Korean soccer duo at the front and back. Participated in four World Cups together As a leader, results are mixed. September K League 1 showdown
Hwang Seon-hong and Hong Myung-bo retire
Coach Hong Myung-bo and coach Hwang Seon-hong, the ‘legends’ and ‘rivals’ representing Korean soccer, will face a battle of wits for the first time in professional soccer K-League 1.
Coach Hong, who led Ulsan HD to 2 consecutive K-League 1 wins, is proudly spending his 4th season in Ulsan, while Coach Hwang was appointed as the new head coach of Daejeon Hana Citizens, which is on the verge of relegation, on the 3rd.
Coach Hwang, born in 1968, and coach Hong, born in 1969, are friends who have shared hardships and hardships together for over 10 years as a front-line striker and back-line defender, respectively, during their active careers. 안전놀이터
The two played together on the World Cup stage four times, from the 1990 Italy World Cup to the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.
The two, who were the most senior members of the national team at the Korea-Japan World Cup and played a leading role in the semifinals, returned their Taegeuk badges at the end of the friendly match against Brazil in November of that year.
The mark left on the K-League is also significant. The two worked together at Pohang Steelers from 1993 to 1997, and are both recognized as Pohang legends.
In 1991, they were at the center of the K League draft rejection scandal.
From the time they retired and entered the leadership path, the two best friends’ paths gradually diverged.
Coach Hwang, who began his career as a coach on the professional stage, led Pohang to three wins, including one regular league title and two FA Cups, when he took over in 2011. He also led the team to win the K League 1 again as coach of FC Seoul in 2016.
However, due to poor performance, he voluntarily resigned from his position as Seoul coach in 2018. In 2020, Daejeon, which was in the K League 2 (second division) at the time, also had to step down due to poor performance.
Coach Hwang seemed to be making a comeback by leading Korea to their third consecutive victory in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, but at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup last April, they lost to Indonesia, led by coach Shin Tae-yong, in the quarterfinals. I lost in shock. 슬롯사이트
At the same time, he was given the stigma of being the coach who failed to advance to the Olympics for the first time in 40 years.
Now, like him, he returns to Daejeon, ranked 11th, and dreams of a comeback after four years.
Coach Hong, on the other hand, received leadership training from an age group national team rather than a professional team. He showed off his leadership skills by leading the team to a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
In the 2014 Brazil World Cup, where he served as the head coach of the national team A, he bowed his head after being eliminated in the group stage, but bounced back properly in Ulsan.
He took charge of Ulsan starting in the 2021 season and led the team to second place that year, and then achieved two consecutive wins in the K-League in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, joining the ranks of great generals in name and reality.
Because their steps as leaders have diverged so far, Coach Hwang and Coach Hong have never faced off as head coaches.
This is the first time that two best friends who dominated Korean soccer in the 1990s have a battle of wits.
Coach Hong’s Ulsan (31 points), which leads the league, is aiming for its third consecutive league loss.
Daejeon (14 points), which barely escaped the bottom place, is still worried about relegation.
First, Coach Hwang will make his return as Daejeon coach with an away game against his former team Pohang on the 15th.
Coach Hwang and Coach Hong’s first meeting as professional coaches will be held at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium on September 27.
In a past broadcast interview with Coach Hwang, Coach Hong defined their relationship as ‘partners rather than rivals’ and said, “As the last defender, I pushed (from behind), and as the front line attacker, (in front of Hwang Seon-hong) he pulled me.” .
However, the two ‘big names’ in Korean soccer are partners but are also ‘rivals’. This year, when there will be a battle of wits in the K-League, it looks like they are closer to rivals. 토토사이트 추천