Hong Myung-bo

Hong Myung-bo is a South Korean football manager and former footballer who played as a sweeper. He is currently the manager of the South Korea national team.
Hong is widely considered one of the greatest Asian defenders of all time. He participated at four consecutive FIFA World Cups between 1990 and 2002, becoming the first Asian player to do so. He also received the Bronze Ball at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Asian to receive an individual award at the World Cup. He received some votes in elections for the FIFA World Player of the Year, finishing 21st in 1996 and 17th in 2002. In 2004, he was selected for the FIFA 100 by Pelé.

International career

1990 World Cup

Hong was selected for the South Korea national team for the 1990 FIFA World Cup just four months after his international debut. The youngest player at the team, he was one of the few South Koreans to be acclaimed, whlie they lost all three group stage matches.

1994 World Cup

Hong was selected for the South Korea Universiade team for the [Football at the Football at the 1991 Summer Universiade|1991 Summer Universiade|1991 tournament]. He stabilised his team's defense, helping them advance to the final. After a goalless draw with the Netherlands in the final, he scored his team's first penalty in a 5–4 penalty shoot-out win, contributing to winning the tournament.
Hong's talent started to receive attention internationally at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. During the last five minutes of South Korea's opener against Spain, he converted opponents' 2–0 lead into a 2–2 draw by scoring a goal outside the penalty area and providing an assist for Seo Jung-won's equaliser. He once again scored a long-range goal in a 3–2 defeat to defending champions Germany.

1998 World Cup

Hong participated at the 1994 Asian Games after the World Cup, but he injured his knee during a quarter-final match against Japan. South Korea lost to Uzbekistan in the semi-finals after he quit the competition.
While Park Jong-hwan managed South Korea from 1995 to 1996, Hong was suspected of being in conflict with Park, who had a coercive disposition. The press reported that Hong formed a faction at the national team, and doubted whether Hong did his best at the 1996 AFC Asian Cup, where South Korea was eliminated after a 6–2 quarter-final defeat to Iran.
Under Cha Bum-kun, the next manager, South Korea had one draw and two defeats including a 5–0 defeat to the Netherlands in the group stage of the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Hong and his teammates conceded nine goals in three matches.

2002 World Cup

Hong was going to be selected as an overage player of the South Korea under-23 team for the [Football at the 2000 J.League Division 1|2000 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament|2000 Summer Olympics], but he was injured just before the tournament.
At the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, where South Korea finished third, Hong captained the national team, and was selected for the All-Star Team.
Hong led South Korea to a historic fourth-place finish at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He commanded South Korea's defensive line, which conceded only three goals until the semi-finals, and scored the final penalty to secure a 5–3 shoot-out win in a quarter-final match against Spain. Despite his error in the third place match against Turkey, which was followed by the fastest goal in World Cup history, the Technical Study Group voted him 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 at a World Cup.
That year, Hong ended his international career after a friendly match against World Cup champions Brazil. He was South Korea's all-time leader in appearances with 136 caps at the time, and his record was broken by Son Heung-min in 2025.

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 an assistant coach. He took part in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, helping manager Dick Advocaat. He also worked with the next manager Pim Verbeek at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. After Verbeek's resignation, he was one of the candidates to become the next manager.
On 19 February 2009, the Korea Football Association announced that they had appointed Hong as the manager of the South Korea under-20 team. At the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the team reached the quarter-finals under his guidance, but lost 3–2 to eventual champions Ghana in the quarter-finals.
In October 2009, he took over duties as a manager of the South Korea under-23 team. He won bronze at both the 2010 Asian Games and the 2012 Summer Olympics. He achieved South Korea's first-ever Olympic medal in football, also known as Asia's second.
After working as assistant coach to Guus Hiddink at Russian Premier League club Anzhi Makhachkala for half a year, on 24 June 2013, Hong was appointed South Korea's manager. His predecessor Choi Kang-hee resigned voluntarily at the end of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, and he started to prepare the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which was going to be held after a year. After a winless World Cup campaign, on 10 July 2014, he resigned from his post.

Hangzhou Greentown

On 17 December 2015, Hong was appointed manager of Chinese Super League club Hangzhou Greentown. In his first match on 6 March 2016, he guided the club to a 2–1 win over Changchun Yatai. However, his team was relegated to the China League One 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 became the manager of K League 1 club Ulsan Hyundai. He led Ulsan to win two consecutive league titles in 2022 and 2023.

Return to South Korea

On 8 July 2024, Hong was reappointed as South Korea's manager by KFA's committeemen in charge of finding a new manager. KFA president Chung Mong-gyu, who preferred foreign managers to domestic managers, tried to interfere in the procedure, but Hong's appointment was not reversed by the support of executives and committeemen. His team qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with six wins and four draws without a defeat despite criticism about three consecutive draws in the middle of the qualifiers.

Personal life

In 1997, Hong married a woman five years his junior, and has two sons.

Career statistics

International

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

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	3 August 1990	Beijing, China	10		1–0	1–1	1990 Dynasty Cup
2	23 September 1990	Beijing, China	13		1–0	7–0	1990 Asian Games
3	24 August 1992	Beijing, China	23		1–0	1–1	1992 Dynasty Cup
4	13 May 1993	Beirut, Lebanon	29		1–0	3–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	19 October 1993	Doha, Qatar	39		2–1	2–2	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	5 June 1994	Boston, United States	46		1–1	1–2	Friendly
7	17 June 1994	Dallas, United States	48		1–2	2–2	1994 FIFA World Cup
8	27 June 1994	Dallas, United States	50		2–3	2–3	1994 FIFA World Cup
9	11 September 1994	Gangneung, South Korea	51		1–0	1–0	Friendly
10	8 August 1996	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	69		1–0	4–0	1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification