It was a passionate answer, but it was full of honest feelings. Perhaps it was a comment that signaled even a little bit of the pressure and emotions of the coach they hired, which Malaysian fans and the media have not thought about. This is the strong message of Malaysian national soccer team coach Kim Pan-gon.
The Malaysian national soccer team, led by head coach Kim, will play against Taiwan in the final round of Group D of the second Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup scheduled at 9 p.m. (Korean time) at Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur today (11th). Coach Kim and key midfielder Paulo Zosier held a preliminary press conference for the match against Taiwan in the auditorium of the Malaysian Football Association (FAM) headquarters in Petalang Jaya on the 10th, when asked by Best Eleven, who visited the meeting, how he was coping with the pressure he felt while leading Malaysia as a foreign leader.
Coach Kim started responding with a smile, saying, “It’s nice to meet a Korean reporter here,” but every word he poured out had a bone.
“Pressure is even greater than I thought,” Kim said, before adding, “I think our coaching staff has provided a lot of good results here. We have changed the philosophy of the Malaysian national soccer team and established the characteristics of the national team, and our home game winning percentage is much better than before. We advanced to the AFC Asian Cup finals on our own after 40 years. And we are challenging ourselves to the World Cup until the very last moment,” he said, giving meaning to what he has achieved since taking office
“I have provided this environment to this country, but sometimes I feel more pressure. I never thought of this situation,” he said. “When I first came to Malaysia, I received very good support. Everyone was supportive, and everything I asked for was provided. But every time I achieve something, I feel negative. This is how I feel.”
“We will fight under any circumstances,” Kim said. “We will never give up or get frustrated. We are not afraid. I have nothing to fear. I have great passion for this team. Even if we fail to achieve anything, we will move forward and lead the team.”
It is inferred that the remarks that Kim made in public contain strong protests. Kim suffered considerable hardships while preparing for the second consecutive qualifying round in June. First, he tried to calm down players by calling them in early because he had no schedule in the league ahead of the second consecutive round, but Takzim and Selangor FC, the leading and second-ranked teams in the league with a large number of national team players, expressed their objection, saying they would send them to the FIFA national team in accordance with the mandatory recruitment regulations.
Among them, Takzim, who will handle Johor Darul, has always been uncooperative not only to this call-up but also to coach Kim’s transfer of players. Regarding this, local reporters in Malaysia are speculating that he may be making a mockery of the current Malaysian Football Association executive and manager Kim with strong antipathy. In fact, Takzim’s owner, 토토사이트 who will handle Joho, was the former president of the Malaysian Football Association.
As a result, his plan to fly quickly between Kuala Lumpur and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, also failed. It took 23 hours to return to Kuala Lumpur after finishing an away match. It is no exaggeration to say that he had been away to Europe, but Kim, who is already in a difficult situation, has a headache.