Hong Myung-Bo

This is a Korean name; the family name is Hong.
Hong Myung-Bo
Personal information
Full name Hong Myung-Bo
Date of birth February 12, 1969 (1969-02-12) (age 43)
Place of birth Seoul, South Korea
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Sweeper
Club information
Current club South Korea U-23 (manager)
Youth career
1987–1991 Korea University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1992–1997 Pohang Steelers 110 (14)
1997–1998 Bellmare Hiratsuka 42 (0)
1999–2001 Kashiwa Reysol 72 (7)
2002 Pohang Steelers 19 (0)
2003–2004 Los Angeles Galaxy 38 (0)
Total 281 (21)
National team‡
2000 South Korea Olympic Team 2 (0)
1990–2002 South Korea 136 (10)
Teams managed
2005–2007 South Korea (Assistant Manager)
2007–2008 South Korea U-23 (Assistant Manager)
2009 South Korea U-20
2009– South Korea U-23
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:18, 10 February 2007 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:18, 10 February 2007 (UTC)
Hong Myung-Bo
Hangul 홍명보
Hanja 洪明甫
Revised Romanization Hong Myeong-bo
McCune–Reischauer Hong Myŏng-bo

Hong Myung-Bo (Korean: 홍명보, Hanja: 洪明甫) (born February 12, 1969 in Seoul) is a former South Korean footballer who, along with Cha Bum Kun, is often considered among the greatest Asian footballers ever. Hong was a member of the Korean national team in four World Cups, and was the first Asian player to play in four consecutive World Cup finals tournaments. He played as either a centre-back or at full-back. He retired from playing following the end of the 2004 Major League Soccer season, having finished his career with the Los Angeles Galaxy. He was chosen among the "FIFA 100", Pelé's selection of the 125 greatest living footballers in the world. He was also the recipient of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball. No other Asian player has yet achieved this feat.

He managed the South Korea national under-20 football team in 2009, and led the team to the quarterfinals in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Since being appointed in 2009, he has worked as head coach of the under-23 football team.

Contents

National team

1990 World Cup

Hong's first appearance at a World Cup final was at the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Hong played in all of Korea's matches against Belgium, Spain, and Uruguay, all three of which Korea lost.

1994 World Cup

Hong's individual talent was most notably showcased during the 1994 World Cup group stage. With Korea trailing 2–0 against Spain with only 5 minutes to go, Hong made the score 2–1 and shortly after he created the second for winger Seo Jung-Won to equalize the memorable match.

Two weeks later, Korea found themselves trailing 3–0 at half time against Germany – the defending World Champions at the time, which included the likes of Jürgen Klinsmann, Jürgen Kohler, Matthias Sammer, Rudi Völler and Lothar Matthäus. Hong created the first Korean goal for striker Hwang Sun Hong to put into the net, then scored the second himself, but the Koreans were unable to catch and tie the heavily favored Germans.

1998 World Cup

Hong's third appearance at World Cup was 1998 France World Cup. Hong played all three games of Korea against Mexico, Netherlands and Belgium. Korea got eliminated at the first round with 1 draw (Belgium) and 2 losses (Mexico and Netherlands).

2002 World Cup

Hong captained the Korean national team to a historic fourth place finish in the 2002 World Cup. He scored the winning penalty to secure a 5–3 shootout victory in the quarter final against Spain after a goalless draw. The Technical Study Group voted him as the third best player of the tournament (Bronze Ball award), the first ever Asian to be named in the top 3 players in a World Cup. Leader of the Korean defensive trio alongside Kim Tae-Young and Choi Jin-Cheul, he ended his international career after the 2002 World Cup as the all-time leader in appearances for the South Korean national team, with 135 caps.

Post-playing career

On September 26, 2005, after retirement as a player, Hong returned to the national team as an assistant coach. Helping the manager Dick Advocaat, he took part in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and worked with the next manager Pim Verbeek in the Asian Cup 2007. After the resign of Pim Verbeek, he was one of the candidates to become the next manager. The Korea Football Association announced, on 19 February 2009, it had appointed him as the South Korea national under-20 football team. Under his guidance the team reached the quarter finals of the tournament, but were eliminated due to a 2–3 defeat to Ghana national under-20 football team. He also served an assistant coach for under-23 football team under Park Seong-Hwa. After Park resigned as head coach in October 2009, he took over the coaching duties at under-23 football team. He led his team into third place in the 2010 Asian Games.

Personal life

Hong married Soo-mi Cho, five years younger than he was, in 1997 and has two sons, with one attending Korea International School. Hong also has two younger siblings. He is known for his reticence and charisma.

Club career statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Korea Republic League Korean FA Cup K-League Cup Asia Total
1992 Pohang Steelers K-League 29 1 - 8 0 - 37 1
1993 11 1 - 1 0 - 12 1
1994 17 4 - 0 0 - 17 4
1995 24 1 - 7 0 - 31 1
1996 29 7 ? ? 5 0 ? ?
1997 0 0 ? ? 6 0 ? ?
Japan League Emperor's Cup J. League Cup Asia Total
1997 Bellmare Hiratsuka J. League 1 10 0 3 1 0 0 ? ? 13 1
1998 32 0 2 0 0 0 - 34 0
1999 Kashiwa Reysol J. League 1 28 5 4 2 5 2 - 37 9
2000 29 2 2 0 2 0 - 33 2
2001 15 0 0 0 3 0 - 18 0
Korea Republic League Korean FA Cup K-League Cup Asia Total
2002 Pohang Steelers K-League 19 0 ? ? 0 0 -
United States League Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup League Cup North America Total
2003 Los Angeles Galaxy Major League Soccer 25 0 2 0
2004 13 0 0 0 -
Country Korea Republic 129 14 27 0
Japan 114 7 11 3 10 2 135 12
United States 38 0 2 0
Total 281 21

National team statistics

[1] [2]

South Korea national team
Year Apps Goals
1990 20 2
1991 1 0
1992 3 1
1993 18 2
1994 14 4
1995 5 0
1996 16 1
1997 12 0
1998 8 0
1999 5 0
2000 11 0
2001 7 0
2002 16 0
Total 136 10
Results list South Korea's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. August 3, 1990 Beijing, China  China PR 1 1–1 (6–5 PSO) 1990 Dynasty Cup
2. September 23, 1990 Beijing, China  Singapore 1 7–0 1990 Asian Games
3. August 24, 1992 Beijing, China  North Korea 1 1–1 1992 Dynasty Cup
4. May 13, 1993 Beirut, Lebanon  India 1 3–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
5. October 19, 1993 Doha, Qatar  Iraq 1 2–2 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
6. June 5, 1994 Boston, USA  Ecuador 1 1–2 Friendly match
7. June 17, 1994 Dallas, USA  Spain 1 2–2 1994 FIFA World Cup
8. June 27, 1994 Dallas, USA  Germany 1 2–3 1994 FIFA World Cup
9. September 11, 1994 Gangneung, South Korea  Ukraine 1 1–0 Friendly match
10. August 8, 1996 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam  Chinese Taipei 1 4–0 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Honours

Individual honours

References

  1. ^ http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=14388
  2. ^ http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/hong-intl.html

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Lilian Thuram		 FIFA World Cup
Bronze Ball
2002		 Succeeded by
Andrea Pirlo