Former national football team head coach Uli Stielike has left South Korea and returned to his home country, officials in Seoul said Wednesday.
The Korea Football Association said Stielike departed for Germany on Saturday, one month after he was sacked as the men's national football team boss.
The KFA said Stielike had a luncheon with his former backroom staff, including assistant coaches Jung Hae-sung and Seol Ki-hyeon, before leaving South Korea.
The KFA said Stielike didn't leave a message for South Korean fans.
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In this file photo taken on June 14, 2017, then South Korea national football team head coach Uli Stielike leaves Incheon International Airport. (Yonhap) |
Stielike, who took over the national team in September 2014, was the longest-tenured head coach in the men's national team history. He was axed after South Korea lost 3-2 to Qatar in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup last month.
He left a record of 27 wins, five draws and seven losses with South Korea.
Stielike was contracted with the KFA through the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Although the German parted ways with South Korean football, he was reportedly paid for the remainder of his KFA contract worth 1.8 billion won ($1.6 million).
Following Stielike's ouster, the KFA earlier this month hired Shin Tae-yong as new leader for the men's team. Shin was previously an assistant to Stielike and led South Korea's under-23 and under-20 squads. (Yonhap)
