JURGEN KLINSMANN has been sacked by South Korea after just 12 months in charge.
The German legend was only appointed in February of last year, with his contract set to run until the 2026 World Cup.
But South Korea suffered heartbreak in the Asian Cup semi-finals earlier this month, prolonging their 64-year wait for the title.
And there had also been in-fighting between top players.
As revealed by SunSport, captain Son Heung-min dislocated his finger during a dispute with team-mates before the shock 2-0 loss in the semis by Jordan.
SunSport understands some of the younger members of the squad ate their dinner quickly so that they could enjoy a game of ping pong.
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But Tottenham’s Son, the star of the national team, was unhappy with the players leaving early with meals often used as a chance for team bonding.
After an exchange of words an altercation broke out which left the Spurs legend with a dislocated finger, with South Korea then losing to Jordan.
Following disastrous defeat, Klinsmann said he had no plans to resign from the job.
But just nine days later, football officials said the ex-Spurs striker and World Cup winner had run out of time to turn things around.
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Hwangbo Kwan of the KFA said: “We’ve reached a consensus that Klinsmann cannot exercise his leadership as national team head coach for various reasons and that a change of leadership is necessary.”
Klinsmann led Germany to third place at the 2006 World Cup and USA to the knockout stages in 2014.
But before joining South Korea, he had just a ten-week spell at Bundesliga side Hertha BSC four years ago.
South Korea were one of the favourites to win the Asian Cup but managed just three goals before being dumped out in the final four.
They only won one match in normal time and in the second round were 90 seconds from elimination before a 99th-minute equaliser against Saudi Arabia set them up to win a shootout.
Skipper Son spoke out to admit his frustration following defeat to Jordan.
He said: “I’m devastated about this result. “Jordan are having an amazing journey this tournament, it’s incredible and they deserve it.
“They’re fighting until the end and it’s very disappointing for us.”
Hosts Qatar went on to beat Jordan 3-1 in the final to secure back-to-back titles.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
