Veteran football coach Kim Hak-bum was appointed as the new leader of the last-place club in the top South Korean football league Wednesday.
Gwangju FC in the K League Classic announced Kim will be their new head coach, though they didn't disclose details of the contract. Kim will succeed Nam Ki-il, who offered to resign Monday in the midst of the club's poor season.
Gwangju are dead last in the 12-team league with 19 points, four back of Incheon United, with four wins, 14 losses and seven draws. They're in danger of getting relegated to the second-division K League Challenge next season. The lowest-ranked team in the K League Classic each year gets demoted to the lower competition the following season.
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In this file photo taken on June 29, 2016, South Korean football coach Kim Hak-bum watches a K League Classic match between Seongnam FC and FC Seoul at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul. (Yonhap) |
Gwangju said they've hired Kim because of his risk management abilities. He previously rescued Gangwon FC and Seongnam FC from relegation.
"Kim has an experience of handling difficult situations wisely," Gwangju said in a release. "He will unite Gwangju's young players as one unit, and is the right person to save the team from relegation."
Kim was sacked as head coach of Seongnam FC in the middle of the 2016 season after the club fell to seventh place. Seongam were later relegated to the second division.
Kim, who began his coaching career in 1993, won the K League Classic title with Seongnam in 2006 and also claimed the Korea Football Association Cup in 2014.
The 57-year-old spent most of his coaching career with Seongnam, but also managed teams like Gangwon FC and Chinese outfit Henan Jianye. He is expected to make his Gwangju FC coaching debut on Saturday against league-leaders Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. (Yonhap)
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