It's like director Jessi failed to do Korea

Former Leeds United coach Jesse Machi (51, USA), who was a priority, finally failed to go to Korea.

Multiple sources in the soccer community said on Wednesday, "The negotiations between the Korea Football Association (KFA) and Coach Jesse March failed. The two sides have talked closely for quite some time, but they failed to narrow the gap." A source familiar with the KFA also admitted, "It's as if the coach doesn't take the helm of the national soccer team."

After Jeong Hae-sung, chairman of the national team's power enhancement committee, returned from a meeting with key candidates in Europe, the KFA started negotiations with the coach as if he had a meeting with them. The conclusion was a failure. It seems that the coach has failed to reach a consensus in terms of financial matters such as annual salary and taxes. He was paid 3.5 million pounds (or 6.02 billion won) from Leeds (England) and 2.25 million euros (or 3.33 billion won) from Leipzig (Germany).

It was regrettable in many ways. As if a coach is an attractive leader. After serving as the coach for the U.S. national team in 2010, he made his debut as the head coach for Leipzig (2018-2019) and took the helm of Salzburg in 2019. As he performed well in the Bundesliga in Austria as well as the UEFA Champions League, he was offered by big European clubs and served as the coach for Leipzig. His company was not long with him. He terminated his contract early in July 2021, just six months after taking the helm. Still, it was as if not a few clubs were looking for a coach. He took the helm of Leeds for one year from March 2022.

The Power Reinforcement Committee selected 11 candidates (4 in Korea and 7 in foreign countries) through the fifth meeting on April 2 and started contacting them, as if after a video interview with the coach, Chairman Chung and his party met in person in London, England, on April 18. He showed great interest in the project with Korea at the meeting, and showed his sincerity to meet in person after watching Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton)'s home game in the English Premier League (EPL), which he coached in Salzburg in the past, on April 25.

The main negotiations began on April 30 after the internal reporting of the Power Enhancement Committee and the sixth meeting. It was as if the coach was a priority among the final candidates, and the overall mood of the negotiations was not bad. However, there were too many practical limitations and obstacles. It was as if the coach had decided not to accept the final proposal delivered by the KFA before and after the Children's Day holiday.

For the KFA, the fire started. As if the negotiations with the coach, which had been "all-in," have gone awry, the team has completely changed its plan. The committee planned to appoint a new head coach this month and have him lead the team from the fifth and sixth rounds of Group C of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 North American World Cup with Singapore (away from June 6) to China (June 11). The team should hurry to move on to Plan B, but the remaining candidates have no more attractive card than a coach.

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