Roberto Moreno, a Spanish national, has been appointed as the interim head coach of the South Korean national soccer team. This decision comes about two months after former coach Hong Myung-bo resigned following the team's exit from the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America. This marks the first time a Spanish national has taken the helm of South Korea's A team.
The Korea Football Association approved the appointment of Moreno and five other interim coaching staff during its seventh board meeting held on September 1 at Korea Football Park in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.
This is the first time the association has selected an A team coach through a public recruitment process. According to sources in the soccer community, after an initial document review and a second online interview, Hyun Young-min, the head of the Strengthening Committee, traveled to Europe for in-person meetings to conduct thorough evaluations. Moreno was ultimately chosen for his strong data utilization skills and high scores in opponent analysis, outpacing other prominent candidates such as Dominique Torrent and Jesus Casas.
Hyun stated, "Given the public interest in procedural legitimacy and fairness in the selection of the interim coach, we made significant efforts to adhere to the standards set by the Korea Sports Council. Coach Moreno already has a strong understanding of Korean soccer and has shown impressive enthusiasm by presenting various tactical alternatives. I hope the Moreno-led team will contribute to a positive atmosphere and improved performance for the national team."
Moreno's term will last until November 27. He will lead the team in a total of six A matches, including games against Ecuador on September 24 and Uruguay on September 28, as well as matches in October against Venezuela on the 2nd and Uzbekistan on the 6th. Although he is currently in an interim position, it is reported that his contract includes a provision for an extension to lead the team through the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, depending on performance evaluations during this period.
Born in 1977, Moreno did not have a professional playing career. He entered the soccer world as a video analyst and has pursued a coaching career since his twenties. He is particularly known for being the right-hand man of current Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique, having assisted him as a head coach and coach at AS Roma, Celta Vigo, and FC Barcelona. In 2019, he led the Spanish national team in nine matches, achieving seven wins and two draws, successfully qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2020.
However, his subsequent coaching stints have been mixed. He did not achieve notable success at AS Monaco and Granada. Most recently, he managed FC Sochi in Russia, where he led the team to promotion to the top league for the 2024-2025 season but was dismissed due to poor early-season performance. During his time at Sochi, he faced controversy over the use of ChatGPT, which he clarified was solely for translation purposes due to language barriers.
Moreno's coaching staff will also consist entirely of Spanish nationals. Leading the team will be Eduardo Docampo, who served as the head coach at Sochi, along with Shint Magriña (analysis and training), Victor Bravo de Soto (training), Javier Chocarro (physical training), and Nico Bosch (goalkeeping coach). They will begin their training sessions ahead of the September A matches.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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