in charge of
Sporting Lisbon and guided the national side to the Euro 2012 semi-finals,
but was sacked two years later after an ignominious home defeat to Albania.
He later had stints in charge of Brazil’s Cruzeiro and Olympiakos in
Greece, and was appointed coach of Chinese Super League club Chongqing Lifan
in December last year.
The CSL side sacked him last month after he failed to improve the side’s
fortunes.
“Bento has been named as the new coach,” Yonhap news agency quoted a Korea
Football Association (KFA) official as saying.
A KFA spokesman declined to comment, saying the new coach will be unveiled
on Friday.
Bento — a tough-tackling defensive midfielder capped 35 times by Portugal
— would replace South Korean Shin Tae-yong, whose contract expired last
month.
The contract terms remain unclear but his annual wage is expected to be
higher than the 1.5 billion won ($1.4 million) received by Germany’s Uli
Stielike, who coached South Korea from 2014-17, Yonhap added.
South Korea — who reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2002 — exited
Russia 2018 at the group stage after defeats to Sweden and Mexico, despite
stunning Germany to eliminate the defending champions.
Afterwards, Hyundai scion and KFA president Chung Mong-gyu handed over $3.5
million of his own money to hire a new football coach in an attempt to turn
the national team’s fortunes around.
South Korea’s next major assignment at full international level is
January’s Asian Cup. They were runners-up to Australia at the last edition of
the tournament in 2015.
BSS/AFP/MRI/1537 hrs