Kim Nam-il

Kim Nam-il is a South Korean football manager and former player who played as defensive midfielder.

Early life

Kim Nam-il began playing football in third grade of elementary school. His decision to play football was initially met with opposition from his parents because of his impressive academic performance, but he continued his football career during his schooldays.
In the 1996 AFC Youth Championship, he played for South Korean under-20 team, and scored his first international goal against Iran, He wasn't selected as a participant in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, but he was named in South Korean senior team for the 1998 Asian Games by the manager Huh Jung-moo. He made his senior international debut in the tournament.

Playing career

Under Guus Hiddink, Kim began to play for the national team in earnest. Former unimpressive player in the K League, he was criticized early in his international career due to poor basic skills. However, in Hiddink's belief, he became an irreplaceable defensive midfielder who could block counterattacks of the opponent team beforehand. Nicknamed the "Vacuum cleaner", he showed strong stamina and relentless tussle. In the 2002 World Cup, he appeared all five games until the quarter-finals, but he injured his ankle during the quarter-final match against Spain. South Korea lost to Germany in the semi-finals after he quit the tournament.
The term "Kim Nam-il Syndrome" began to be coined by tabloids to describe Kim's superstardom status. During the 2002 World Cup, he gained an unusually large female fan base, led to sold-out matches and goodies, and caused a sudden increase in popularity of Jeonnam Dragons. Kim, a former unknown to the public, then became highly desirable by numerous endorsement companies that were eager to pay high amounts of money. Many TV programs had asked, or pressured at times for, Kim to appear, but he rejected their offers, and appeared only on interviews instead.
In January 2003, Kim joined an Eredivisie club Feyenoord on loan, and was subleased to the satellite club Excelsior to be tested for five months. However, he didn't make a strong impression.
In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Kim didn't only contribute to South Korea's defense, but also attack with long-range passes. He also played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but he was blamed by some South Korean fans after conceding a penalty kick to Nigeria.

Managerial career

Kim started his career as a coach at Jiangsu Suning in 2016. He joined the South Korea's coaching staff for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. After the World Cup, he joined Jeonnam Dragons as a coach.
On 23 December 2019, Kim was appointed as the manager of Seongnam FC.

Personal life

Kim is the youngest of the three brothers in his family, and is a close friend of Lee Kwan-woo and Lee Dong-gook.
During his playing career, Kim was known for being extremely private about his personal life. He had kept his relationship and engagement to KBS anchorwoman Kim Bo-min a secret until intense speculation, which involved the media interviewing his own parents, eventually led to them confirming the rumors and revealing that they had been dating for three years. The couple legally registered their marriage in June 2007 and had a private ceremony at a hotel that December. Their son was born in 2008.