Kim Pan-gon (Korean: 김판곤; Chinese: 金判坤; born May 1, 1969 in Jinju, South Korea) is a South Korean football manager who is currently the head coach of Malaysia national football team.
![]() Kim Pan-gon in 2012 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Kim Pan-gon | ||
Date of birth | (1969-05-01) 1 May 1969 (age 53)[1] | ||
Place of birth | Jinju, South Korea | ||
Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
Position(s) | Left-winger | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Malaysia | ||
Youth career | |||
Honam University | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1992–1996 | Ulsan Hyundai | 58 | (5) |
1997 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 2 | (0) |
2000–2001 | Instant-Dict | 31 | (8) |
2001–2003 | Double Flower | 36 | (11) |
2003–2004 | Buler Rangers | 21 | (3) |
Teams managed | |||
2003–2004 | Buler Rangers | ||
2005–2008 | Busan I'Park (assistant) | ||
2008–2010 | South China | ||
2009 | Hong Kong U-23 | ||
2009–2010 | Hong Kong | ||
2011 | Gyeongnam FC (assistant) | ||
2012–2013 | Hong Kong U-23 | ||
2012–2017 | Hong Kong | ||
2017–2021 | South Korea (vice president) | ||
2022– | Malaysia | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
He previously served as the technical director of the Korea Football Association, the head coach of the Hong Kong national football team, the head coach of the Hong Kong U-23 team, the head coach of South China, Gyeongnam FC (tactical consultant), Busan I'Park, and Buler Rangers.
He led the Hong Kong U-23 team to win gold medal in the Football event at the 2009 East Asian Games football tournament after beating South Korea, North Korea and Japan.
He has obtained the AFC Professional Football Coaching Diploma, the highest football coaching qualification in Asia.[2]
Kim Pan-gon was born into a family of peasants in Jinju, a small town in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. He was the youngest of five children and his family used to set up stalls to sell food 5 kilometers outside of Jinju every Friday. Kim Pan-gon loved football, but the junior high school he attended did not have a school team. In order to play football in high school, he enrolled in Changshin High School in Masan, which is 1 hour's drive from his hometown of Jinju, and Honam University, a famous non-traditional football school he attended in college.[3]
Kim Pan-gon played for K League clubs Ulsan Hyundai and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors before arriving Hong Kong to play for Instant-Dict in 2000. In 1995, he suffered a serious injury of a shin bone fracture. He underwent 4 major surgeries, but in the end wept without even realizing his dream on the field.[4] He moved to Double Flower after Instant-Dict pulled out. He had to give up his career as a player when he turned 30 due to health problems.[5] In 2003, he became player-manager at Buler Rangers and retired as a player at the end of the season.[6]
As the playing manager for two years from 2002 to 2004, he served as the Hong Kong Rangers, the weakest team in the Hong Kong League at the time, and took the first place with 7 wins and 2 draws in the first half of the 2002-03 season.
Kim returned to South Korea in 2004 and earned his Professional Coaching License of Asian Football Confederation (AFC), at the time only 5 people in South Korea held the same qualification.[7] Since 2005, he has been appointed as the head coach of Busan I'Park , assisting coach Ian Porterfield. In 2006, Kim became acting coach. He won over the team that had been unbeaten in their 21st match after manager Ian Porterfield's sudden resignation in April 2006. After leading a streak of four consecutive victories, he returned as a coach when Andre Egli arrived. However, Egli abruptly announced his resignation while attending field training in the United States in June, and became the acting coach again. Coach Kim, who became the head coach after Egli, threw the baton after 17 days in office, and has only acted as an acting coach three times in the last one year and four months.[8] During the period when Kim served as an interim coach, the position of Busan in the league rose at an alarming rate. Korean called him "Pan-gon Magic" but because the team never appointed him as head coach, he returned to Hong Kong in 2008.[5]
After a few years working in the Korean League, he became the manager of Hong Kong First Division League giant South China from 2008. He led the team to the semi-final of the 2009 AFC Cup, but lost to Kuwait SC.[7]
On 11 December 2010, after a 3-4 defeat by Kitchee, Kim Pan-gon resigned from the post of South China team manager, citing health reasons that required him to recuperate back in South Korea.[9]
While managing South China, he was also the coach of the Hong Kong and Hong Kong U-23 from August 2009 to March 2010, during which time he led the senior team to the finals group of the 2010 East Asian Football Championship. He also led Hong Kong U-23 to win gold medal in the Football event at the 2009 East Asian Games football tournament after beating South Korea, North Korea and Japan.[7]
On 26 November 2010, Kim was transferred position from manager to physical fitness consultant of South China, and he will return to South Korea later to serve as a tactical consultant for K-League team Gyeongnam FC. Kim told the media that due to minor heart and liver problems, it is not suitable for him to be the manager and head coach of South China. It is convenient to stay in South Korea for medical treatment.[10] Earlier, he was invited by FC Gyeongnam to be the head coach, but Kim only agreed to serve as a tactical consultant, and his family would continue to stay in Hong Kong.[11] However, due to the health of his wife living in Hong Kong, he returned to Hong Kong after one season.[citation needed]
Kim Pan-gon suddenly appeared in Hong Kong on 5 October 2011, he claimed to the media that his health has recovered and he has applied last week to the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) to be the new Hong Kong national football team coach. He also confirmed that his contract with Gyeongnam FC still has one year to run, but he will be released if he is appointed by the HKFA.[12]
Kim Pan-gon was appointed National Academy coach by the HKFA on 22 December 2011. He was wholly responsible for the identification, development and coaching of all players aged 18 and below.[13] He took up the position of acting head coach of Hong Kong national football team in November 2012 following the resignation of former head coach Ernie Merrick.
Following the team's impressive performance under Kim, the Hong Kong Football Association confirmed Kim as the permanent head coach of the Hong Kong national football team on 28 May 2013. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the HKFA.[14]
According to Kim, most of the Hong Kong players do not have an environment where they can comfortably focus on football, where most of the players are semi-pro. Kim took this into consideration and used the short time as efficiently as possible. The focus was on physical strength and organization. Hong Kong players worked together through strengthening training for about two to three days a week.[15]
On December 2015, HKFA announced that they will renew the contract with Hong Kong team head coach Kim Jong-kun until June 2018.[16]
The 2015 World Cup qualifiers, Hong Kong's two 0-0 draws with China, not only attracted new fans to support the Hong Kong team, but also made Kim Pan-goon's popularity high. However, in the past two years, the situation has quickly declined. Kim Pan-goon's team missed the Asian Cup qualifying round and selected too many foreign players, but the Hong Kong team did not see outstanding results, which also caused him to be criticized.[3]
During the game against North Korea, some fans held up the "Kim Out" slogan and asked Kim to resign as the coach of the Hong Kong team due to his bad performance in the last round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification.[17] "Kim Out" slogan flooded the social media too, criticising Kim's conservative tactics and failed to play offensive football, making it difficult for the Hong Kong team to win. Hong Kong fans also criticised that after Kim took the office, the number of naturalised player in the team increased greatly, making it difficult for local teenagers to find opportunities to fight for the place. Some naturalised player of the Hong Kong team are indeed very old like defender Festus Baise and attacking midfielder Itaparica, who are both over 37 years old.[18] Kim replied to the fans regarding the influx of naturalised player on an interview in December 2019, saying "Hong Kong is an international city, everyone wants to be a Hong Konger, and everyone wants to fight for the citizens of Hong Kong. Why aren't they [naturalised player] welcomed?".[19]
In December 2017, Kim resigned as the head coach of Hong Kong to become technical director of the Korean Football Association.[20]
On 26 December 2017, Kim was appointed by the Korea Football Association to be the technical director of the South Korea national team supervisory committee. He is responsible for hiring coaches for the South Korea national team and its U-23 squad. He is playing a role in promoting the development of football by appointing, evaluating, and supporting the national team coach selection, management, and long-term roadmap.[21]
On 21 January 2022, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) announced that they had hired Kim Pan-gon as the new national team head coach.[22] He resigned as the technical director of the Korean Football Association and took a flight to Malaysia in mid-February with four coaching staff, comprising analysis and fitness officers, assistant coaches, and technical trainers.[23] Kim was offered a two-year contract that run until 2024 and would be extended if FAM is satisfied with the performance of the national squad in the future.[24] On 15 June 2022, he managed to help Harimau Malaya team qualify for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup after 42 years since the last time the Malaysian national football team qualified for the prestigious tournament with merit.
He resides in Hong Kong with his wife, son and daughter.[25] He successfully obtained a Hong Kong identity card after living in Hong Kong for 7 years.[26]
As of 17 November 2015
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 23 August 2009 | World Games Stadium, Kaohsiung, Taiwan | ![]() |
4–0 | 2010 EAFF Championship Semi-Final |
2 | 25 August 2009 | World Games Stadium, Kaohsiung, Taiwan | ![]() |
0–0 | 2010 EAFF Championship Semi-Final |
3 | 27 August 2009 | World Games Stadium, Kaohsiung, Taiwan | ![]() |
12–0 | 2010 EAFF Championship Semi-Final |
4 | 9 October 2009 | Outsourcing Stadium, Shizuoka, Japan | ![]() |
0–6 | 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
5 | 18 November 2009 | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
0–4 | 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
Abs.[27] | 6 January 2010 | National Stadium, Madinat 'Isa, Bahrain | ![]() |
0–4 | 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
6 | 7 February 2010 | Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan | ![]() |
0–5 | 2010 East Asian Football Championship |
7 | 11 February 2010 | Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan | ![]() |
0–3 | 2010 East Asian Football Championship |
8 | 14 February 2010 | Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan | ![]() |
0–2 | 2010 East Asian Football Championship |
9 | 3 March 2010 | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
0–0 | 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
10 | 14 November 2012 | Bukit Jalil Stadium, Malaysia | ![]() |
1–1 | Friendly |
11 | 1 December 2012 | Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
2–1 | 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup#preliminary round 2 |
12 | 3 December 2012 | Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
0–1 | 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup#preliminary round 2 |
13 | 7 December 2012 | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
2–0 | 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup#preliminary round 2 |
14 | 9 December 2012 | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
0–4 | 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup#preliminary round 2 |
15 | 6 February 2013 | Pakhtakor Markaziy Stadium, Uzbekistan | ![]() |
0–0 | 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
16 | 22 March 2013 | Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
1–0 | 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
17 | 4 June 2013 | Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
0–1 | Friendly |
18 | 6 September 2013 | Myanmar Youth Training Centre, Myanmar | ![]() |
0–0 | Friendly |
19 | 10 September 2013 | Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
1–0 | Friendly |
20 | 15 October 2013 | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
0–4 | 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
21 | 15 November 2013 | Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, United Arab Emirates | ![]() |
0–4 | 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
22 | 19 November 2013 | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
0–2 | 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
23 | 5 March 2014 | My Dinh Stadium, Vietnam | ![]() |
1–3 | 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
24 | 6 September 2014 | Lach Tray Stadium, Vietnam | ![]() |
1–3 | Friendly |
25 | 9 September 2014 | Hougang Stadium, Singapore | ![]() |
0–0 | Friendly |
26 | 10 October 2014 | Mongkok Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
2–1 | Friendly |
27 | 14 October 2014 | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
0–7 | Friendly |
28 | 13 November 2014 | Taipei Municipal Stadium, Taiwan | ![]() |
1–2 | 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup |
29 | 16 November 2014 | Taipei Municipal Stadium, Taiwan | ![]() |
1–0 | 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup |
30 | 19 November 2014 | Taipei Municipal Stadium, Taiwan | ![]() |
0–0 | 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup |
31 | 28 March 2015 | Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
1–0 | Friendly |
32 | 6 June 2015 | Shah Alam Stadium, Malaysia | ![]() |
0–0 | Friendly |
33 | 11 June 2015 | Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
7–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) |
34 | 16 June 2015 | Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
2–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) |
35 | 3 September 2015 | Bao'an Stadium, Shenzhen, China | ![]() |
0–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) |
36 | 8 September 2015 | Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
2–3 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) |
37 | 9 October 2015 | Rajamangala Stadium, Thailand | ![]() |
0–1 | Friendly |
38 | 13 October 2015 | Changlimithang Stadium, Bhutan | ![]() |
1–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) |
39 | 7 November 2015 | Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
5–0 | Friendly |
40 | 12 November 2015 | National Football Stadium, Maldives | ![]() |
1–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) |
41 | 17 November 2015 | Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong | ![]() |
0–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) |
42 | 25 March 2016 | Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Qatar | ![]() |
0–2 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) |
Hong Kong Coach of the Year | |
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2002–03 Hong Kong Top Footballer | |
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Managerial positions | |||||||||||||||||||||
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