What national soccer team commander Hong Myung-bo put forward as his ‘qualifications as a coach’ was his abundant experience encompassing both field and administration.
At a press conference to announce his inauguration as head coach of the national soccer team held at the Korea Football Association building in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 29th, Coach Hong Myung-bo convinced soccer fans that he was the right person to lead Korean soccer.
Coach Hong said, “I coached national teams by age group and gained administrative experience as an executive director of the Korea Football Association. After that, I returned to the field and experienced the importance of the K-League,” highlighting his career path over the years.
Coach Hong started as the head coach of the ‘Advocaat’ team in 2005, took charge of the U-20 national team in 2009, and led the U-23 national team to a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
In 2014, he participated in the World Cup in Brazil as the head coach of the national team, but suffered a bitter defeat with 1 draw and 2 losses.
In addition to his experience as a national team coach by age group and his experience as a failure, he emphasized that his time as the executive director of the Korea Football Association from 2017 to 2020 and his time in the K-League as the commander 스포츠 of Ulsan HD in K-League 1 for three and a half years from 2021 have all been assets, and that he is ready to lead the development of Korean football, such as establishing a youth system and discovering promising players.
He also said that he is very interested in the linkage between the national teams by age group, which is the core of the Korean soccer technology philosophy, and that the national team coach is his ‘duty’.
“After leaving the position of executive director of the association, I was heartbroken by the series of events that occurred during the 2022 Qatar World Cup and the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup,” said Coach Hong. “I thought that someone had to do their part. Of course, there could have been someone better than me, but I thought this was my last mission.”