Korea manager maintains he really did not want the job in first press conference since appointment

ULSAN — Three days after being named Korean national team manager, Hong Myung-bo maintains he really did not want the job but ultimately accepted what he thinks could prove to be the “final challenge of my football career.”

Hong Myung-bo speaks during a press conference that took place after a K League 1 match between Ulsan HD and Gwangju FC at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

ULSAN — Three days after being named Korean national team manager, Hong Myung-bo maintains he really did not want the job but ultimately accepted what he thinks could prove to be the “final challenge of my football career.”

“I honestly did not want to go [to the national team],” Hong said during a press conference after a K League 1 match between Ulsan HD and Gwangju FC at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan on Wednesday. “I knew what would happen if I accepted the job, and I didn’t want to go.

“I’ve had a really tough time as the KFA National Team Committee and media have mentioned my name since February, regardless of my opinion.”

Hong, who was the Ulsan manager until the KFA snapped him up, was back on the touchline for Wednesday’s fixture despite being named the national team manager on Sunday.

He was rumored to be on the candidate list for the permanent national team job — the post has sat vacant for the past five months after the KFA sacked Jurgen Klinsmann — in mid-February.

But the KFA scrapped the rumored plan to appoint Hong after facing backlash from Korean football fans in the early spring, spent months going back and forth on other candidates, and then gave the Hong the job in a shock announcement on Sunday.

The man himself had spent months denying any interest in the position.

Technical Director Lee Lim-saeng said during a press conference Monday that the selection committee selected Hong as his tactics would elevate the national team’s style of play.

“I met Lee for the first time on July 5 in front of my house,” Hong said. “He was asking me [to take the job]. But I did not make the call on site, and he went home. I thought about it all night, and I was honestly afraid about facing such an uncertain challenge.

“I thought this might be the final challenge of my football career. Yes, I failed before, and what happened during that failure and afterwards was horrendous. But on the flip side, I was strongly motivated to face the challenge again.”

His remarks refer to his failure as manager at the 2014 World Cup, where he crashed out of the group stage and secured zero wins for Korea in the tournament for the first time since the 1998 World Cup.

The appointment of Hong comes in the middle of the 2024 K League 1 season, when defending champions Ulsan compete at the top of the table alongside strong competitors like league leaders Pohang Steelers and second-place Gimcheon Sangmu.

Only two points separate third-place Ulsan and the top two sides as of press time Wednesday.

Hong did not address why he was still managing Ulsan on Wednesday — or why the club maintains that he will be around for a while yet — during the press conference. It's not unheard of, but is very unusual, for manager to coach club and country at the same time, although there has been no indication from Hong or the KFA as to whether that is actually on the cards.

He will face a test with the national team in September when Korea start the third round of 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]