Coach Lee Jung-hyo, the best 'output' in the K League, is a great challenge..."Three years ago, Part 2." I'm going to catch the richest club in Gwangju
Coach Lee Jung-hyo, the best 'output' in the K League, is a great challenge..."Three years ago, Part 2." I'm going to catch the richest club in Gwangju
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Gwangju FC and head coach Lee Jung-hyo's "Great Challenge" will begin.
Gwangju will play Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia) in the 2024-2025 Asian Football Confederation Champions League Elite (ACLE) quarterfinals at 1:30 a.m. on the 26th (Korea Standard Time) at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Al Hilal is evaluated as the strongest among the teams participating in this year's event. According to TransferMarkt, a soccer transfer website, Al Hilal's squad is valued at 180 million euros. It is more expensive than Sevilla (174.5 million euros), a prestigious La Liga team in Spain. Anywhere in major European leagues, Al Hilal is valued at around mid-range or higher. Kalidou Koulibaly, João Cancelo, Yacín Vunu, Hoobeng Neves, and Aleksandar Mitrovic who played in major European leagues will play as their main players. They are a "post-Asian" team that is competitive even if they move to Europe right now.
In comparison, Gwangju is the team that could not be smaller. The value of Gwangju is 8.6 million euros (19.3 billion won). The gap is more than 20 times larger.
Gwangju was in the K League 2 until just three years ago. Coach Lee Jung-hyo, who took the helm of Gwangju to the second division, won the title in his first season after taking office, and succeeded in direct promotion. In 2023, he ranked third in the K-League 1 and secured qualification for ACLE. He made a splash at the ACLE League stage last year, and made a miraculous turnaround against Vissel Kobe of Japan in the round of 16, advancing to the quarterfinals. He is the only K-League team to reach the tournament round, keeping his pride.
It is a challenge just like hitting a rock with an egg. However, Lee's presence makes us dream of a miracle. Lee is currently the best coach in the K-League. He turned cashless Gwangju into the most competitive team in the league and headed to Saudi Arabia with a strong mindset.
"It's not like we can stop them from playing defense," Lee said. "We always did that. Didn't we win by playing our own soccer game against Kobe? I'm going to go head-to-head against Al Hilal as well. I will not back down. If it's in the form of hitting and hitting, we can do it," Lee said, declaring a head-to-head match.
He is also targeting a higher level. "My goal is to win a championship, too. I'm going to Saudi Arabia for the first time in 20 years, and I want to go there until the end," Lee said. When he played for Busan I'Park in 2005, Lee advanced to the semifinals of the Champions League and visited Saudi Arabia. At the time, Busan lost 0-7 in two games overall to RT Hard, failing to advance to the finals. Lee said, "This is a memory I want to make up for.
Another reason for setting the goal high is the prize money that is determined by ACLE. The prize money amounts to a whopping 10 million U.S. dollars. This is the amount that will be earned only when he wins 28 times in the K League 1 (prize money of 500 million won). Lee expressed his desire to win the prize money to improve the poor environment.
Players also display strong commitment. Key midfielder Park Tae-joon postponed his enlistment to promote ACLE. As he is facing the most powerful team in Asia, he is bound for Saudi Arabia. 스포츠토토
The mood is good. The team has recorded four wins and one loss in the recent five K-League 1 matches. In the last match before departing for Korea, the team continued its upward trajectory by defeating FC Seoul under coach Kim Ki-dong. In a way, there seems to be nothing strange about the team's loss. Considering Lee's capabilities and completeness, however, the team deserves expectations for an unexpected change.