Where does the mud fight end? After the 2023 Asian Cup, the Korean football world has been filled with noise. Among them, the most important stories about the dismissal of coach Klinsmann and the conflict between Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in have been continuously reported. As of now, coach Klinsmann has recently been dismissed. The Klinsmann coach issue has been settled, but the conflict between Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in has continued. This also seems to have been resolved now.

On February 21, today, Lee Kang-in posted an apology on his Instagram, not a story, but a post. A few days ago, Lee Kang-in posted a short apology on his Instagram story, but the story is a system that can’t be viewed after 48 hours, so he received a lot of criticism from the public. The public was furious, saying that if he was going to apologize, he should do it properly. Lee Kang-in released a press release through his legal representative and finally posted a true apology today.

Following that, a photo of Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min was posted on Son Heung-min’s Instagram. And he posted a message protecting Lee Kang-in and apologizing to Korean football fans. In the end, Lee Kang-in went to London, where Son Heung-min lives, to apologize, and he also called other national football team players to apologize. As a result, Lee Kang-in’s trouble (?) has been somewhat resolved. This is about as much fact as we know.

Son Heung-min

Son Heung-min is now like a hero to Korean football and the Korean people. He is a player who has recorded tremendous achievements in the English Premier League, which is considered so difficult, including the top scorer and the Puskas Award. He travels from England to Korea with such a difficult body to play A-matches. He plays full-time for 90 minutes every time. As captain, he leads the players and takes good care of each individual. He is also good at motivating.

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However, even Son Heung-min has shown shortcomings. When playing a national team game and not being able to play full-time for 90 minutes and being substituted, he expressed his anger by throwing a towel on the bench, feeling frustrated and annoyed. He was also sent off in the league for unnecessary kicking. He also suffered a long-term injury to Andre Gomes with a rough tackle. It's a different look than Son Heung-min we knew.

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Now that he is captain, it's said that position makes the person, he shows his class. He also shows strong sense of responsibility. Sometimes he also shows flexible leadership. Son Heung-min is now 32 years old, and he has entered the twilight of his football career, so it can be said that he has had a lot of experience. That's why he can now control his emotions as a player. He has grown. It’s a good thing that Son Heung-min accepted Lee Kang-in’s apology and protected Lee Kang-in, the future of Korean football, after all. This is also a scene that shows Son Heung-min’s class.

Lee Kang-in

Lee Kang-in grew up as a footballer and a person in Spain when he was young. He is still young. When Lee Kang-in played in Spain, he was sent off several times and showed rough tackles. The feedback from the players who played national team games with Lee Kang-in was that “he crosses the line sometimes,” and he showed a side that didn’t match Korean sentiment.

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This is not to protect Lee Kang-in. I think it’s because he is young and lived abroad that he shows no respect for hierarchy. When I was young, I also deliberately tripped over the people older than me who were better at football than me. I was so annoyed. And I ignored my older brothers and went straight home. Even if you're on the same team, sometimes you can't handle your emotions at the moment.

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Now he has sincerely apologized, so we need to forgive him. I understand the Korean people’s sentiment and anger. In a way, he is the one who ruined Son Heung-min’s last Asian Cup, isn’t he? But we know Lee Kang-in’s potential through the various games we’ve seen. Didn’t Korea chant Lee Kang-in’s name during the World Cup? That’s how players grow.

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The finale of Lee Kang-in’s apology is to be called up for the national team match in March, come to Korea to apologize to the Korean people, and approach each of the national team players he was with to apologize. And then score a goal in the game and perform a ceremony containing the meaning of apology to football fans. That’s how you grow as a Korean football player, humbly.

Klinsmann

First of all, it’s a good thing he was fired. If he was a coach who showed irresponsibility, he deserved to be fired without question. It’s ridiculous that he’s going to have a video conference in the US about the performance of the Asian Cup, even though he should be giving feedback. Even if he’s been through Corona and is used to video conferencing, it’s not like that. This is not right.

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It’s ridiculous for a coach to say that the Asian Cup semi-final result was due to conflicts between the players. What if he said that it was my responsibility as a coach to properly control the team. Even if he was fired, what if he apologized and said that he was sorry.

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What a shame… the players are being blamed because of the coach. The players trained and played their best for the country. Even though they had their own wounds, they overcame it mentally and played in the game. What is the captain doing hiding behind the sailors? Yes, thank you. It’s a good thing that you showed us what a leader without leadership and responsibility looks like.

Chung Mong-gyu

So what are you doing? Various suspicions are surfacing, but you’re just running away. Many football journalists and content creators want a true explanation and apology from Chung Mong-gyu. Because of your choice of Klinsmann, the players are being blamed instead. What is the sin of the young players? Shouldn’t you protect and block them as adults?

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What are you improving as the president of the Korea Football Association? Why is the Korean football system still like this? Why did Son Heung-min’s father, Son Woong-jung, say that Korea shouldn't win this Asian Cup? I don’t know what you’re observing and what policies you’re making as the president of the Football Association.

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For the past few years, I have argued that Korean football should be eliminated from the World Cup. In fact, I said that Korea should not qualify for the World Cup. I thought that only then would we look at the real bottom and try to improve the problems and change the culture. Why are we so obsessed with performance? I said that we would introduce an advanced football system, but what has changed? Many players are going to the European football stage, but there are still many opinions that Korean football needs to develop. If the Football Association is looking into this, I would like you to properly promote how and what you are looking into.

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Currently, the Korea Football Association is discussing the appointment of the national football team manager. The national football team has home matches against Thailand on March 21 and away matches on March 26 for the 2026 North and Central American World Cup Asian 2nd qualifying round. I hope to see the united appearance of the next manager, Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min, who reconciled, and other players in this A-match.