Harimau Malaya head coach Pan-gon can’t wait to get cracking

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 — New national football head coach Kim Pan-gon is set to be officially unveiled to the media at a press conference here tomorrow.

The 52-year-old South Korean is the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) latest throw of the dice in a bid to change the fortunes and improve the performance of the Harimau Malaya, who are ranked 154th in the world.

Many local football fans are happy with the appointment of Pan-gon, who is the first coach from South Korea to be chosen to guide the Harimau Malaya, and they are also excited to see him put the “Oppa” touch on the team’s style of play.

Malaysian football fans must be happy to know that Pan-gon is more than ready to begin his duty with the national team.

Pan-gon’s determination to get cracking was revealed by FAM secretary-general Mohd Saifuddin Abu Bakar, who has been in constant touch with the former South Korea Football Association national team director ahead of tomorrow’s unveiling at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya.

“I have not met him yet as he has had to undergo quarantine upon arrival here. We have been keeping in touch via WhatsApp only he has been talking about the programmes that he intends to implement.

“He has cooperated with us very well and is also ready to get to work. That’s the type of person he is. It shows his professionalism,” Mohd Saifuddin said when contacted by Bernama today.

Pan-gon and his lineup of coaches — goalkeeping coach Cho Jun Ho, fitness trainer Dr Gokhan Kandemir and analyst Lim Jaehun — arrived in Malaysia on February 11 and headed straight to a hotel here to undergo quarantine.

Pan-gon’s assistant coach, Spaniard Pau Marti Vicente, has yet to arrive as he had to undergo quarantine in Spain.

At the media conference tomorrow, Pan-gon is expected to explain his plans for the Harimau Malaya and announce the teams that Malaysia will face in the friendlies during the Fifa window for international matches from March 21-29.

He is also expected to finalise the local coach who will be appointed as his assistant.

Pan-gon, who is also a former Hong Kong head coach, was appointed to replace Tan Cheng Hoe, who resigned last month after taking full responsibility for Malaysia’s failure at the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Cup in Singapore last December.

Pan-gon’s first assignment will be to monitor the performance of players in the 2022 Malaysia League (M-League), which is set to kick off with the Charity Shield match on February 26, before taking charge of the national team’s centralised training camp.

He will then guide the national team for the third round of the 2023 Asian Cup Qualifiers in June, with the hope of ending Malaysia’s long wait to qualify for the Asian Cup Finals on merit, especially after over 40 years of failing to do so.