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 42)
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
Honours Competitor for  South Korea Men's football Asian Games Bronze 1990 Beijing Team
* 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.

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. Following 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

• Selected to FIFA 100: 2004
• 2002 FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball Award Winner : 2002
• 2002 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team : 2002
• Asian Cup Best Eleven: 2000
• J-League Best Eleven: 2000
• K-League Best Eleven: 1996, 1995, 1994, 1992
• Major League Soccer All-Star Team: 2003
• K-League Champions: 1992
• Korean FA Cup Champions: 1996
• Korean FA Cup Runners-up: 2002
• K-League Cup Champions: 1993
• K-League Cup Runners-up: 1997
• AFC Asian Club Championship Champions: 1997
• J. League Cup Champions: 1999

References

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

External links

• (Korean) Hong Myung-Bo at kleague.com
• National Team Player Record KFA (Korean)
• Hong Myung-Bo – FIFA competition record
• Hong Myung-Bo at National-Football-Teams.com
• International Appearances & Goals rsssf.com

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

Persondata
Name	Hong, Myung-Bo
Alternative names
Short description	South Korean football player
Date of birth	February 12, 1969
Place of birth	Seoul, South Korea
Date of death
Place of death