Welcome faces were visible in the stands of Seongnam Tancheon Stadium, the debut of Hwaseong FC coach Cha Du-ri, who was the biggest topic in the opening game of K League 2.
Celtic (Scotland) and FC Seoul defender Kim Joo-young sat side by side and watched Cha's debut game for 90 minutes, sharing a brotherhood with senior Cha Du-ri on the national team. Cha's younger brother, Cha Se-chi, CEO of Footwork, was also noticeable. Before the game, Cha shared a hot 'Man-A hug' in front of the away coach's office with Kim Jin-kyu, the coach of the A national team, who was a companion of FC Seoul. He also greeted Park Choong-kyun, a member of the Professional Football League's TSG (Technology Research Group), who visited the site. Hwaseong Mayor Chung Myung-geun, the owner of the team, cheered with fans in the away supporters' seats regardless of the cold wind in late February.
Hwaseong FC, which entered the K League 2 for the first time this season, took on a spirited challenge with an unconventional squad in which as many as eight of the best 11 players made their professional debut, but lost 0-2 to Huiz in the 18th minute of the first half and Seongnam, where Hong Chang-beom scored consecutive goals in the 7th minute of the second half. The first win was postponed to three consecutive home games in March (Asan at 2 p.m. on March 2, Gyeongnam at 2 p.m. on March 8, and Cheongju at 2 p.m. on the 15th).
After the game, when Cha mentioned his best friends Ki Sung-yueng and Kim Joo-young's watching, he answered with a bright smile. To Ki Sung-yueng, he mentioned FC Seoul's first win against FC Anyang, saying, `I think I won yesterday.' " "(FC Seoul) won, so he must have been happy to come." "Thank you for coming and cheering me on." (Ki) Sung-yong has been very close since he was a player. There are many similar results between watching soccer and thinking about soccer all the time. After introducing himself as a friend who knows well when talking about soccer "Sung-yong also seems to be preparing for the leader because there is not much time left to play soccer in the future. I think I've learned a lot from watching a game like this today."
Four minutes into the opening whistle, Jeon Sung-jin shook the net with a lightning shot, but it was erased by VAR, and then he played a difficult game, shaken by Seongnam's counterattack. However, Cha congratulated and cheered on the start and challenge of the players who did not give up at the first professional ground on the day. "Congratulations to the players who made their professional debut today. The psychological pressure of the first professional game or everything would not have been easy, but I played a good game. Congratulations. They are friends who are just starting. As he continued to play, he expected that he would be able to show better performance and win his first victory as soon as possible." "The players continued to struggle with the football we wanted to play and continued their efforts to transport it from the back build-up stage to the final third. Rather than leave it to chance, I wanted to play a game where we took the lead with the ball. At the moment the ball was taken away, he set the pressing line in front of him and pressed him to quickly win the ball in a very high area, but that wasn't perfect, but he put a lot of pressure on the opponent. I want to praise that part." "The soccer we play also needs courage. You have to get the ball even in difficult areas, and you also need to exchange the ball. But I didn't want to hope for too much from the start, and as a result, I lost 0-2. Although our players lost, I want to congratulate my friends who are just starting," he said emphatically. "I want all the players in Korea to challenge themselves and play soccer with their dreams."
Coach Cha called it the "biggest day in our players' soccer lives" on the day when eight out of 11 players made their K League 2 debut. Coach Cha's dream of the first 'Infinite Challenge' and 'passion man' at Hwaseong FC, where the limits of the budget and the limits of the new team are clear, seemed clear. I hoped that the team, players, and Korean soccer would grow and develop together. "We are not K1, we are K2's founding club, so these guys go to places with higher goals, go to K1, become national team, young guys go overseas..., I hope it becomes a club that can have such goals and dreams. I wish we could make it together."
Reporter Jeon Young-ji sky4us@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
