The beautiful game has turned ugly for South Korea's national football team. Fans, incensed by a string of lacklustre performances and questionable tactical decisions, have turned their ire on the head coach. But this is more than just a sporting row.
It is a signal that South Korea's soft power machine is spluttering. For years, the government has poured billions into sports diplomacy, hoping to burnish the nation's global image. Now, with the team's World Cup hopes hanging by a thread, the return on that investment looks dangerously thin.
The coach, once hailed as a visionary, is now the target of online petitions and angry chants. Markets, you see, are merciless arbiters. When confidence evaporates, so does value.
The same applies to national brands. If Seoul cannot manage its football team, how can it be trusted to manage its economy? The parallels with a sovereign debt crisis are striking: a sudden loss of faith, a scramble for the exits, and a desperate attempt to shore up credibility.
The coach's fate may be sealed, but the damage to South Korea's sporting reputation could take far longer to repair.
