'Lariga Wall was High' Espanyol Beat Busan 3-0 to Win'K League International Youth Cup Incheon 2024'

By Jinman, Yoon

Oct 04, 2024

'Lariga Wall was High' Espanyol Beat Busan 3-0 to Win'K League International Youth Cup Incheon 2024'

'K League International Youth Cup Incheon 2024'. Photo courtesy = Korea Professional Football Federation

'Is this the power of La Liga?'

Spain's Espanyol won the title at the 「K League International Youth Cup Incheon 2024" aimed at revitalizing international exchanges for youth in the K League.

Espanyol won 3-0 with an overwhelming performance in the final of the 'K League International Youth Cup Incheon 2024' against the Busan I'Park U-17 team (Gyeongseong High School) at 1 p.m. on the 4th at the main stadium of Incheon Munhak Stadium. Starting with Antonio Moreno Garrido's first goal in the 30th minute of the first half, Albert Baris Masiyasu in the 8th minute of the second half and Oriol Palas Pratz in the 23rd minute of the second half won the cup. Busan, which reached the final for the first time as a K-League youth team this year, which is in its second year, sadly suffered in its last game. The K-League's bid to win the championship was also postponed to the next time. The first team to win last year's inaugural tournament in Incheon was Anderlecht, Belgium.

The 'K League International Youth Cup Incheon 2024' was held for the first time last year due to the need to promote international exchanges for youth in the K League. Hosted and organized by the Professional Football Federation, organized by the Incheon Football Association, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the National Sports Promotion Agency, and Incheon Metropolitan City, the competition was aimed at those under the age of 17 and born after January 1, 2007. Six teams were divided into two groups and played in a way that the first-place teams in each group played the final match. The game time was 35 minutes each in the first and second half, and the ranking was set in the order of points, differences, multiple points, and winners.

Six teams participated in the event in Korea. FC Seoul Suwon Samsung Jeonbuk Hyundai Busan I'Park participated as the first to fourth best youth club in the 2023 season, Incheon United as a youth team under the K League affiliated with Incheon, and Bupyeong High School as the winner of the 2024 regional competition hosted by the Incheon Football Association. Four European teams, Real Sociedad, Espanyol (Spain), Augsburg (Germany), Everton (England), two Asian teams, Kashiwa Reysol (Japan), and Shandong Taishan (China), participated in the competition. Everton were coached by Leighton Baines, a former club legend. Baines, who met at half-time of the final, expressed his overall satisfaction with the tournament's management and said he was satisfied with being able to gain various experiences.

'K League International Youth Cup Incheon 2024'. Photo courtesy = Korea Professional Football Federation

Busan and Espanyol got tickets to the final after a six-day group stage from the 28th to the 3rd of last month. Coach Choi Kwang-hee's Busan, who played in Busan for 10 years, reached the final by winning all four other games except Augsburg (1-3 loss) in Group A. In the fifth round of the group stage, which determines whether to advance to the finals, the game, which was dragged 0-3 against Kashiwa, was overturned 4-3. Espanyol, led by head coach Eneko Arona, won four straight after losing to Everton (1-2 loss) in the first round and advanced to the finals as No. 1 in Group B.

Ahead of the final match, there were comments among field officials that `Espanyol's power is superior to Busan.' The prediction was not wrong. Espanyol plagued Busan throughout the 70th minute of the first half with a cross-oriented attack and a quick counterattack that properly utilized the side space. Busan didn't make a big chance.

Coach Choi built the second line of attack with Kim Min-jae, Lee Ho-in, Kim Dong-yoon, and Jeon Ji-hyuk, with ace Lee Ho-jin, who scored four group goals, as the top in the 4-1-4-1 formation. Lim Seung-joo took the third term. Lee Tae-hyun, Song Si-woo, Kwon Jun-sung, and Lee Tae-hyun made a four-back, and Kim Ji-hwan defended the goal.

'K League International Youth Cup Incheon 2024'. Photo courtesy = Korea Professional Football Federation

In the 9th minute of the first half, Masiyasu's header in front of the gate went off the post. Eloy Toast Puig's cross on the right side of the 14th minute flew strongly into the gate, but Busan goalkeeper Kim Ji-hwan stably caught it. Busan, which could not easily overcome the opponent's camp, made a quick change in the 26th minute by excluding Kim Min-jae and putting in Choi Min-seok. However, he scored the first goal four minutes later. Espanyol had a free kick opportunity near the penalty box in Busan. Instead of sending it long to the gate, he quickly connected a short pass to a teammate running away. Garrido, who caught the ball, entered the box and swung his left foot to score the first goal. The first half ended with Espanyol leading by one goal.

The second half was also Espanyol pace. Kim Ji-hwan blocked a mid-range shot by Oriol Palas Pratz during a counterattack in the second minute. But in the eighth minute, Masiyasu pushed a cross from Pratz's left into the header. In the 23rd minute of the second half, Busan goalkeeper Kim Ji-hwan made a mistake of missing the ball in his arms at the gate. Without missing it, Pratz pushed it into an empty goal. There was no reversal. The match ended in a 3-0 victory for Espanyol.

Meanwhile, the Professional Football Federation plans to continue to operate the 'K League International Youth Cup' in the future to increase the contact point between K League youth clubs with advanced overseas leagues. It is also expected to secure international exchange networks and international competitiveness of each front desk and coaching staff in the K League.

yoonjinman@sportschosun.com