The glory and ups and downs of player Kim with the Korean team
Mr. Kim Sang-sik was born on December 17, 1976, in Jeonnam (South Korea). When he was young, he played for the Daegu University football team in Korea from 1995 – 1998. After that, Mr. Kim began his professional football journey in 1999, at the age of 23, for Seongnam FC (formerly named Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma). Only about a year after participating in professional competition, midfielder Kim Sang-sik was called up to the Korean team. He made his debut for the Korean team on May 29, 2000, when Korea played a friendly match with the Yugoslav team.
However, midfielder Kim Sang-sik missed the historic 2002 World Cup held at home. When mentioning the Korean team of those years, people immediately think of legendary midfielder Hong Myung-bo. Hong Myung-bo’s influence on the national team is so great, it is difficult for other central defenders to move beyond this player’s shadow.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh with a hug for coach Kim Sang-sik
Mr. “Sau Sang” with the AFF Cup championship trophy with his language assistant
The first World Cup that Mr. Kim Sang-sik attended was the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He was able to play twice, but that was the tournament in which Korea did not play very successfully. They were eliminated after the group stage, when they shared a group with teams like France, Switzerland, and Togo.
Mr. Kim Sang-sik’s most successful international tournament as a player was the 2007 Asian Cup, held in four Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. That year, midfielder Kim Sang-sik was promoted to the role of central midfielder, replacing another very famous face of Korean football, midfielder Kim Nam-il, who was injured.
Mr. Kim Sang-sik contributed to bringing Korea to the semi-finals. They lost to Iraq (the team that later won the final championship) in the semi-finals, but won against great rival Japan in the third place match.
Goalkeeping coach Lee Won-jea (right) was Mr. Kim’s teammate when they were both players.
Photo: Ngoc Linh
However, that was also the tournament in which Mr. Kim Sang-sik and captain goalkeeper Lee Won-jae (who is currently an assistant to coach Kim Sang-sik on the Vietnamese team) encountered problems. They are subject to a disciplinary sentence from the Korean Football Federation (KFA). In May 2012, midfielder Kim Sang-sik, now 36 years old, returned to play for the Korean team in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. He contributed to helping the Korean team win tickets to the World Cup finals in Brazil, but decided to leave the team right before the 2014 World Cup finals.
Coaching career with famous club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Then, just one year after leaving the national team, Mr. Kim Sang-sik “hanged up his shoes” at the age of 37, to switch to coaching. At the time of hanging up his shoes, midfielder Kim Sang-sik played for the most famous Korean football club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Immediately after no longer being a player, Mr. Kim Sang-sik was retained as assistant coach for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors from 2013 – 2020.
Success with the Vietnamese team is an affirmation of coach Kim Sang-sik’s ability
In 2020, at the age of 44, Coach Kim Sang-sik officially took charge in the professional football environment. It is not an easy task for a coach with no track record to be chosen to coach Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. This is the team that has won the Korean K-League 1 championship 9 times, won the Korean Cup 5 times, and won the AFC Champions League 2 times (2006, 2016). Leading this team are often famous and experienced coaches.
Great success in Vietnam
Photo: Nhat Bac
The fact that coach Kim Sang-sik was chosen at that time was very surprising, and at the same time, there was a time when people doubted his coaching ability and doubted coach Kim Sang-sik’s ability to succeed at Jeonbuk Hyundai Club. Motors.
This doubt only ended when coach Kim Sang-sik helped Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors climb to the top of the K-League 1 table and win this tournament in 2021. Thereby, Mr. Kim Sang-sik became the former K-League champion. -League 1 with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors both as a player (2009, 2011) and coach (2021). One year later, Mr. Kim Sang-sik helped Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors win another Korean Football Cup (Korean FA Cup).
But just like when he was a player, Mr. Kim also experienced ups and downs in his hometown as a coach. In 2023, when the performance of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Club was not as expected, the fans (fans) of this Korean team blurted out to coach Kim Sang-sik: “Leave”. And, Coach Kim Sang-sik really left, he will stop being coach of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Club from 2023.
Bringing hip hop from the Korean stadium to Rajamangala stadium
In May 2024, coach Kim Sang-sik signed a contract to be the head coach of the Vietnamese team, in the context of domestic football experiencing days of widespread disappointment, after a period of consecutive failures under coach Philippe Troussier. (French). Amid that not very optimistic atmosphere, not many people were excited about the appearance of coach Kim Sang-sik.
Many Vietnamese players reached new levels under the coaching of coach Kim Sang-sik
The warm-up period for the 2024 AFF Cup with not very successful matches during FIFA Days in September and October, made doubts about coach Kim Sang-sik begin to appear. This is exactly like what happened to the Korean coach in his early days leading the Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Club in his home country.
Teacher Kim had a wonderful memory in his career
Photo: Ngoc Linh
However, coach Kim Sang-sik remained steadfast and determined. He promised to dance hip hop when the Vietnamese team won the AFF Cup. This is the dance he performed when he helped Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors win the K-League championship in 2021. This hip hop dance is so famous that it spread very quickly on social networks, to the point where the coach Kim Sang-sik said, half-jokingly, half-seriously: “I think I’m the best-dancing soccer coach in the world.”
The most important thing for Vietnamese football lovers is that the above mentioned hip hop dance spread to the giant Rajamangala stadium in Bangkok (Thailand) on the night of January 5, 2024. It means that when the dance was recreated, Coach Kim Sang-sik successfully achieved his goal of winning the 2024 AFF Cup. Even sweeter for Vietnamese football fans, is that we won the championship. right on Thai soil.
Teacher Kim is trusted and respected by his students
Responding to Korean media after winning the Southeast Asian championship, coach Kim Sang-sik said: “Vietnamese people call me Mr. Sau Sang, a misreading of the word Sang-sik in my name, and Sik here is like the number 6 in English. From the elderly to the children of Vietnam, everyone congratulated me. This is something I have only ever seen on TV, when my compatriot coach Park Hang-seo was successful in football here emotional about that.
Vietnamese and Koreans are both influenced by Confucian culture, so Vietnamese players listen to me very much. On the contrary, cultural similarities help me not spend much time adapting to the new environment in Vietnam. I’m still happy that winning with the Vietnamese team at the AFF Cup also helped some Korean football fans see that I’m still alive. For the people of Southeast Asia, the AFF Cup is like a World Cup dedicated to this region.”
Just turned 49 years old, an age that can be considered young in the ranks of professional coaches, but Coach Kim Sang-sik has had enough glory from the club level to the national team. The upcoming goal of this Korean coach is to win the 2025 SEA Games with the U.23 Vietnam team, as well as bring the Vietnamese national team to the 2027 Asian Cup finals. In Korea, he Kim Sang-sik has the nickname “single snake” (toksa). This “snake” has just terrified the Southeast Asian bridge community. Now, it may be time for Kim Sang-sik to join the Vietnamese team in conquering new heights!
