2010 Asian Games

Star player-turned coach Hong Myung-bo has seen his managerial career continue to rise as the 40-year-old was hired to direct the Korean football team at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, Tuesday.

The region's quadrennial multi-sport event is slated for Nov. 12 to 27 next year.

"Hong will lead the Korean team at the Asian Games in China. He will be given complete control over running the team,'' the Korea Football Association (KFA) said.

The appointment is the third of Hong's relatively short coaching career.

The former South Korean international was hired as the skipper of the under-20 team in February and led the team to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Egypt in September.

The accomplishment earned him the reigns of the team that will attempt to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

Both the Asian Games and the Olympics are under-23 tournaments, which allow three exceptions per team.

"The Guangzhou Asian Games are an extension of the 2012 London Olympics, so we have given Hong the stewardship,'' the KFA said.

The Asian Games gig represents even more pressure heaped onto Hong's shoulders, but he says he is up to the task.

"It's a big responsibility to take over the Asian team," Hong said Tuesday in Changwon, South Gyeongnam Province, where the Olympic team is training in preparation for a friendly against Japan, Saturday.

"As the Asian Games are related to players' military service, I plan to select the best players available."

South Korean athletes can be excused from the mandatory service if they win any Olympic medal or an Asian Game gold medal.

"I plan to organize a team that will have a core of under-23 players, who will be complemented by some under-20 players,'' he said.

Meanwhile, the football governing body has tabbed Lee Kwang-jong to train the U-18 team in place of Cho Dong-hyun, who recently resigned..

Lee, 45, led Korea to the quarterfinals of the U-17 World Cup in Nigeria in October.

"Hong Myung-bo to Lead Korea at 2010 Asian Games"

by Kang Seung-woo (ksw@koreatimes.co.kr )

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/sports/2009/12/159_57332.html