Kim Sang-sik (; born 17 December 1976) is a South Korean football manager and former player. During his playing career, he played for the South Korea national team as a centre-back or a defensive midfielder. He is currently manager of Vietnam and Vietnam U23, and is considered one of the greatest managers in Vietnamese football history.
Club career In 1999, Kim joined Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, significantly contributing to Seongnam's consecutive K League championships in 2001 and 2002. He joined the military club Gwangju Sangmu in 2003 to perform his military service, and returned to Seongnam in 2005. He once again contributed to a K League title in 2006.
Because of the team's negative performance in 2008 and the transition from coach Kim Hak-bum to Shin Tae-yong, Kim transferred to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in January 2009 as a part of the team's restructuring. He was appointed the new captain of the team.
On 26 November 2013, Kim announced his retirement. In his final match against FC Seoul, Kim scored on a penalty kick, ending his playing career on a high note.
International career On 29 May 2000, Kim debuted for the South Korea national team in a friendly match against Yugoslavia.
Kim was selected for the national team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and played two Group G matches as a substitute.
In the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, he replaced injured defensive midfielder Kim Nam-il and helped South Korea reach the semi-finals. However, Kim was involved in a drinking scandal with captain Lee Woon-jae and some others during the tournament, resulting in a one-year suspension from the national team and a two-year ban from competitions organized by the Korea Football Association.
After nearly five years, in February 2012, Kim returned to the national team prior to a friendly against Uzbekistan and a World Cup qualifier against Kuwait. He retired from the national team after these matches.
Managerial career
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors After retiring at the end of 2013, he went to France to receive coaching training. He returned to Jeonbuk in 2014 and worked as an assistant coach under managers Choi Kang-hee and José Morais.
On 7 December 2020, he participated in the Pro License course of Asian Football Confederation Coach Education. Subsequently, on 22 December 2020, he was appointed manager of Jeonbuk, succeeding Morais. He became the first Jeonbuk player to manage the team.
In the 2021 season, his first season as a manager, he led Jeonbuk to the K League 1 title. He became the first person to win the league title with Jeonbuk as a player, coach and manager. He was also the third to achieve this feat, following Cho Kwang-rae and Choi Yong-soo. He was awarded the K League Manager of the Year Award after the season.
In 2022, however, Jeonbuk gradually focused on defense and counterattack due to Kim's monotonous tactics in contrast with previous managers, and he was criticized for losing Jeonbuk's style of play. Despite this criticism, he renewed his contract with the club after winning the Korean FA Cup.
Early in the 2023 season, Kim failed to improve the team's weaknesses, and Jeonbuk ranked tenth among twelve clubs after winning only three of ten matches. On 4 May 2023, he resigned, ending his 15-year term with Jeonbuk.
Vietnam On 3 May 2024, Kim was appointed manager of Vietnam's senior and under-23 national teams, following Philippe Troussier's departure. He hired Choi Won-kwon as his assistant and started building his team. On 6 June, he made his debut as Vietnam's manager in a World Cup qualifier against the Philippines, ending Vietnam's eight-match losing streak with a 3–2 victory. Between December 2024 and January 2025, Kim led Vietnam to win the 2024 ASEAN Championship. He sent his team to the semi-finals by earning three wins and one draw in the group stage including victories over compatriots Ha Hyeok-jun and Shin Tae-yong, who managed Laos and Indonesia respectively. He became Vietnam's third manager and the second Korean manager to win an ASEAN Championship title after defeating Thailand in both legs of the final.
On 10 April 2025, ASEAN Football Federation appointed Kim manager of the ASEAN All-Stars for a friendly against Manchester United named the Maybank Challenge Cup at Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Malaysia on 28 May. He defeated Rúben Amorim's Manchester United side 1–0. On 29 July, he won the 2025 ASEAN U-23 Championship for Vietnam's third consecutive title in the competition. At the 2025 SEA Games, he won all four matches including a 3–2 final win over Thailand on 18 December.
While participating at the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup in January 2026, Kim and Vietnam won all matches against Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates before lost 3–0 to China in the semi-finals. In the third place play-off, his team defeated his homeland South Korea 7–6 on penalties after a 2–2 draw with them. During July and August, he led Vietnam to the second consecutive ASEAN Championship victory. Despite a goalless draw with Singapore, he guided the team to first place of the Group A by defeating Timor-Leste, Indonesia and Cambodia. After two 2–0 wins over Malaysia in the semi-finals, Vietnam faced Thailand again in the final. He became Vietnam's first-ever manager to defend the ASEAN Championship title, as they beat Thailand 4–2 on aggregate. However, during the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup, he led Vietnam to the fourth place followed by narrow defeat against Malaysia in the third place match.
Personal life Kim is married and has two children, a son currently in university and a high school-aged daughter. He mentioned Choi Kang-hee and Kim Hak-bum as his major coaching influences.
During his tenure as Vietnam's manager, he was nicknamed the "Dark Magician" () by Vietnamese football fans, a moniker reflecting his uncanny ability to pull off highly effective and often unpredictable tactical moves, including bold adjustments and decisive second-half substitutions that delivered victories even when the team's overall gameplay appeared shaky or unconvincing.
Career statistics Club +Appearances and goals by club, season and competition Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps GoalsSeongnam Ilhwa Chunma1999K League261??100—3612000K League192??81??2732001K League250??70??3202002K League252??112—3642005K League2211080—3112006K League2510040—2912007K League27400101003842008K League26000110—370 Total195111060310026614Gwangju Sangmu2003K League42220——4422004K League20100111—312 Total62320111—754Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors2009K League3004030—3702010K League2202060603602011K League2200000803002012K League270??00603302013K League 1201??0060261 Total121160902601621 Career total378159080436050319
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSouth Korea200014120014020023020032020041020057120061602007100201220Total592
Results list South Korea's goal tally first. +List of international goals scored by Kim Sang-sik No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition1 23 October 2000 Tripoli, Lebanon 1–1 2–1 2000 AFC Asian Cup2 20 March 2005 Dubai, United Arab Emirates 1–0 1–0 Friendly
Managerial statistics
+ Managerial record by team and tenureTeamFromToRecordJeonbuk Hyundai Motors22 December 20204 May 2023Vietnam3 May 2024PresentVietnam U233 May 2024PresentTotal
Honours Player Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma K League 1: 2001, 2002, 2006 Korean FA Cup: 1999 Korean League Cup: 2002 Korean Super Cup: 2002
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors K League 1: 2009, 2011 AFC Champions League runner-up: 2011
South Korea AFC Asian Cup third place: 2000, 2007
Individual K League All-Star: 2002, 2010 K League 1 Best XI: 2009
Manager Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors K League 1: 2021 Korean FA Cup: 2022
Vietnam ASEAN Championship: 2024, 2026
Vietnam U23 SEA Games: 2025 ASEAN U-23 Championship: 2025 AFC U-23 Asian Cup third place: 2026
Individual K League Manager of the Month: March 2021, July 2022 K League 1 Manager of the Year: 2021 Korean FA Coach of the Year: 2021 K League All-Star: 2022 Korean FA Cup Best Manager: 2022 ASEAN All-Star: 2025
Notes
References
External links Kim Sang-sik at KFA