![Japanese football legend Keisuke Honda. [EPA]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/07/06/rcv.YNA.20260418.PEP20260418136201009_P1.jpg)
Japanese football legend Keisuke Honda has sparked debate after publicly lobbying to be named the national team's next head coach — drawing comparisons to former South Korea manager Hong Myung-bo, who faced similar controversies throughout his coaching career.
Honda posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday that he wanted to address the Japan Football Association's reported push to extend head coach Hajime Moriyasu's contract by one year. "I know there will be those for and against this, but let me say one thing," he wrote. "If this is just a stopgap extension because there's no suitable next candidate, then try me for one year."
He added: "If we lose at the Asian Cup, you can fire me on the spot — no questions asked. I'm willing to accept that challenge."
Japan's national team returned home after being eliminated in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup in North America. Speculation had emerged about bringing in a foreign coach, but the JFA is understood to be pursuing a one-year contract extension with Moriyasu.
Honda's remarks quickly drew scrutiny over his lack of the "JFA Pro" license — the highest coaching qualification required to manage the national team.
Honda rebuffed the criticism by reposting a lengthy statement he had written three years ago. "I simply could not accept the rules around licensing, so I never wanted to obtain one," he said, arguing that the licensing system had become "overly fragmented and complex — essentially a massive business."
As the controversy grew, Honda posted again Monday, clarifying that his point was not about whether licenses are necessary, but about "whether the system that makes them mandatory is truly right."
Drawing on the analogy of a business degree, he said: "There is no rule that says you cannot become a CEO without an MBA. In football today, you cannot become a top-level coach without a coaching license. That is the same as saying you cannot become a business leader without an MBA."
Among South Korean football fans, Honda's situation has drawn pointed comparisons to Hong's trajectory. Like Honda, Hong was an unquestioned legend as a player, but his coaching career was dogged by qualification controversies and poor results from start to finish.
After Jo Bonfrere resigned in 2006, Hong joined Dick Advocaat's staff as an assistant coach — despite not holding the first-class coaching license the Korea Football Association required. He had only rushed through a second-class coaching course in October 2005, shortly after retiring as a player.
The qualification controversy was not a one-off. As a head coach, Hong's lowest point came at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where South Korea finished bottom of their group. When he was reappointed 12 years later for the 2026 World Cup in North America, fresh controversy erupted over allegations that he had obtained his Pro coaching license in an unusually short time.
Meanwhile, Hong departed for Los Angeles through Incheon International Airport on Thursday. His family is understood to be based in the United States.
dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com
