Hong Myung-bo, The Shaky Korean Soccer Leader

Hong Myung-bo, The Shaky Korean Soccer Leader… Until the 2027 Asian Cup

'Hero' who led the team to the semifinals of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup and the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics

Contract until the 2027 Saudi Asian Cup... Interim evaluation based on the 2026 North and Central America World Cup

"Lee Im-saeng, technical director, visited the team after interviewing foreign candidates and made an offer like 'making a fuss'"

Ahead of the 2026 North and Central American World Cup, Korean soccer, which was shaken, will finally hand over the baton to 'big brother' Hong Myung-bo, the Ulsan HD coach.

The Korea Football Association announced on the 7th that it had decided to appoint Coach Hong as the next national soccer team coach. 안전한 파워볼사이트

With this, Korean soccer will have a new coach for the first time in five months since Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany) was fired on February 16.

It has been six years since Shin Tae-yong, the current Indonesian coach who led the national soccer team to the 2018 Russia World Cup, took charge of the team as a Korean coach.

As a player, Coach Hong led the team to the semifinals of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, and as a coach, he is a 'hero' of Korean soccer who wrote the bronze medal story at the 2012 London Olympics.

Coach Hong, who led the national team from 2013 to 2014 and participated in the 2014 Brazil World Cup, has returned to the top spot as head coach of the national team after 10 years.

The experience of being heavily criticized for being eliminated in the group stage at the Brazil World Cup could be an asset in the process of challenging the North and Central American World Cup.

The fact that he is well-versed in administration, having served as the executive director of the Football Association from 2017 to 2020, is considered a strength in terms of increasing control both inside and outside the national team.

Coach Hong has led Ulsan since 2021 and won the K League 1 twice in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

He knows better than anyone else domestic players such as Joo Min-kyu (Ulsan), who made his late debut in this year's A match.

On the 2nd of this month, Lee Im-saeng, the head of the technical headquarters of the Korea Football Association, left for Europe to interview foreign coaches such as David Wagner and Gus Poyet, and after returning to Korea, visited Coach Hong in person on the 5th and offered him the position of national team manager.

A Korea Football Association official said, "Director Lee persuaded Coach Hong as if he was 'trying hard'," and "Coach Hong thought about it for a day and conveyed his acceptance on the evening of the 6th."

It is reported that Coach Hong and the Korea Football Association completed the contract procedure this morning, as he is still only an internal candidate without the approval of the board of directors.

The contract period is basically 2 years and 6 months until the 2027 Saudi Arabia Asian Cup.

Prior to that, there will be an interim evaluation right after the 2026 North and Central American World Cup in June.

With Coach Hong leading the national team, attention is also being paid to who will take over the reins of Ulsan, which is attempting to win the K League 1 title three times in a row.

Coach Hong will lead the national team starting from the first match of the 3rd round of the Asian qualifiers for the North and Central American World Cup against Palestine at home on September 5th.

Since there is still quite some time left until the national team match, it is possible that Coach Hong will continue to lead Ulsan until then.

After failing to find a permanent coach for several months and having two A-match periods under a temporary coach system, the Korea Football Association has finally sent an 'SOS' to Coach Hong, who is currently leading a K League 1 club.

Since Coach Klinsmann stepped down, the Korea Football Association has been looking for a new coach centered around the National Team Strengthening Committee.

When Chairman Jeong Hae-seong of the Strengthening Committee, who is known to have recommended domestic coaches to the high-ranking officials of the Korea Football Association, announced his resignation on the 28th of last month, there was speculation that the next coach might be leaning toward a foreigner.

However, Director Lee Im-saeng, who led the selection of the coach following Chairman Jeong, interviewed foreign candidates such as Wagner and Poyet and concluded that Coach Hong was the most suitable.

Director Lee is scheduled to brief the relevant information at the Football Association Hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 8th.