Coach Moreno will start work immediately towards a series of friendly matches during FIFA Days in September and October at home. Korea meets Ecuador (September 24), Uruguay (September 28), Venezuela (October 2) and Uzbekistan (October 6).
The Spanish coach was appointed two months after coach Hong Myung-bo resigned due to failure at the 2026 World Cup. However, the Korean Football Association (KFA) only signed a contract with Mr. Moreno until November 27, 2026, which is the end of FIFA Days in November. If achievements and play are good, the contract will be extended until the end of the 2027 Asian Cup taking place in January in Saudi Arabia, where Korea is in the same group. Vietnam, UAE and Yemen.
Moreno is among the final 5 candidates, having passed both KFA's online and in-person interviews. Previously, he was also a candidate after Korea parted ways with Portuguese coach Paulo Bento after the 2022 World Cup. However, KFA appointed German coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
Moreno, born in 1977, has no experience playing professionally. He majored in Commerce and International Relations at the University of Barcelona. He also worked at a bank, or in the men's fashion departments of department stores. However, Moreno always cherished the dream of becoming a coach and joined Barcelona B in 2010.
Moreno then had the opportunity to work as assistant to Luis Enrique, currently PSG coach, at Roma (2011-2012), Celta Vigo (2013-2014), Barcelona (2014-2017). In July 2018, the couple reunited on the Spanish team.
In March 2019, Moreno had a short time leading Spain, to replace Enrique when the coach took a break to take care of his daughter Xana fighting bone cancer. However, after helping "La Roja" qualify for Euro 2020, Moreno was removed from the coaching staff by Enrique himself as soon as he returned. At that time, Enrique did not hesitate to call his long-time partner a "traitor" because he intended to keep the head coach position until the end of the tournament instead of returning it as agreed.
Moreno then led Monaco (France) and Granada (Spain), but were both fired for poor performance before the end of the season. In December 2023, Moreno led Sochi and helped the team return to the Russian national championship, but the two sides parted ways in September 2025, when the club had only one point after the first 7 matches of the season. Moreno's coaching career up to now has been 39 wins, 36 draws and 38 losses.
A few months after leaving Sochi, Russian media revealed that Moreno abused artificial intelligence (AI) at work. This military leader has thoroughly used ChatGPT as an important support tool for both professional planning and daily logistics. It was this approach that raised internal concerns and indirectly led to his departure.
Former Sochi Sports Director Andrei Orlov shared with Sports Russia about a rare incident that took place during a trip to FC SKA - Khabarovsk's stadium in March 2025. Moreno used ChatGPT to schedule travel and training for the players, but applied it mechanically to the point of ignoring basic biological factors. Accordingly, the players must stay awake for 28 hours and have no time to sleep.
Coach Moreno then sent a letter to Spanish newspaper Marca to refute the accusations. He affirmed that he had never used ChatGPT or any type of AI to prepare for the match, decide on the lineup or select players. He said that the controversial statements came from a former Sochi official, who left because of professional disagreements during the work of both sides.
KFA's report said Moreno's strengths are tactics and opponent analysis based on his experience leading strong clubs and teams in the world, along with excellent data usage skills. Chairman of the National Team Strengthening Committee Hyun Young-min said: "This coach has a deep understanding of Korean football. His enthusiasm is impressive, and he offers many different tactical options."
Korean media also mentioned this issue when reporting that coach Moreno was appointed. The media assessed that signing a short-term contract was reasonable, but doubted the possibility of success. "A strategist-style coach, has overcome the limitations of not being a player through data analysis. As a coach, he is judged to lack charisma, the ability to lead the control point of the stars and create influence in the dressing room," the article in JoongAng newspaper said. "His strengths are a diverse tactical plan and strong pressing. His weaknesses are too much emphasis on ball control and lack of stability in defense."
