K League champions Jeonbuk hire two ex-MVPs as coaches

▲ This photo provided by Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Dec. 28, 2020, shows the K League 1 club's new coaches, Kim Do-heon (L) and Lee Woon-jae, posting next to Jeonbuk's K League 1 and Korean FA Cup trophies. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This image provided by Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Dec. 28, 2020, shows the K League 1 club's new assistant coach, Kim Do-heon. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ This image provided by Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Dec. 28, 2020, shows the K League 1 club's new goalkeeper coach, Lee Woon-jae. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

football club-coaches

K League champions Jeonbuk hire two ex-MVPs as coaches

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Yonhap) -- The four-time defending K League 1 champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors have added two former league MVPs to their revamped coaching staff.

Jeonbuk announced Monday that former national team midfielder Kim Do-heon will be their senior assistant coach, while ex-World Cup hero Lee Woon-jae will be the new goalkeeper coach.

They will join newly named head coach Kim Sang-sik on the bench. Kim was promoted from assistant to the top position last Tuesday to succeed Jose Morais.

Kim, 38, split his K League career with Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (currently Seongnam FC), and was voted the K League MVP in 2006 while with Seongnam. The playmaking midfielder also spent parts of two seasons with West Bromwich Albion, first in the second-tier League Championship and then the Premier League.

Kim finished out his playing career as a player-coach in Malaysia and the United States. He served on Suwon's coaching staff in 2020.

Lee backstopped South Korea to the semifinals at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the second of four World Cups that he played for in the country.

The 47-year-old ranks second on the all-time Korean list with 133 international caps.

Lee won four K League titles with Suwon and became the first goalkeeper to win the league MVP award in 2008. No other goalkeeper has been so honored since.

He began his coaching career in 2013 and helped South Korea to the gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games in the South Korean host city of Incheon.

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