Coach Kim Ki-dong, who was recognized for his leadership at Pohang Steelers, is expected to take the helm at FC Seoul.

According to the soccer world on the 12th, coach Kim Ki-dong has reportedly received an offer to become FC Seoul's head coach and is currently discussing it. An FC Seoul club official also said, “We are in contract negotiations with coach Kim Ki-dong.”

An official in the soccer world said, “I understand that Seoul offered coach Kim Ki-dong the highest salary in the country,” and added, “As long as there are no major problems, he will be moved to Seoul.”

Seoul currently has a vacant head coach. After coach Ahn Ik-soo resigned last August, the team operated under an acting coach Kim Jin-gyu system for the remainder of the season. Although it maintained the top spot at the beginning of the 2023 season, it went downhill after the middle and eventually fell to the bottom split and finished the season in 7th place. It is known that Seoul, in desperate need of a rebound next season, has selected coach Kim Ki-dong as the right person to do so.

His abilities have already been proven in Pohang, under coach Kim Ki-dong. Coach Kim Ki-dong, who played as a player in Pohang from 2003 to 2012, has consistently led the team to good results after becoming Pohang's head coach in 2019.

In 2019, his first year in office, he led Pohang to 4th place in K-League 1, and then took 3rd place the following year. In 2021, they finished 9th in the league, but achieved runner-up finish in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League. It ranked 3rd in K League 1 in 2022 and 2nd this year. In particular, they also won the FA Cup this year.

Coach Kim Ki-dong's achievements are even more meaningful considering that Pohang's key players leave the team every year due to the parent company's tight budget. That's why fans gave him the nickname 'Mobile Magic'. In 2020, he received the K League 1 Manager of the Year award, which was unusual for a manager of a third-place team.

Coach Kim Ki-dong's Pohang has ranked in the top 4 every time except for the 2021 season (9th place). Although their league performance dropped in 2021, they finished second in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League.

Coach Kim Ki-dong renewed his contract with Pohang last year. His contract runs until 2025. Therefore, it appears that Seoul will need significant compensation to hire coach Kim Ki-dong.

Currently, there are several players in Seoul who were coached by coach Kim Ki-dong in Pohang. Lim Sang-hyeop, Lee Seung-mo, Kwon Wan-gyu, Ilyuchenko, and Palosevic are the players who moved to Seoul after playing in Pohang. This is why coach Kim Ki-dong has no major problems playing his soccer in Seoul. There are also rumors of some Pohang players transferring to Seoul.

In Pohang, where the light has fallen, there is already talk of the next best solution. According to the soccer world, Pohang is considering a plan to entrust the baton to Park Tae-ha, head of the technical committee of the Korea Professional Football League, if coach Kim Ki-dong's move to Seoul becomes a reality.

It is known that some rough agreement has already been reached between the Pohang club and Chairman Park Tae-ha. If Seoul officially announces the hiring of coach Kim Ki-dong, Pohang is also expected to immediately announce the appointment of chairman Park Tae-ha.

Chairman Park Tae-ha is one of Pohang's greatest 'legends'. During his active duty years, except for his military service in Sangmu, he only played for one team in Pohang. His leadership career also began in Pohang. As a coach, he helped Pohang win the K-League title in 2007 with coach Sergio Farias.

He later moved to coach the national team and led Huh Jung-moo's advance to the round of 16 of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. In 2012, he served as head coach of Seoul and experienced another K-League championship.

Chairman Park Tae-ha later advanced to the Chinese stage in 2015. He made his debut as a professional coach at Chinese professional soccer team Yenben Fude and was in charge of the team until 2008. He later briefly led the Chinese women's national team B team, and has since served as the technical chairman of the Professional Football Federation since 2020.