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Hong Myung-bo

Hong in 2013

Personal information

Date of birth

12 February 1969 (age 55)

Place of birth

Seoul, South Korea

Height

1.81 m

Playing position

Sweeper

Club information

Current club

South Korea (manager)

Youth career

1981–1983

Kwanghee Middle School

1984–1986

Dongbuk High School [ko]

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps^†

(Gls)^†

1991

Sangmu FC (draft)

1992–1997

Pohang Steelers

110

(14)

1997–1998

Bellmare Hiratsuka

(0)

1999–2001

Kashiwa Reysol

(7)

2002

Pohang Steelers

(0)

2003–2004

LA Galaxy

(0)

Total

281

(21)

National team

2000

South Korea U23

(0)

1991

South Korea B

1990–2002

South Korea

137

(10)

Teams managed

2005–2007

South Korea (assistant)

2009

South Korea U20

2009–2012

South Korea U23

2013

Anzhi Makhachkala (assistant)

2013–2014

South Korea

2015–2017

Hangzhou Greentown

2020–2024

Ulsan HD

2024–

South Korea

Honours

Men's football

Representing South Korea (as player)
Summer Universiade
Gold	1991 Sheffield
Asian Games
Bronze	1990 Beijing
AFC Asian Cup
Bronze	2000 Lebanon
Representing South Korea (as manager)
Olympic Games
Bronze	2012 London
Asian Games
Bronze	2010 Guangzhou
EAFF Championship
Bronze	2013 South Korea

Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (Goals).

Hong Myung-bo
Hangul	홍명보
Hanja	洪明甫
Revised Romanization	Hong Myeong-bo
McCune–Reischauer	Hong Myŏng-bo

In this Korean name, the family name is Hong.

Hong Myung-bo (also spelled Hong Myeong-bo, Korean: 홍명보, Hanja: 洪明甫; Korean pronunciation: [hoŋmjʌŋbo]; born 12 February 1969) is a South Korean football manager and former footballer who played as a sweeper. Hong is often considered one of the greatest Asian footballers of all time. He is the current manager of South Korea national team.

Hong was a member of the South Korean national team in four FIFA World Cups, and was the first Asian player to play in four consecutive FIFA World Cup tournaments. He is also the first Asian player ever to receive the Bronze Ball at the FIFA World Cup. He gained attention after showing his outstanding ability in the FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup competitions. He received some votes in elections for the FIFA World Player of the Year, finishing 21st in 1996 and 17th in 2002. Furthermore, he was also selected for the FIFA 100, Pelé's selection about the 125 greatest living footballers in the world.

International career
Style of play
Managerial career
Personal life
Career statistics
- Club
- International
Honours
- Player
- Manager
See also

International career

1990 FIFA World Cup

Hong was named in South Korea's squad for the 1990 FIFA World Cup just four months after his international debut. The youngest South Korean player to participate in the tournament, Hong played all of the three matches in the group stage and received the most praise in South Korea despite losing all group matches.

1994 FIFA World Cup

Hong was selected as a member of South Korean Universiade team in 1991. He stabilized South Korea's defense, helping them advance to the final. He scored South Korea's first penalty in the shoot-out after South Korea drew the final with the Netherlands without a goal during 120 minutes. Hong and South Korea won a gold medal by defeating the Netherlands on penalties.

Hong's talent began to receive attention in earnest since the 1994 FIFA World Cup. When South Korea had only five minutes to catch up Spain, which was leading the match with the score of 2–0, he scored South Korea's first goal outside the penalty area, and assisted his teammate Seo Jung-won to score the equaliser shortly after his goal. While South Korea was losing to defending champions Germany by conceding three goals in the first half, Hong scored one of South Korea's two goals in the second half with a long-range shot.

1998 FIFA World Cup

Hong participated in the 1994 Asian Games after the World Cup, but he injured his knee during the quarter-final match against Japan. South Korea lost to Uzbekistan in the semi-finals after he quit the tournament.

While Park Jong-hwan managed South Korean national team, Hong was in conflict with Park who had a coercive disposition, and was criticized for forming his faction in the team. He was also doubted whether he played the game lazily after South Korea lost 6–2 to Iran in the quarter-finals of the 1996 AFC Asian Cup.

Under the next manager Cha Bum-kun, South Korea recorded one draw and two defeats including a 5–0 loss to the Netherlands in the group stage of the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Hong also failed to prevent South Korea's elimination in the group stage.

2002 FIFA World Cup

Hong was going to be selected as an over-aged player of South Korean under-23 team for the 2000 Summer Olympics, but he was injured just before the tournament.

In the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, Hong was selected for the All-Star Team, although South Korea failed to win the title by losing the semi-final match against Saudi Arabia.

Hong captained South Korea to a historic fourth-place finish in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He scored the winning penalty to secure a 5–3 shoot-out victory after a goalless draw in the quarter-final match against Spain. The Technical Study Group voted Hong as the third best player of the tournament, giving the Bronze Ball to him. He became the first-ever Asian player to be named one of the top three players in a World Cup.

In that year, Hong ended his international career after a friendly match against World Cup champions Brazil as the all-time leader in appearances for South Korean national team.

Style of play

Hong didn't have rapid pace, untiring stamina or outstanding ability in man-to-man defense, but he possessed a wide field of vision as well as great leadership skills with which he marshalled his defensive partners. An offensive sweeper, he was noted for his accurate long-range passing skills which greatly contributed to South Korea's attack. He was nicknamed the "Eternal Libero" by the South Korean media, and became a preeminent icon of South Korean football during his era.

Managerial career

South Korea

On 26 September 2005, after his retirement as a player, Hong returned to the national team as assistant coach. Helping the manager Dick Advocaat, Hong took part in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and worked with the next manager Pim Verbeek in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. After the resignation of Verbeek, he was one of the candidates to become the next manager.

The Korean FA announced that it had appointed Hong as the manager of the South Korea under-20 team, on 19 February 2009. Under his guidance the team reached the quarter-finals of the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, but were eliminated due to a 3–2 defeat to Ghana, the eventual champions.

Hong also served an assistant coach for South Korea under-23 team under Park Sung-hwa. In October 2009, he took over the coaching duties at under-23 team. He led his team into third place in the 2010 Asian Games. On 10 August 2012, Hong Myung-bo coached the men's Olympic team to a 2–0 win over Japan to secure the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, which set up a record by obtaining the first medal ever for South Korea in Olympic football as well as being the first Asian team in 44 years to win a medal at that event.

Choi Kang-hee, the previous manager of South Korea, resigned from his position at the end of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. After working as assistant coach to Guus Hiddink at Russian Premier League club Anzhi Makhachkala for half a year, Hong was appointed as the new manager of the team on 24 June 2013 to prepare the team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. After a winless FIFA World Cup campaign, Hong resigned from his post on 10 July 2014.

Hangzhou Greentown

On 17 December 2015, Hong was appointed as the manager of Chinese Super League club Hangzhou Greentown. In his first match on 6 March 2016, he guided the team to a 2–1 win over Changchun Yatai. However, his team was relegated to the second division after the 2016 season. The next year, he resigned from the club and criticised the club's owner for interfering in tactics and selection of players.

Ulsan Hyundai

On 24 December 2020, Hong was appointed as the manager of K League 1 club Ulsan Hyundai. He led the club to win two consecutive national league titles in 2022 and 2023.

Return to South Korea

On 8 July 2024, Hong was reappointed as the manager of the South Korea national team for the second time.

Personal life

Hong married Cho Soo-mi, who was five years younger than him, in 1997. He has two sons, Hong Seong-min and Hong Jeong-min. One of them is currently attending Korea International School. Hong also has two younger siblings. Hong is known for his reticence and charisma.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sangmu FC (draft)	1991	Semipro League							—
Pohang Steelers	1992	K League	29	1	—		8	0	—		—		37	1
	1993	K League	11	1	—		1	0	—		—		12	1
	1994	K League	17	4	—		0	0	—		—		17	4
	1995	K League	24	1	—		7	0	—		—		31	1
	1996	K League	29	7			5	0			—		34	7
	1997	K League	0	0			6	0			—		6	0
	Total		110	14			27	0			—		137	14
Bellmare Hiratsuka	1997	J1 League	10	0	3	1	0	0	—		—		13	1
	1998	J1 League	32	0	2	0	0	0	—		—		34	0
	Total		42	0	5	1	0	0	—		—		47	1
Kashiwa Reysol	1999	J1 League	28	5	4	2	5	2	—		—		37	9
	2000	J1 League	29	2	2	0	2	0	—		—		33	2
	2001	J1 League	15	0	0	0	3	0	—		—		18	0
	Total		72	7	6	2	10	2	—		—		88	11
Pohang Steelers	2002	K League	19	0			0	0	—		—		19	0
LA Galaxy	2003	Major League Soccer	25	0	2	0	—				—		27	0
	2004	Major League Soccer	13	0	0	0	—		—		—		13	0
	Total		38	0	2	0	—				—		40	0
Career total			281	21	13	3	37	2					331	26

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
South Korea	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	9	0
	1999	5	0
	2000	11	0
	2001	7	0
	2002	16	0
Career total		137	10

Appearances and goals by competition
Competition	Apps	Goals
Friendlies	48	2
Minor competitions	26	2
CONCACAF Gold Cup	2	0
Asian Games	9	1
AFC Asian Cup qualification	3	1
AFC Asian Cup	9	0
FIFA Confederations Cup	3	0
FIFA World Cup qualification	20	2
FIFA World Cup	16	2
Total	136	10

Results list South Korea's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Hong Myung-bo
No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	3 August 1990	Beijing, China	10	China	1–0	1–1 (aet) (6–5 p)	1990 Dynasty Cup
2	23 September 1990	Beijing, China	13	Singapore	1–0	7–0	1990 Asian Games
3	24 August 1992	Beijing, China	23	North Korea	1–0	1–1	1992 Dynasty Cup
4	13 May 1993	Beirut, Lebanon	29	India	1–0	3–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	19 October 1993	Doha, Qatar	39	Iraq	2–1	2–2	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	5 June 1994	Boston, United States	46	Ecuador	1–1	1–2	Friendly
7	17 June 1994	Dallas, United States	48	Spain	1–2	2–2	1994 FIFA World Cup
8	27 June 1994	Dallas, United States	50	Germany	2–3	2–3	1994 FIFA World Cup
9	11 September 1994	Gangneung, South Korea	51	Ukraine	1–0	1–0	Friendly
10	8 August 1996	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	69	Chinese Taipei	1–0	4–0	1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification