Pohang leaves Kim Gi-dong, appoints 'One Club Man' coach Park Tae-ha

Pohang announced on the 15th that it has selected Park Tae-ha, chairman of the Korea Professional Football Federation, as the 13th head coach.

Park Tae-ha, who debuted as a professional player in 1991, is an "original one-club man" who retired after playing in Pohang until 2001. During Park's career, Pohang won one K-League championship (1992), one K-FA Cup championship (1996), and two AFC Champions League championships (1996/97, 1997/98).

Park Tae-ha, who has been Pohang's mainstay since his debut, has scored 46 goals and 37 assists in 261 matches in the K-League during nine seasons excluding his military service, earning him the nickname "solutionaries" from Pohang fans. From 1998 to 2000, he devoted himself to his team as a captain.

Park Tae-ha started his career as a coach at Pohang in 2005 after retiring. In 2007, he led Pohang to the K-League title with Farias as a coach. From the following year to 2011, he served as a coach and head coach for the Korean national team. In 2012, he helped the team win the K-League as the head coach of FC Seoul.

Coach Park Tae-ha, who took charge of Yanbian in China's top-flight league in 2015, led the team that suffered from relegation the previous year to win the top-flight league and promote the team to the Chinese Super League. He then led Yanbian until 2018 and China's women's B team until 2019, playing in the Chinese soccer world.

Coach Park, who has been appointed as the technical chairman of the Korea Professional Football Federation since 2020, has been studying the latest trends of soccer tactics at the Technical Research Group of the K-League Technical Committee. For the past two years, he has been passionate as the technical chairman of the K-League, meeting and interviewing coaches of each K-League team in person and contributing columns on portal sites every winter training period.

Pohang is a meaningful place for me. I have never forgotten about Pohang since I first joined the club," said Park Tae-ha. "It is an honor and pleasure to be appointed as a coach in Pohang. I will do my best to prepare well to show you Pohang's soccer."

Meanwhile, Pohang completed its three-and-a-half-year companionship with head coach Kim Ki-dong on the 14th. Kim won the FA Cup in the 2023 season, giving Pohang the first trophy in a decade. In the 2021 season, he also became the strongest team in East Asia by finishing second in the AFC Champions League.

Coach Kim Ki-dong took over as FC Seoul coach on the 14th, ending his 24-year career in Pohang as a leader since his playing days.

Coach Kim said in a handwritten letter, "I joined Pohang as a player in 1991 and after three years of playing, there was an involuntary transfer for a while, but I think I've lived in Pohang for 24 years from 2003 to now and loved the city of Pohang and also only looked at the Pohang Steelers."

"I'm moving to FC Seoul at the end of this season. There were offers from several clubs after the season, but we decided to make the final decision to FC Seoul considering all the circumstances around us. Some of the fans may not understand, but I hope you understand that I can't talk much here," he explained the background.

"It will be another challenge and assignment for me and it was a difficult choice. I made the decision after a lot of consideration. My heart aches and pains. I feel uncomfortable every day," Kim said. "The Pohang Steelers were always there at the beginning of professional athlete Kim Ki-dong and the beginning of leader Kim Ki-dong. I will dream of seeing you here again as a bigger person." 메이저사이트