KUALA LUMPUR: Less than two months after resigning as Harimau Malaya coach, Kim Pan Gon will make a quick return to Malaysia - but in a different role.
The South Korean, who has been appointed as the head coach of Ulsan HD, will lead his team against Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) in an Asian Champions League Elite group stage match (date yet to be announced).
Will Pan Gon's presence pose a disadvantage to JDT as many national players from the club had played under Pan Gon before (he may know their strengths and weaknesses)?
JDT chief executive officer Alistair Edwards does not think so.
"I think it goes both ways because a lot of the players on the national team know him (Pan Gon) as well. There are no surprises in terms of that. The only surprise will be our new foreign players, which is the one thing he doesn't know about."
JDT will face Ulsan, Thailand's Buriram United, South Korea's Pohang Steelers and China's Shanghai Shenhua on home turf.
Their away fixtures will be against China's Shanghai Port, Australia's Central Coast Mariners, China's Shandong Taishan and South Korea's Gwangju FC.