It ended 14 years ago, but...Daejeon is totally different this year
It ended 14 years ago, but...Daejeon is totally different this year
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The start of the professional soccer match Hana Citizen is unusual.
Daejeon, led by head coach Hwang Sun-hong (57), won 3-2 in the Ulsan HD away game on the 1st thanks to Joo Min-kyu's winning goal. Daejeon, which has 16 points (5 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss), has firmly maintained its lead by widening the gap between the second-place Gimcheon Sangmu, which has played one less game, to five points.
It is the first time since 2011 that Daejeon ranked at the top of the rankings even when considering the days of the Citizens, the team that was formerly known as the "Citizens" team." Daejeon, which was led by then-coach Wang Sun-jae, caused an upset as it ranked first in April.
Soccer experts find the driving force of Daejeon's early run in the season in solid players. Daejeon's recruitment of Kim Moon-hwan, Bob Shin, Martha, Chun Sung-hoon, Kelvin and Kim Hyun-wook in the summer transfer market after suffering from relegation last year laid the groundwork for creating a double squad as good as the favorites.
Daejeon brought in Joo Min-kyu, the top goalscorer in the K League 1, from Ulsan HD before the opening, and even recruited side wing Jung Jae-hee, who led the Pohang Steelers to their second consecutive Korea Cup, side defender Park Kyu-hyun, proven defenders Ha Chang-rae and Lim Jong-eun.
With a solid player base, there is no damage with any injuries. Daejeon was cleared by Gutech's starting and Yoon Do-young and Kim Hyun-wook's forward deployment, even though Martha and Choi Geon-ju were injured in the previous game and were excluded from the match against Ulsan on the 1st. Yoon Do-young helped Shin Sang-eun's first goal in the third minute of the first half, and Kim Hyun-wook met expectations by solving the additional penalty goal with a panenka kick.
"Thanks to the club's strong efforts, the number of candidate players has increased. Even if there are injured players, it is positive to have a number of people to operate," coach Hwang said, pointing to the upward trend.
The fact that Daejeon has a reliable scorer is also a big help to the team's lead. This year, Joo Min-gyu, who is the leading scorer in the K-League 1 (six goals), is the hero. Although Joo Min-gyu was evaluated as the end of his heyday last year with only 10 goals, he boasts a scoring pace of six goals in seven games in Daejeon this year. With the know-how of Hwang, who represented Korean soccer, and Joo Min-gyu's skills, the team has gained explosive power that cannot be ignored.
As Daejeon is leading the league in the early days of this season, fans have high expectations for its first win. "The moment I am satisfied, I think I will be eliminated," Hwang said. "We have eight matches to the Korea Cup in May, and after that, we will see the outline of the league," he said. "I have never experienced such a situation (in my career as a leader). I am thinking about how to keep it."
Founded in 1997, Daejeon was far from winning the championship. If limited to the regular league, the team has only won the championship in 2014 when it was in the K League 2 (division 2). In 2011, when it had a surprise leadership in the top division, many of its key players left due to match fixing, and finished the season in 15th place. If it is expanded to include a cup competition, it once topped the list at the FA Cup in 2001. 메이저사이트
"When we won the FA Cup, we were at the bottom of the regular league. We were at the bottom of the list when we won the FA Cup," Suwon FC coach Kim Eun-joong said. "Today's match is different. We may falter for a while, but teams with strong players will not collapse. Even if it collapses, we will be able to achieve the level of competition for the Asian Champions League."