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| Kim Pan-Gon was previously best known in South Korea for his technical role with the Korea Football Association, where he played a major role in the appointment of Paulo Bento -- under whom they reached the round of 16 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images |
On Sunday, just over a week after he had abruptly vacated his role as Malaysia coach, Kim Pan-Gon was announced as the new man in charge of South Korean giants Ulsan HD.
It always seemed his likeliest destination once rumours started swirling in South Korea, even though there were murmurings that a return to Hong Kong was potentially on the cards.
With no disrespect to the Hong Kong national team vacancy, that was never likely to be on the cards.
Malaysia are on par with, if not superior to, Hong Kong, even though both had made excellent strides in recent times having ended long waits to return to the AFC Asian Cup earlier this year. The FIFA world rankings suggest as much with Malaysia sitting 134th and Hong Kong 25 places lower.
But Ulsan, who have been looking for a new man in charge since Hong Myung-Bo was jettisoned to the South Korea national team, is a far different story.
They have been the dominant force in South Korean football in the past couple of years although their overall haul of four K League 1 titles still pales in comparison to more traditional powerhouses like Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, FC Seoul and Pohang Steelers.
They are also one of the biggest clubs in all of Asia, having won the AFC Champions League twice, as recently as 2020.
Still, the biggest motivating factor for Kim -- which also is the strongest testimony to what he has achieved to earn this job -- is the fact that his marks the first opportunity he has to take on a top job in his native country.
Having had a decent playing career that saw him feature for Ulsan and also have a brief spell with Jeonbuk, the 55-year-old has had quite the unconventional coaching journey which started where he decided to hang up his boots -- in Hong Kong.
He had a stint as assistant coach with Busan IPark which saw him take over the reins in a caretaker capacity for a period of time but, prior to the Malaysia job, Kim's managerial experience largely came in Hong Kong -- first with club teams Hong Kong Rangers (then Buler Rangers) and South China, before taking charge of the national team on two separate occasions.
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| After a successful spell in charge of Malaysia, Kim Pan-Gon has returned to his native South Korea to take on the Ulsan HD job that was recently vacated by national hero Hong Myung-Bo. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images |
Kim did subsequently have another assisting role in the K League with Gyeongnam FC and, after his second spell with Hong Kong, then had a technical role at the Korea Football Association.
All were testament to his undeniable coaching acumen and yet a top job at one of South Korea's bigger teams still seemed a fantasy.
Those were usually reserved for former national team heroes with stellar credentials and reputations. The likes of Hong Myung-Bo, Hwang Sun-Hong and Kim Do-Hoon, who had all played at the FIFA World Cup.
Having never featured for South Korea at any level, few in the country had even heard of him.
Then, Malaysia came calling at the start of 2022. Harimau Malaya were 154th in the world at the time.
Under Kim Pan-Gon, they would qualify for the Asian Cup on merit for the first time since 1980 -- having last featured in 2007 by virtue of being the tournament's co-hosts.
While they would ultimately fail to make it out of the group stage back in January, Malaysia caused a real stir when they held giants South Korea to a thrilling 3-3 draw -- a game in which they came from behind to lead and then snatched a point with a dramatic equaliser in the 15th minute of injury-time.
They then won their opening two games in the second round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and looked on course for another major achievement, before falling away and missing out on the third round.
Still, even if he has left them at an untimely moment with the much-coveted ASEAN Championship at the end of the year, Malaysia are now in a significantly better place than where they were when Kim Pan-Gon first took charge, having even reached a high of world No. 130.
And for their former coach, what might have seemed a less-illustrious job is ultimately the one that has earned him recognition -- and vindication for his out-of-the-ordinary path back home.
Kim Pan-Gon has finally found his way to a top job in South Korea -- and with the K League's biggest club at that.
It may have seemed improbable previously, and he still may not be the likeliest of candidates.
Yet, for all that he achieved -- first in Hong Kong and then with Malaysia -- he thoroughly deserves the opportunity.
- Gabriel Tan
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