Hong Myung-Bo (born February 12, 1969 in Seoul) was a South Korean football player; he recently announced his retirement following the end of the 2004 Major League Soccer season, having finished his career with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Hong was on the Korean national team for the 1990 World Cup, the 1994 World Cup, the 1998 World Cup, and the 2002 World Cup, the first Korean player to do so. He won the Bronze Ball in the 2002 World Cup as the third best player in the tournament, as he captained the Korean team to a historic fourth place finish. He ended his international career after the 2002 World Cup as the all-time leader in appearances for the South Korean national team, with 135 caps. Hangul is the native alphabet used to write the Korean language, as opposed to the hanja system borrowed from China. ... Hanja (hangul: 한자; hanja: 漢字; revised: hanja; McCune-Reischauer: hancha; lit. ... The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. ... McCune-Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced (a modified) McCune-Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000. ... February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday For other uses, see Number 1969. ... Seoul (서울, â–¶(?)) is the capital of South Korea and is one of the most populous cities in the world, located in the northwestern part of the country on the Han River. ... National motto: 널리 인간 세계를 이롭게 하라 Translation: Broadly bring benefit to humanity Official language Korean Capital Seoul Largest city Seoul President Roh Moo-hyun Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 108th 99,274 km² 0. ... Football is a ball game played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... MLS logo For the defunct indoor soccer league, the Major Soccer League. ... Year Founded 1995 League Major League Soccer Stadium Home Depot Center Coach Steve Sampson, 2004- All-Time Leaders* Games Cobi Jones, 254 Goals Cobi Jones, 62 Assists Cobi Jones, 82 Shutouts Kevin Hartman, 53 First Game Los Angeles Galaxy 2 - 1 MetroStars (Rose Bowl; April 13, 1996) Largest Win Dallas... The 1990 Football World Cup was designated by FIFA in 1984 to be held in Italy, making it the second country to host the event two times. ... The 1994 Football World Cup held in the USA was won by Brazil who beat Italy 3-2 on penalty kicks after the game and extra time ended 0-0. ... The 1998 Football World Cup was held in France. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... First International South Korea 5 - 3 Mexico (London, England; August 2, 1948) Largest win South Korea 16 - 0 Nepal (Incheon, Rep. ...

A skillful midfielder-turned-sweeper, Hong's ice-cool temperament and leadership qualities made him a natural choice for captain of the national team. Somwhat like Franz Beckenbauer, Hong was a very influential player and excelled as an attacking sweeper - his trademark was to orchestrate attacks from the back with his superior vision and creative long-range passing. Hong is an exceptional reader of the game and his positioning was the key to Korea's defence. Hecould also threaten goalkeepers with his explosive long-range shooting, when given space to roam forward.

During his time in the J-League, his exceptional passing skills were utilised in midfield instead - for example during his 3 seasons with Kashiwa Reysol he operated as a defensive midfielder with creative duties.

Hong was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, KBE (born October 23, 1940), nicknamed Pelé, a Brazilian, is a former football player and thought by many to be the finest player of all time. ... On March 4, 2004, at a gala ceremony in London, to mark the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the international governing body of football revealed the FIFA 100. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On September 26, 2005, he was named assistant head coach on the South Korean national team. September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 96 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

World Cup 1994

Hong's individual talent was most notably showcased during the 1994 World Cup group stages in the United States. Trailing 2-0 against Spain with only 5 minutes to go, Hong pulled a goal back for Korea, making the score 2-1 and shortl after created the dramatic equaliser for winger Seo to finish off, resulting in a famous come-back.

2 weeks later, Korea found themselves trailing 3-0 at half time against a strong Germany (the defending World Champions at the time) which included the likes of Jurgen Kilnsmann, Kohler, Sammer and Matthius. Despite Hong single-handedly clawing 2 goals back for the Koreans by creating the first goal for striker Hwang to put into the net and scoring the equaliser himself, the Koreans ran out of luck. Unfortunately for Hong, despite the score board saying 3-2, the score was still to Germany's advantage and when Germany started deploying ultra-defensive tactics, this time South Korea did not have time to find the important third goal to equlise and force the game inot extra time. Despite picking up draws against both Spain and Bolivia, their 3-2 loss to Germany meant they finished 2nd last in the group and South Korea could not proceed to the Second Round.

Clubs

• 1992-1997 Pohang Steelers
• 1997-1998 Bellmare Hiratsuka
• 1999-2002 Kashiwa Reysol
• 2002 Pohang Steelers
• 2003-2004 Los Angeles Galaxy