Kim can win more than titles in Singapore

Kim Do-hoon

By John Duerden

When a head coach wins the Asian Champions League and then leaves for a big money job overseas, people generally think of Europe or a lucrative job in one of the Gulf States. Singapore is not the first place that comes to mind but last Tuesday, Kim Do-hoon was announced as the new boss of Lion City Sailors ― currently the most talked about club in Southeast Asia.

“I am delighted to be joining the Lion City Sailors,” Kim said. “It's hugely exciting to be part of such an ambitious project ― the club has aspirations of becoming one of the top teams in the region, and I'm confident of delivering that success to the Sailors,” said Kim.

“Before anything, however, I would like to thank Aurelio [Vidmar, the previous coach who left in April] for the solid groundwork that he has put in place. The Sailors boast a very talented squad, and the team has been playing exciting attacking football over the past year or so. I intend to build on that, and bring this team to the next level.”

Kim, a prolific striker back in his day and a South Korean international, was last seen lifting the Champions League trophy in December. Ulsan overcame the challenge of Persepolis of Iran to take the continental title. It came as a major consolation after missing out on the K-League in the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

The K-League will have to wait as it is now all about the Singapore Premier League. The Sailors are owned by an e-commerce and video gaming company called Sea which is in turn owned by Forrest Li, reportedly the seventh richest man in the country. Taking over in 2020, Lion City are the only privatized club in the SPL, with local clubs traditionally run as societies that are dependent on public money to survive.

This new team intends to change all that. And signing Kim is the latest in a series of exciting events. In January, the Singapore transfer record stood at around $38,000 before it was broken by the Sailors. It was smashed as the club spent over $2 million on Brazilian midfielder Diego Lopes from Portuguese giant Benfica. Earlier this month, Singapore national team captain Hariss Harun was persuaded to return from Malaysian powerhouse Johor Darul Ta'zim.

Kim is lucky in that the Sailors are moving smoothly in the league and have started well. The challenge for the title is already on and if Kim can hit the ground running then he could do with the Lions of Singapore what he couldn't do with the Tigers of Korea.

Whatever happens, the arrival of a big-name Korean coach into one of the hottest seats in Southeast Asia is significant. There is a desire among K-League officials to engage more with this soccer-mad region of 650 million people but coaches in the league have been reluctant to import talent. If Kim can help change all that then he will be a winner off the field as well as on it, and he has a great chance to do this.