Hong Jury Is Out
Hong Myung-Bo, the most popular player in one of his native land’s most popular sports, could not believe what he was seeing.
Surely, this was a bad joke. Had he really left behind the glamour of being South Korea’s soccer icon for this -- a makeshift practice pitch on a Pasadena baseball diamond?
“That’s been the only thing that’s been a disappointment,” Hong said through a translator, recalling the days before the Home Depot Center’s June opening, “when we practiced on a baseball field.”
Still, no one can blame Galaxy officials for describing his first year with the team as less than a resounding success.
Because while Hong has helped shore up the Galaxy’s defense as the team’s middle defender in its three-back formation, his presence has not generated the windfall of fan support the organization anticipated when he signed with the Galaxy last Nov. 4 to become Major League Soccer’s first Korean player.
“We haven’t had the influx of the people from the Korean community,” Galaxy Vice President and General Manager Doug Hamilton said. “Are we disappointed? Yeah, we are ... [but] we’ve had great support on the road, moderate at home.”
Some 300 Koreans turned up in Columbus for the season opener and 7,000 more showed up at the Meadowlands to support Hong in the Galaxy’s match against the MetroStars.
And to be fair, there was a noticeable smattering of “Be the Reds” T-Shirts (a tribute to the South Korean national team) dotting the Home Depot Center’s opening sellout crowd of 27,000 There have not been many more since.
Hong, 34, is not surprised.
“Not really, because MLS, not too many people knew about it,” he said. “They just knew about the World Cup teams. As the season goes on and more advertising and marketing go on, there should be more.”
Tonight’s match should draw a decent crowd as the Galaxy is hosting its second annual Korean heritage night. Last year’s celebration, held on the heels of South Korea’s shocking fourth-place finish in the World Cup, drew some 3,500 Koreans.
Hong, who began his professional career with the Pohang Steelers of the Korean K-League in 1992 and also played in Japan, came to MLS after playing in four World Cups (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002) and winning the Bronze Ball as the third-best player in last year’s tournament.
He has a green card, so he does not count against the Galaxy’s three-man senior international limit and signed a reported two-year contract with MLS at the league maximum of $275,000.
It has been a struggle on the field.
Hong was playing out of position and was especially hampered by the early schedule the Galaxy had to endure -- an eight-game trip to begin league play plus a tournament in Spain and matches in Honduras, Mexico and Milwaukee.
“It was very hard for me to adjust to the traveling, and I had never played in the midfield before,” Hong said. “It was very overwhelming.”
With the Galaxy winless through its first eight matches, Hong was dangerously close to being compared to Luis Hernandez as the team’s biggest foreign import bust.
Veteran defender Alexi Lalas, though, took a change of position in stride, allowing Hong to move to center back.
“Once I moved back to the position I always played, I felt more comfortable, and the team got more comfortable as well,” Hong said. “The style that I played, it’s come around as the season has went along.”
He scored 21 goals in 270 club matches in South Korea and Japan and nine in 135 South Korean national team games. He has yet to score for the Galaxy, taking five shots, none on goal, in 14 MLS matches. Still, Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman said that Hong’s anticipation play is a reason the team has surrendered a league-low 19 goals, despite a language barrier.
“His positioning and ... ability to read the game is great, his one-on-one defensive skills,” Hartman said. “He can step up and be a stopper at times and that’s something that we really need...keep possession as best we can.”
Meaning the Galaxy -- whose 19 goals are second-worst in the league -- needs another scoring threat.
Asked about the scoring drought, a wry Hong quickly told reporters with a smile, “Ask Cobi,” referring to team captain Cobi Jones.
Even in a trying first season, Hong has maintained a sense of humor. Besides, it hasn’t all been bad. In fact, he is relishing playing in relative anonymity, getting more quality time with his wife, who has family here but whose name he wouldn’t divulge, and children Myung-Bo Jr., 4, and Daniel, 3.
“I feel so free that I can go anywhere with my family, we can go to the movies,” he said. “I can’t do that [in Seoul]. Fans are very physical there. They’ll grab you.”
*GALAXY TONIGHT
vs. Columbus, 7
Site -- Home Depot Center.
Radio -- KMPC (1540), KTNQ (1020, Spanish), Radio Korea (1230, Korean).
Records -- Galaxy 4-6-7, Crew 5-7-5.
Record vs. Crew -- 1-0-1.
Update -- One-time league MVP Alex Pineda Chacon may be looking for a little payback tonight as the disgruntled forward was traded from the Galaxy to Columbus on July 31. The injury-plagued Crew could be in a bad mood as well because the Galaxy scored a 2-1 victory over Columbus in Carson a day before the trade. The Galaxy leads the league in home attendance with an average of 20,612.
Tickets -- (213) 480-3232 or (714) 740-2000.
-- Paul Gutierrez
