Kim Do-heon


Kim Do-heon is a South Korean football coach and former player.

Club career

Kim played for Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma before joining West Bromwich Albion. He led each team's K League title, and his technical abilities was likened to Paul Scholes in South Korea.
Kim spent a few days on trial at West Brom in December 2007, and could be loaned to the club from February with an option for a permanent switch at the end of the season. He scored his first goal for West Brom in the final match of the season against Queens Park Rangers, eight minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute. West Brom went on to win 2–0, securing them the Football League Championship title and promotion to the Premier League.
On 28 May, he completed the move to West Brom for £550,000. Kim made his Premier League debut on 16 August 2008 against Arsenal, where they lost the match 1–0. He scored once after the permanent move, in a 2–2 draw with Burnley in the FA Cup on 24 January 2009. After one and a half years in West Bromwich, he returned to South Korea.
Near the end of his playing career, he played for Malaysia Super League side Negeri Sembilan, and USL Championship side Indy Eleven.

International career

Kim played as a main playmaker for the national under-23 team in 2004 Summer Olympics, 2002 and 2006 Asian Games, whereas he was criticised for his unstable performance in senior team. It was his biggest desire to play in the FIFA World Cup, but he finally could not appear in a World Cup match. While he was a member of South Korea's squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he had to watch his team's matches on the bench.
On 14 June 2008, Kim accomplished his first international hat-trick in a World Cup qualifier against Turkmenistan.

Personal life

Kim is married to Jung Hye-won, who gave birth to their son on 12 August 2008. He delayed his return to Korea to visit his son for the first time, in order to participate in the opening games of the 2008–09 Premier League season.

Career statistics

Club

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
14 December 2003National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan1–03–12003 EAFF Championship
29 June 2004Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Daejeon, South Korea2–02–02006 FIFA World Cup qualification
317 November 2004Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea1–02–02006 FIFA World Cup qualification
422 February 2006Al-Hamadaniah Stadium, Aleppo, Syria1–02–12007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
523 May 2006Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea1–01–1Friendly
616 August 2006Zhongshan Soccer Stadium, Taipei, Chinese Taipei3–03–02007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
76 September 2006Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea6–08–02007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
815 July 2007Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia1–01–22007 AFC Asian Cup
914 June 2008Saparmurat Turkmenbashi Olympic Stadium, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan1–03–12010 FIFA World Cup qualification
1014 June 2008Saparmurat Turkmenbashi Olympic Stadium, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan2–13–12010 FIFA World Cup qualification
1114 June 2008Saparmurat Turkmenbashi Olympic Stadium, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan3–13–12010 FIFA World Cup qualification
1230 May 2012Stade de Suisse, Bern, Switzerland1–11–4Friendly

Honours

Suwon Samsung Bluewings
  • K League 1: 2004
  • Korean FA Cup: 2002, 2009
  • Korean League Cup: 2001, 2005
  • Korean Super Cup: 2005
  • Asian Club Championship: 2000–01, 2001–02
  • Asian Super Cup: 2001, 2002
  • A3 Champions Cup: 2005
  • Pan-Pacific Championship: 2009
Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
  • K League 1: 2006
  • Korean League Cup runner-up: 2006
West Bromwich Albion
South Korea U23
  • Asian Games bronze medal: 2002
South Korea
  • AFC Asian Cup third place: 2007
  • EAFF Championship: 2003
Individual
  • K League All-Star: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2015
  • K League 1 Best XI: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
  • K League 1 Most Valuable Player: 2006
  • Korean FA Goal of the Year: 2006
  • K League Players' Player of the Year: 2007