"'The striker proves his value with a goal' 'The lowest' Ulsan's biggest pending issue is a four-year rematch with Joo Min-gyu's resurrection Vissel Kobe
Oct 22, 2024
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Ulsan will play Vissel Kobe (Japan) at Ulsan Stadium at 7 p.m. on the 23rd in the third round of the Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) league stage in the 2024-2025 season. In ACLE, Ulsan is at the bottom of the table with all two losses. However, as he is cruising with seven undefeated games (5 wins and 2 draws) in K League 1, his goal is to achieve his first win in ACLE without fail.
It is the first rematch in four years. Ulsan met Kobe in the ACL semifinals on December 13, 2020. At that time, all teams gathered in Doha, Qatar, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the competition was held. Ulsan came from behind to beat Kobe 2-1 with Junio's dramatic penalty goal after extra-time blood. Then, in the final against Persepolis (Iran) on December 19th, Junio's winning shot led to another 2-1 come-from-behind victory and 10 undefeated matches (9 wins and 1 draw), and there are good memories of successful recapture of the top spot in Asia for the first time in eight years since 2012.
Ulsan drew 0-0 against Kimcheon Sangmu in the 34th round of the K League on the 19th. If he had won, he could have taken a step closer to winning three consecutive leagues by widening the gap with Gimcheon, but only gained one point. In regret, goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo was selected as the player of the game by keeping the goal firmly without losing any points, saving all five of his opponent's effective shots. He is considered a strong candidate for MVP this season, scoring 36 runs and 13 clean sheets in all league games (34 games).
All-weather midfielder Rubik'sson also returned from injury 28 days after an away trip to Incheon United on September 22. He was busy moving and creating chances several times, and he made a remarkable performance on both sides of offense and defense, raising expectations for the future.
There is homework to be solved for the first win of ACLE. It is a revival of the leading striker Joo Min-kyu (eight goals and four assists in 30 K-League games). He has been silent for more than three months in official matches since the match against FC Seoul on July 13.
Yago, a partner and well-intentioned competitor, scored a goal in the 33rd round of the K League 1 against Gimcheon on the 6th, but after moving to Ulsan, he was still on fire with three goals and one assist in 11 K League 1 games. It is scoreless in ACLE. Ulsan can gain momentum in ACLE and K League 1 in the future only when residents and Yago break out.
Coach Kim Pan-gon said to the two players after the match against Gimcheon that `A striker proves value in chances. You also need to know how to create chances. There is a regret, but in addition to scoring, he was good at linking with defense and was tactically good. I will expect the residents and Yago to burst."
And "I haven't been able to do my best in ACLE due to circumstances, but I'll run it as well as I do at home and produce good results" he promised to win.
After the match against Kobe, Ulsan is waiting for the East Coast Derby against the Pohang Steelers, which will be the watershed of the K League 1's third consecutive throne.
newsme@sportschosun.com
