Kim Ki-dong, 52, who led the Pohang Steelers to a second-place finish in K League 1 and the Korea Football Association (FA) Cup this year, has moved on to FC Seoul.

The Seoul club announced on Thursday that it has appointed Kim as its 15th head coach.

Kim, who played for Yugong (now Jeju United) and Pohang during his playing days and is the second most-capped field player in K League history with 501 appearances, has also enjoyed a successful coaching career.

He served as the U-23 national team coach from 2013 to 2016 and Pohang’s head coach from 2016 to 2019 before making his debut at the helm of Pohang in 2019.

In 2019, his first year in charge, Kim led Pohang to a fourth-place finish in the K League 1 and a third-place finish the following year.

Pohang finished ninth in the league in 2021 but were runners-up in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, finished third in K League 1 last year and second this year, and have been in the top half of the table for most of Kim’s tenure, most notably winning the FA Cup this year.

Kim, who has earned the nickname “maneuvering magic” for his ability to get results despite living on a shoestring, was named K League 1 Coach of the Year in the 2020 season, a rare honor for a manager of a third-place team.

After playing out the remainder of the season under Kim Jin-gyu following the resignation of former coach Ahn Ik-soo in August, Seoul selected Kim to lead their rebound.

Seoul led the charge this season, drawing a total of 439,290 fans in 19 home games, the first time since 2018 when the K League started tracking only paid attendance that the club surpassed 400,000 in a single season, but finished seventh in the Final B. The club has been in the bottom half of the standings for four straight seasons.

The news that Seoul, desperate to restore its reputation after finishing in the bottom half of the table for the past four consecutive seasons, 카지노사이트 had sought Kim’s services came shortly after the season ended and was officially announced today.

The club said, “Coach Kim is a coach with excellent insight into the opponent’s strategy based on complete tactics. He is praised for his ability to utilize a variety of data to develop high-level strategies, and for his quick judgment and ability to react like an eight-ball,” the club said.

“With his excellent tactical skills and strong leadership, we believe he is the right person to lead the team’s transformation into a team that plays fun, dynamic soccer and, most importantly, doesn’t break down easily.”

“I am grateful to Seoul for choosing me,” said Kim. I will do my best to show them that they made the right choice,” he said. “Above all, I think my role is to recreate the glory of Seoul, and I will definitely live up to their expectations.”

“I will play the kind of soccer that the fans love. “We will play fast soccer, prioritizing teamwork over individual ability,” he said, adding, “Seoul has many talented players. “We have a lot of good players in Seoul, and if we combine them into a team, we will be a scary team,” he emphasized.

When asked about his preparations for the new season, he said, “We don’t have a perfect balance of offense and defense in our squad. Our defense is a bit weak,” he explained, “We need to improve that and we will have good results.”

“I expect them to be better than before,” he said, adding, “I know the kind of soccer I want to play, so my approach will be easy.” He also talked about the players who played together in Pohang, including Kim Sang-hyeop, Palosevic, and Ilyuchenko.

According to Seoul, Kim will spend time with his family until the end of the year and take a break overseas to plan for next season.

“We will hold an inaugural press conference upon his return,” the club explained. 바카라사이트