 Kim managingHong Kong in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kim Pan-gon[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1969-05-01)1 May 1969 (age 56)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Jinju, South Korea | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Winger | ||||||||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| Honam University | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1992–1996 | Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i | 58 | (5) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Dinos | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Double Flower | 67 | (19) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Buler Rangers | 21 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 148 | (27) | |||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Buler Rangers | ||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2008 | Busan IPark (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | South China | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | Hong Kong U23 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Hong Kong | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Gyeongnam FC (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Hong Kong U23 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2017 | Hong Kong | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Malaysia | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Ulsan HD | ||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Tonga | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Kim Pan-gon (Korean: 김판곤;Hanja: 金判坤, born 1 May 1969) is a South Koreanfootball manager and former player who played as awinger. He is currently the manager of theTonga national football team.
Kim was born into a family of peasants inJinju, a small town inSouth 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 loved football, but the junior high school he attended did not have a team of its own. In order to play football in high school, he enrolled in Changshin High School inMasan, at an hour's drive from his hometown, andHonam University, a famous non-traditional football school.[3]
While in university, Kim attracted the attention ofUlsan Hyundai Horang-i managerCha Bum-kun and turned pro with Ulsan Hyundai in 1992. Kim failed to impress, however, and had to undergo seven surgeries due to a shin injury in his third year.[4][5] He transferred to anotherK League clubJeonbuk Hyundai Dinos in 1997, but could not overcome the effects of his injury and retired that year.
Kim became a high school coach for a while but left for Hong Kong to make a comeback. In 2000, he joined Instant-Dict (renamedDouble Flower the next year) in theHong Kong First Division League. He contributed to aHong Kong FA Cup title and later moved toBuler Rangers in 2002 to serve as a player-coach for two years.[6]
Kim returned to South Korea in 2004 and obtained the AFC Professional Football Coaching Diploma, Asia's highest-level coaching license. At that time, only five other South Koreans held the same qualification.[7][8] In 2005, he becameBusan IPark's assistant coach under managerIan Porterfield.
During four years at Busan, Kim helped his team as caretaker manager whenever they had urgent situations.[9] He won Busan's first victory of the 2006 season in his second match as Busan's manager on 8 April 2006 after predecessor Porterfield failed to get a victory in 21 consecutive matches,[10] and achieved four consecutive victories in that month. This sudden change was called the "Pan-gon's Magic" by Korean media.[11] He returned as the assistant coach whenAndré Egli became a replacement for Porterfield in July. However, Egli abruptly announced his resignation while attending field training in the United States in June 2007, and Kim once again managed Busan as caretaker manager for the remainder of the season. Busan quickly recruitedPark Sung-hwa as their new manager in July, but Park left for theSouth Korean Olympic team after just 17 days.[12]
Kim became the manager ofHong Kong First Division League clubSouth China on 3 December 2008.[13] Under Kim, South China won the2009 Lunar New Year Cup after defeatingleague all-star team andSparta Prague.[9] After contributing to South China's league title in the2008–09 season, he started to manage Hong Kong national teams at the same time. Kim and South China also won 2–0 overTottenham Hotspur in a pre-season friendly, and advanced to the semi-finals in the2009 AFC Cup.[8] He finished his best year by leadingHong Kong national under-23 team to anEast Asian Games title.[8]
On 11 December 2010, after a 3–4 defeat toKitchee, Kim Pan-gon resigned from the post of South China team manager, citing health reasons that required him to recuperate back inSouth Korea.[14]
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 forK League sideGyeongnam FC. Kim told the media that due to minor heart and liver problems, it is not suitable for him to be the manager of South China. It is convenient to stay in South Korea for medical treatment.[15] Earlier, he was invited by Gyeongnam to be the manager, but Kim only agreed to serve as a tactical consultant, and his family would continue to stay in Hong Kong.[16] However, due to the health of his wife living in Hong Kong, he returned to Hong Kong after one season.[citation needed]
Kim suddenly appeared in Hong Kong on 5 October 2011, claiming to the media that his health has recovered and he has applied last week to theHong Kong Football Association (HKFA) to be the newHong Kong national 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.[17]
Kim was appointed asNational 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.[18] He took up the position of acting manager of Hong Kong national football team in November 2012 following the resignation of former managerErnie Merrick. Afterwards, the HKFA confirmed Kim as the permanent manager of the Hong Kong national football team on 28 May 2013. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with the HKFA.[19]
According to Kim, most of the Hong Kongese players do not have an environment where they can comfortably focus on football, where most of the players are semi-professionals. 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.[20] Kim led the Hong Kong under-23 team to the knockout stage of the2014 Asian Games after earning 7 points in the group stage, but they were eliminated by eventual champions South Korea in the round of 16. In December 2015, HKFA announced that they will renew Kim's contract until June 2018.[21] During the2018 FIFA 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 increased Kim's popularity.[3]
However, Kim was gradually criticised by failing to qualify for the2019 AFC Asian Cup and recruiting too many foreign players.[3] During the match against North Korea, some fans held up the "Kim Out" slogan and asked Kim to resign due to bad performances in theAsian Cup qualification.[22] "Kim Out" slogans flooded social media as well, criticising Kim's conservative tactics and failure to play offensive football, making it difficult for Hong Kong to easily win. Hong Kong fans also criticised that after Kim took the office, the number of naturalised players in the team increased greatly, making it difficult for local youth to find opportunities to fight for places in the starting lineup. Some naturalised players of the team were fairly old, such as centre-backFestus Baise from Nigeria and midfielderItaparica from Brazil, who were both well over 37 years old at the time.[23] 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 players] welcomed?".[24]
In December 2017, Kim resigned as Hong Kong coach to become technical director of the Korean Football Association.[25]
On 26 December 2017, Kim was appointedKorea Football Association (KFA)'s vice president and head of the reinforcement committee. His long-term plan was to change the future of the nation's football like when he managed the Hong Kong national team.[26] He put emphasis on sports science and made football science team in the KFA to approach to players' treatment, recovery and weight training scientifically.[27] After setting as the direction "proactive football",[28] he hiredPaulo Bento as national team manager and explained his hiring process to the media.[29]
On 21 January 2022, theFootball Association of Malaysia (FAM) named Kim the new national team coach.[30] He resigned as technical director of the Korean Football Association and flew to Malaysia in mid-February that year with four staff: analysis and fitness officers, assistant coaches and technical trainers.[31] Kim signed a two-year contract expiring in 2024 that would be extended if FAM was satisfied with the performance of the national squad.[32]
In June 2022 on thethird round of 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Malaysia faced 3 matches which began with a 3–1 victory againstTurkmenistan in the first match,[33] suffering a 1–2 loss toBahrain,[34] before successfully ending their campaign by defeatingBangladesh with 4–1.[35] Thus, Malaysia finished second in Group E behind Bahrain and automatically qualified for the2023 AFC Asian Cup on merit after 42 years.[36][37]
Before the opening of the2022 AFF Championship, Kim selected 41 players for the preliminary squad for the competition, butTunku Ismail Idris, the crown prince ofJohor and the owner of Malaysian championsJohor Darul Ta'zim, refused to release his key players.[38] The competition was not an essential tournament approved by FIFA, and clubs were not required to send players.[39] So Kim called up new players including naturalised Malaysians,[39] and focused on seeing if they were worthy of being on the team.[40] His team advanced to the semifinals as group runner-up after winning three games in Group B, where it competed withVietnam,Myanmar,Singapore andLaos. Malaysia advanced to the semifinals and won the first leg, 1–0, over the defending championThailand, but fell in the second, 3–0.[40]
Malaysia went to the2023 AFC Asian Cup with high expectations, as they were put in a group withJordan,Bahrain, andSouth Korea. As part of the preparation for the tournament, Malaysia had a friendly match with Syria with a 2–2 draw.
Malaysia opened their tournament with a disastrous start, as they were beaten 0–4 by Jordan. In the second match against Bahrain, whom they met in the qualifiers, also beaten by a last-minute goal for Bahrain. Thus, Malaysia failed to advance past the group stages of the AFC Asian Cup again after four appearances, while they were also struggling to find their first Asian Cup win since their last win in1980. Kim was heavily criticized for using an unusual tactic than he frequently uses and for calling upNatxo Insa, who was 37 years old, had only made one cap for the national team, and had last played in 2018.[41] Heading to the last match against Kim native country,South Korea, Malaysia shockingly held South Korea to a 3–3 draw, thus earning Malaysia's first point in the Asian Cup since 1980.
In thesecond round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, Malaysia led the group with 6 points after defeatingKyrgyzstan andChinese Taipei. Heading into the match againstOman in March, the Malaysian team remained optimistic in getting some positive results. However, Malaysia suffered 2–0 defeats, both away and at home. Malaysia then only managed to get 1 point against Kyrgyzstan and 3 points against Chinese Taipei, and eventually only finished in third place with 10 points, thus Kim was unable to lead Malaysia to the third round of the World Cup qualifiers.
On 16 July 2024, Kim announced that he has resigned as Malaysia's national team head coach, citing personal commitments.[42]
On 28 July 2024, Kim signed withK League 1 clubUlsan HD, becoming a successor toHong Myung-bo, who was appointed the manager of the South Korea national team.[43] On 1 November, he led Ulsan to its third K League 1 title in a row after overcoming doubts about taking on the position midway through the season. Kim's side defeated nearest challengersGangwon FC 2–1 that day to secure the club's league title.[44] On the contrary, he lost in six out of seven matches at the league stage of the2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite, remaining a concern at the international level.[45] The concern was realised at the2025 FIFA Club World Cup, where he lost all three matches.[46] He changed a back four with which Ulsan had been familiar to a back three to counterattack stronger teams at the Club World Cup, but the choice was followed by a failure as a result.[47] Around the same time, he had three draws and four losses without a win in seven K League 1 matches, losing his competitiveness even in South Korea. On 2 August 2025, he left Ulsan after a 3–2 loss toSuwon FC.[48]
Kim obtained Hong Kong permanent residency after living there for seven years.[49] His wife, son and daughter all live in Hong Kong.[50]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Buler Rangers | 1 July 2002 | 1 July 2004 | 49 | 24 | 7 | 18 | 048.98 | [51][52] |
| Busan IPark (caretaker) | 4 April 2006 | 29 July 2006 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 040.91 | [53] |
| Busan IPark (caretaker) | 7 August 2007 | 3 December 2007 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 014.29 | [54][55] |
| South China | 3 December 2008 | 11 December 2010 | 70 | 48 | 10 | 12 | 068.57 | [56][57][58][59][60][61] |
| Hong Kong[a] | 1 August 2009 | 4 March 2010 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 025.00 | [62][63] |
| Hong Kong U23 | 1 August 2009 | 4 March 2010 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 025.00 | [64] |
| Hong Kong[a] | 2 November 2012 | 25 December 2017 | 53 | 21 | 13 | 19 | 039.62 | [65] |
| Hong Kong U23 | 15 September 2014 | 25 December 2017 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 030.00 | [66] |
| Malaysia | 21 January 2022 | 16 July 2024 | 35 | 19 | 7 | 9 | 054.29 | [67] |
| Ulsan HD | 28 July 2024 | 2 August 2025 | 52 | 20 | 11 | 21 | 038.46 | [68] |
| Career total | 317 | 149 | 63 | 105 | 047.00 | |||
Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i
Instant-Dict
Buler Rangers
Individual
South China
Hong Kong U23
Ulsan HD
Individual
Managerial positions | |
|---|---|
