'Age in 30's Is Just a Number' Ulsan Opens 3rd Successive Consecutive Year, Qualified by Veteran Defensive Indicators
Nov 03, 2024
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Ulsan won 2-1 against Gangwon FC at Ulsan Stadium on the 1st with consecutive goals from Rubik'sson and Joo Min-kyu in the third round of the final of the 「Hana Bank K League 1 2024」. Ulsan, which widened its gap with second-place Gangwon by seven points, lifted its fifth trophy in its career with the top of the league for three consecutive years.
Ulsan suffered from faltering defense in the early and mid-season, but it stabilized as it entered the second half and played a big role in securing an early league championship.
With captain Kim Ki-hee at the center, Kim Young-kwon, Hwang Seok-ho, and Lee Myung-jae and Yoon Il-rok, the veteran defense showed remarkable performance. All players are in their 30s, except for goalkeepers Cho Hyun-woo and Cho Soo-hyuk, Kang Min-woo (18) and Kim Joo-hwan (23). Voices pointing out the aging process came from all over the place, but as a former and current national representative, he locked the opponent's onslaught with experience and organizational power. As a result, he showed off the prowess of the team with the least number of goals conceded in 36 league games.
It represents that this season's defensive indicators (hereinafter reflected up to round 35) are just a number of years old. Ulsan ranked first in the total number of passes and success rate in the defensive area. It attempted a total of 5,271 times and succeeded 4578 times, ranking first with an 86.9% success rate. It beat second-place Gwangju FC (4371 attempts, 3789 successes, 86.7% success rate) by 0.2%.
It also ranks first in turnovers in defense areas. He made the least number of mistakes in 338 times. It is eight times less than Suwon FC (346 times), which is second place, and 101 times less than Daejeon Hana Citizen (439 times), which is the lowest. Based on the high pass success rate in the defensive area, the league has achieved the least turnovers.
In addition to the defensive area, most of Ulsan's attacks or other data are in the lead or top ranks. It ranked first with 485 passes per attack sequence, second with 13.43 attack sequence times, and second with a sequence start position of 46.88 mm.
So far, Ulsan has attempted a total of 414 shots, 177 effective shots into the goal. Compared to shooting, the effective shooting conversion rate was ranked first by 42.74%.
He topped the list of passes with 19,501 times and made 3,886 attempts in the final third (offensive area) to succeed in 3,278 times. It ranked first in the pass success rate of 84.4%.
Ulsan also had excellent pressure. The pressure index (PPDA) means that the lower the number, the more efficient the pressure is. It ranks first in the 10.14th league. The Intercept came in third with 401 episodes. It is followed by Jeju (No. 1 in the 423rd) and Gimcheon (No. 2 in the 406th). Efficient forward compression and intercept distribution are seen.
Ulsan started its offense from a high position during this season, and showed a high pass success rate in the opponent's camp (offensive area). Based on this, it positioned the ball in the final third to minimize the risks that could arise in the defensive area.
The high average age of players who were concerned was found to have a technical advantage in the game situation based on a lot of experience, and to have a clear share of possession and offensive soccer in the opposing camp.
Coach Kim Pan-gon said, `Personally, an older player has a lot of experience and advantages. Our players are in control and control for as long as 90 minutes. They run an average of 11 kilometers per race. The speed is also quite high. You just need to have individual players' thoughts, professional spirit, young passion, rather than age. I think we need players who fit the team's character."I didn't pay much attention to aging.
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