ARE the FA of Malaysia (FAM) hiring a South Korean to coach Harimau Malaya?
It could be heading that way as the Korean media revealed that FAM have approached coaches Kim Hak Bum and Kim Pan Gon for the job.
Hak Bum was Korea's former Olympic team coach. The 62-year-old had led Korea to the quarter-finals of last year's Tokyo Olympics.
Although Hak Bum has an impressive record with Korean youth teams and clubs, he had failed during his only stint abroad.
He had lasted for only six months at Chinese Super League side Henan Construction before resigning in May 2011.
Among his achievements were leading the Korean team to the 2018 Indonesia Asian Games and 2020 AFC Under-23 Championship titles. Hak Bum is currently a free agent.
Pan Gon, meanwhile, is currently the technical director of the Korean FA (KFA). The 53-year-old had also coached Hong Kong in two different periods (2009-10 and 2012-17), apart from his stints at several clubs in East Asia.
He led Hong Kong to fourth place at the 2010 East Asian Championship.
Harimau Malaya had played Pan Gon's Hong Kong in friendly matches in 2012 and 2015, with both games ending in draws.
As technical director of KFA, Pan Gon was instrumental in appointing Hak Bum as Korea's under-23 coach and bringing Paulo Bento to manage the senior team.
According to the Korean media, Pan Gon is interested in returning to coaching. As for language, it will not be a problem for Pan Gon if he joins FAM as he is fluent in English.
Harimau Malaya are without a coach following Tan Cheng Hoe's resignation on Jan 2. FAM have received several applications and have approached suitable candidates for the job.
Following Vietnam's success under Park Hang Seo, FAM hope a Korean coach would revitalise Harimau Malaya ahead of the Asian Cup qualifiers, which start in June.
The target under the F30: Roadmap is to qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup in China.
The other candidates for the hot seat are KL City coach Bojan Hodak and Australian Mehmet Durakovic.
Whether it would be the right move to hire an outsider to coach Harimau Malaya, remains to be seen. A new coach, who has never worked in the country, may take about six months to learn about Malaysian football, which the national team cannot afford ahead of the qualifiers.
Critics believe FAM should hire Hodak or Durakovic, who have worked in Malaysia for a long time, to coach Harimau Malaya.
FAM will hold their executive committee meeting on Friday, and they may announce a name for the national team coaching job.
