Malaysia’s coach, Kim Pan-gon, is reportedly set to resign from his position on Tuesday (16/8/2024).
According to exclusive information from Korean media outlet Best Eleven, Kim Pan-gon will step down as the coach of the Malaysian national team this Tuesday.
It is reported that Kim Pan-gon will hold a press conference regarding his decision to resign on Tuesday at the FAM headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
The same source stated that the press conference will start at 15:30 Korean time, or 13:30 WIB.
“Sources close to Malaysian Football reported that Kim Pan-gon will hold a press conference at the FAM headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur,” wrote Best Eleven.
Best Eleven noted that this is an unusual way for a coach to announce their resignation.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has remained silent regarding the news.
In the upcoming press conference, Kim Pan-gon is reported to want to express his gratitude to Malaysian fans.
Kim Pan-gon has been contracted by Malaysia since January 2022.
If he resigns now, the South Korean coach will have been in charge of the Harimau Malaya for 2 years and 6 months.
Kim Pan-gon’s decision to resign is also full of suspicion, as he previously stated that he wanted to stay on after Malaysia failed to qualify for the third round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers last June.
“I want to stay, I never asked to leave the team,” Kim Pan-gon said last June.
“We will keep fighting. Leaving the team is not a responsibility I can take,” he added.
According to Kim Pan-gon, improvements cannot be made like in Japan and South Korea.
Therefore, Malaysia needs to adopt other methods besides just relying on the existing training system.
One of them is by following the example of Indonesia’s national team in contacting players of descent in Europe.
“In reality, football in Malaysia, I can see the situation is quite difficult,” said Kim Pan-gon.
“I’m unsure how to improve it because there are many factors to consider here.” “We can’t compare ourselves to South Korea or Japan, given their well-established systems.”
“I think we need to examine and improve our system to produce young talents.”
“It is very important to produce the best young players every year,” he added.
Kim Pan-gon Speaks Out After Resigning from Malaysia’s National Team
Kim Pan-gon officially stepped down from his position as the coach of Malaysia’s national team on Tuesday (16/7).
This news is quite surprising as the Harimau Malaya team is set to compete in the 2024 Merdeka Cup and the 2024 ASEAN Cup.
Additionally, Malaysia is on a mission to improve its FIFA ranking to maintain its chances of qualifying for the Asian Cup.
Kim’s resignation means they have to work hard to prepare the team for the upcoming tournaments.
Kim Pan-gon explained that this decision was actually quite difficult.
However, his resolve was firm to resign from the Malaysian national team.
He also apologized for the surprise this decision caused.
His reason for resigning was due to personal commitments and no pressure from others.
“Today, I have a sad and regretful message to share with all of you.”
“Today, I’ve chosen to resign from my position as the head coach of the Malaysian national football team due to personal commitments.”
“I apologize for any disappointment this may have caused to everyone,” said Kim Pan-gon, as quoted by Wasit24.id from the Instagram account of FA Malaysia.
Meanwhile, FAM Vice President, Datuk Wira Mohd Yusoff Haji Mahadi, explained that there had actually been communication beforehand.
In fact, this discussion was held in several meetings between FAM and Kim.
“For everyone’s information, Pan-gon has met with FAM management to express his desire to shorten his contract duration.”
“This was followed by several more meetings,” said Datuk Wira Mohd Yussof Haji Mahadi.
FAM did not agree with this decision.
They even tried to persuade Kim to change his mind and continue to lead Harimau Malaya.
However, the coach remained firm in his stance and ultimately chose to resign.
“Afterward, we attempted to persuade him to reconsider his decision.” However, FAM management and the Executive Committee ultimately respected his choice and agreed to part ways with Pan-gon by mutual consent. despite his contract with FAM running until December 2025,” he concluded.
