Seoul (AFP) - The South Korean Football Association, which is under severe criticism after the disappointing participation in the 2026 World Cup and the controversy that followed, has hired former Spain coach Robert Moreno to supervise the national team temporarily, according to what it announced on Tuesday.
Published on: 01/09/2026 - 08:09
Moreno, who earlier this year was forced to deny accusations of using artificial intelligence in preparing for matches during his time in Russia, will lead the national team in friendly matches during September and October.
South Korea will compete in the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia between January 7 and February 5, and Moreno may be the team's coach in the continental championship "depending on the evaluation" of his performance, according to what the federation said.
The South Korean national team has been without a coach since Hong Myung-bo resigned following the sudden exit from the group stage of the World Cup that was held this summer in North America.
Hong's resignation did not calm public anger over the disappointing participation, but rather worsened amid questions about how he was appointed.
Police raided the headquarters of the Korean Football Association last month as part of an investigation into Hong's appointment in 2024.
The federation also apologized over allegations that it provided sexual entertainment to foreign rulers.
With South Korea, Moreno will play friendly matches at home against Ecuador and Uruguay in September and Venezuela and Uzbekistan in October.
He will also take over as captain of the national team if South Korea organizes additional friendly matches during the international break in November.
The Korean Football Association said that the 48-year-old coach was appointed after an “open recruitment process.”
Moreno will become the first Spanish coach to coach the South Korean national team.
Moreno took over the leadership of the Spanish national team temporarily in 2019, succeeding Luis Enrique.
In June of that year, he was appointed permanent coach after Enrique resigned following his daughter's diagnosis of a rare type of bone cancer.
The Spanish Federation reappointed Enrique in November 2019 to succeed Moreno after the death of his daughter.
The current French coach of Paris Saint-Germain accused Moreno of being “disloyal” for trying to continue in his position until the 2020 European Cup.
Moreno, who also coached Monaco in the French League and Granada, faced accusations in Russia last January of using artificial intelligence to prepare for matches during his time supervising Sochi.
Moreno, who left Sochi in September 2025 after a series of bad results in the Russian league, denied those reports, writing in an open letter he sent to the Spanish newspaper "Marca": "I have never used GPT chat or any artificial intelligence to prepare for matches, determine formations, or choose players. This is absolutely not true."
The Spaniard said that he uses technology in his work, but he makes his decisions himself and in cooperation with his technical staff.
He added, "I started my career in football mainly through data and video analysis. This is my field of specialization, and it is what made the difference in my early days."
© 2026 AFP
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