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Jürgen Klinsmann blows 2-0 lead during his first game in charge of South Korea’s national team

Former United States men’s national team manager Jürgen Klinsmann coached his first game for South Korea on Friday as the Taeguk Warriors drew Colombia 2-2.

Klinsmann was named the new manager of South Korea on Feb. 27. Friday, he faced his first test which was a friendly match against Colombia in front of the home crowd in Ulsan, South Korea.

This is the German manager’s first real head coaching gig since he was let go by the USMNT back in 2016. He had an incredibly brief ten-week managerial stint with Hertha Berlin in 2019 before he stepped down.

After South Korea’s first 45 minutes it looked like Klinsmann couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. Star forward Son Heung-min had a brace at halftime including a fantastic free kick to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.

Klinsmann must not have given a very inspiring halftime speech as South Korea’s lead against Colombia lasted all of four minutes.

James Rodriguez scored 59 seconds into the second half to get Colombia right back into the game.

Colombia’s second goal was almost indentical to the first as Jorge Carrascal levelled the game at 2-2 in the 49th minute.

Klinsmann’s men pushed for a winner and nearly had it with two minutes left in the game, however Oh Hyeon-gyu’s late effort was cleared by the Colombia defense.

Up next for the ex-U.S. boss and South Korea is a home friendly vs. Uruguay on Tuesday. Klinsmann will be hoping to get his first win under his belt then.

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