SEOUL: South Korea coach Uli Stielike said yesterday that he would “take the fall” for poor results that have put the country’s hopes of automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup finals in jeopardy, although he stopped short of resigning.
Stielike’s three-year reign as South Korea coach looked to be coming to an end yesterday after a 3-2 loss to Qatar in Doha, and the coach said he would accept whatever decision the Korean FA took regarding his future.
The 62-year-old former Germany midfielder had already been under pressure after two defeats in four qualifiers going into Tuesday’s match, where the team’s once all-but impenetrable defence was breached three times.
“I fully understand we’ve not been playing well of late and I think I have to take the fall for that,” Stielike was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency after the team returned from Doha. “I am well aware of the criticism on our team.”
Stielike said he had not thought about resigning and backed South Korea to hold on to their automatic qualification berth no matter who was at the helm.
“I think South Korea should play the remaining two matches as well as they can to qualify for the World Cup,” he added. “Whether I will be the head coach or someone else will be on the bench is of secondary importance.”