Robert Moreno Takes Over South Korea as Interim Coach

South Korea finally has a new man in charge, even if it comes with an interim label for now. The Korea Football Association (KFA) confirmed Tuesday that Robert Moreno will take the reins of the men's national team, in an effort to restore some order after a summer that felt endless for Korean fans.

The Spanish coach, who led the Spanish national team in 2019, arrives with a limited deal: six matches spread across the September and November international windows. Still, the door is left wide open. The KFA made clear that the arrangement could be extended through the January 2027 Asian Cup if his work proves convincing.

After his stint with Spain, Moreno went on to coach AS Monaco and Granada, and his most recent job was in Russia, at the helm of Sochi, a post he left in August of last year. Now he's making his debut in Asian soccer, taking on a challenge that's as much about tactics as it is about locker room management.

Because South Korea's situation hasn't been just about results. The job had been vacant since late June, when Hong Myung-bo resigned following the team's group stage exit at the 2026 World Cup. And the trouble didn't stop there. Fan anger over Hong's 2024 appointment only grew over the summer, to the point that both the coach himself and the KFA's president at the time, Chung Mong-gyu, ended up stepping down. Both were later summoned to a parliamentary hearing in July to explain what had happened.

Against that backdrop, fixing the internal atmosphere matters almost as much as winning games. That much was clear from Hyun Young-min, head of the KFA's National Team Selection Committee, in explaining the choice of Moreno.

Moreno impressed us with his deep understanding of Korean soccer and his ability to offer a wide range of tactical options. We hope he and his new coaching staff will help improve our national team's performance.Hyun Young-min

The federation was just as blunt in describing the Spaniard's immediate mission: to "change the mood" of a group battered by months of institutional noise and media pressure. That's no small ask for someone who hasn't even run a single training session with the squad yet.

The first test comes soon. Moreno will make his debut on September 24 against Ecuador, in a friendly to be played in Suwon, just south of Seoul. It will be the first real clue as to where he plans to take a team that needs, above all, to regain its composure before turning its attention to the Asian Cup.