My Bad Take: Hansi Flick should leave Germany and coach the South Korea national team

Hansi Flick has had himself quite a year to forget. He drove Germany right back into the ground after winning a sextuple with Bayern Munich, and he desperately needs something to rejuvenate his career. Unfortunately, the German national team seems like too big a job for him, as the World Cup has proven.

So where should he go? Well, Flick should eat some humble pie and go coach South Korea.

Korea are coming off a successful World Cup, having reached the round of 16 for only the third time in their history. However, they are in need of a new coach after Paulo Bento decided not to renew his contract with the Korea Football Association. Bento’s career was not exactly stellar until he took up the Korea post, but four years in the Land of the Morning Calm put his name back on the map. That is exactly the learning process that Flick needs right now.

Besides, Flick would work with a squad miles better than that of Germany’s. Son Heung-min is obviously one of the best players in the world, and would walk into the starting eleven of any team in the world. Napoli center back Kim Min-jae is probably the most in form defender in Europe right now, and would give the likes of Antonio Rüdiger and Niklas Süle a run for their money. Although Flick made many mistakes in Qatar, it’s not like he had a good squad at his disposal to work with. Korea’s squad would give Flick so many more opportunities to showcase his abilities. What’s more, Korean players are notorious to work hard and run their socks off on the pitch, a characteristic that would work wonders in Flick’s high-pressing system.

Korea is also a beautiful country. Hansi and his wife Silke would love Seoul, which is a modern yet traditional city, where the past, present, and future come together to form a glorious jubilee of culture. But Korea is so much more than just Seoul. Three sides of the country are surrounded by water, which makes for some stunning beaches. Busan, Korea’s second largest city, is one of the most beautiful port cities in the world. Yeosu, which hosted the 2012 World Expo, is also a lovely, but more quaint, port city, as is Mokpo. Both cities boast some of the finest cuisine in the country, and coming from a country that already boasts the best food in the world, that’s saying an awful lot. Koreans also tend to view Germans in a rather positive light (not all thanks to 2018), which bodes well for the Flicks.

What does the Korean football scene look like, you may ask? Well, we’ve already established that the national team is better than Germany. The K-League also provides some scintillating football. This writer has been to many K-League games over the years, and not once was he disappointed with what he saw. The stadiums, while small, are very clean and easy to reach. This writer’s personal favorite is the DGB Daegu Bank Park, which is a relatively new build, but makes up for it in terms of atmosphere, compactness, and cleanliness.

The only drawback of Flick joining the KFA would be that he would have to work on a much lower salary. But so what? Flick should be able to work with that amount of money. It would put him right back in his place. He was pampered at Bayern and Germany, so maybe he needs to take it down a notch to realize where his place is.

If Flick coaches Korea to glory, then surely no one will doubt his abilities again. It’s just a matter of him saying yes.