“As far as I remember, I was Kim Han-seok, a reporter from Sports Seoul. He nicknamed me ‘Fighter in the Wind’. The movie was about Choi Bae-dal (starring Choi Bae-dal)’s life. She did ‘Breaking the Stamp’. As a leader, I was always worried more than I expected, but I overcame everything before coming here.”
Kim Pan-gon (55), who was appointed as the 12th head coach of Ulsan HD on August 5, mentioned the nickname given to him by former editor Kim Han-seok when he was active in the press conference. This means that he has lived a life of “breaking the seal” every time since he became a leader.
Coach Kim drew attention as a leader while serving as the head coach at the Nubin Hong Kong stage at the end of his career. From 2008 to 2010, he won two regular league titles, including the prestigious South China, the Hong Kong national team, and the U-23 national team, and won a gold medal at the East Asian Games, earning praise as the “Hong Kong’s Hiddink.” He served as the chairman of the Korean Football Association’s national coach selection committee between 2018 and 2022 and took the lead in the appointment of former coach Paulo Bento, who led the Qatar World Cup to the round of 16.
He returned to the field after being appointed as the head coach of the Malaysian national team. He led Malaysia to the finals of the Asian Cup for the first time in 43 years and made a dramatic 3-3 draw with South Korea in the group stage.
“When I first went to both Hong Kong and Malaysia, they were like, ‘Who is that?'” Kim said with a smile. “I think I started from the 10th basement floor. I gave everything I could to break the seal.”
His second heyday as a leader in a foreign country. As such, his family reportedly opposed to going to Ulsan last summer in a somewhat unstable atmosphere. Kim’s wife, son and daughter are staying in Hong Kong. “I think he was worried that he might try too hard in Korea. When he is a coach of the national team, don’t you have time to spend with your family regularly throughout the year? I felt sorry about that,” he said.
Kim has already made up his mind. He played as the champion in 1996, when Ulsan won its first K-League title. However, he took off his uniform that year forlornly. It was quite unusual for Kim, who once dreamed of becoming a K-League leader, to receive an offer from his former team, which he left 28 years ago. “It was an honor for me to make such an offer. I had to challenge myself as a firefighter, but I told my family to understand.”
He made the right choice. He became the coach of his former team that left the K-League championship team. Ulsan won the match against Gangwon FC 2-1 in the 36th round home game of Hana Bank K League 1 2024 at Munsu Stadium in Ulsan on Sunday, and confirmed its early victory regardless of the outcome of the remaining two matches. It is the fifth of its career and the third in the K-League history (Seongnam and Jeonbuk). Kim has become the first player and coach to win the title both at Ulsan. 먹튀검증
At the time of his inauguration, the team was reeling from various noises after his predecessor Hong Myung-bo left as the head coach of the A-team. Kim trusted his current coaching staff and expanded his communication skills with veterans such as Lee Chung-yong and Kim Young-kwon. He trusted players who had never taken the opportunity before, and led Ulsan’s “one-team culture” anew. As such, he successfully broke the record once again.
“I feel like I’m smiling now that my family is winning the championship,” Kim said. “However, we have a long way to go. We still have the final of the Korea Cup, and we will be competing in the AFC Champions League (ACLE) and the Club World Cup next year. We will not let our guard down,” Kim said, looking forward to a bigger future.