Former South Korea Coach Bento Wants Return

Paulo Bento, the Portuguese coach who guided South Korea to the 2022 World Cup round of 16, has conveyed his desire to return to the helm of the national team. Sources within the Korea Football Association confirmed that Bento, who has maintained contact with an association staff member since leaving South Korea, expressed interest in the currently vacant coaching position.

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The national team's head coach selection process has not begun. There has been no discussion of coach candidates at the National Team Strengthening Committee meeting. We are not even at the stage of receiving applications.

Bento departed South Korea after the World Cup and took on the role of UAE national team coach in July 2023. However, he resigned from that position in March of the following year due to poor performance and has been on a break since. The association's public relations department noted that the process for selecting a new coach has not yet commenced, making it premature to officially consider Bento a candidate.

Despite the association's stance, Bento remains an attractive option, especially with the 2027 Asian Cup set to begin in Saudi Arabia next January. He is familiar with the South Korean players, having notably selected midfielder Hwang In-beom, now a key player in the 2026 North and Central America World Cup qualifiers, for the senior team. A potential hurdle, however, is the difficulty in assembling a high-caliber coaching staff comparable to his previous tenure, as his former "Bento team" has largely disbanded. His former assistant coach, Sergio Costa, is now the head coach of Jeju United in the K League 1, while coach Filipe Coelho leads Universitatea Craiova in Romania.

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I have the thought that I want to challenge if the opportunity comes.

Meanwhile, domestic coaches are also expressing interest in the national team's top job. Kim Gi-dong, currently leading FC Seoul to the top of the K League 1, stated after a match on March 22 that he would be interested if the opportunity arose. Yoon Jong-hwan, coach of Incheon United, also commented on the same day, acknowledging that managing the national team has always been his dream but admitting he still has much to learn.

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I always say that becoming the national team coach is my dream, but I think I still have a lot to improve.