Director Kim Ki-dong’s entry ticket “The goal is to win… a good result if the fans give strength”
Coach Kim Ki-dong (51), who leads the Pohang Steelers, asked fans to cheer for the K-League 1 championship.
Coach Ki-dong Kim participated in a press conference at the 2023 K-League Winter Field Training Media Camp held in Jeju on the 6th and mentioned the possibility of winning.
After taking the leadership tower in 2019, coach Kim opened a new heyday for Pohang football, including runner-up in the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Champions League in the 2021 season.
Coach Kim, who finished the season in 3rd place in the league last season, said, “I told the players that winning is the goal,” making them look forward to the next season.
The following is a Q&A from director Kim Ki-dong.
-I’m curious about Shin Jin-ho’s handling of the hiatus.
Since the contract is up until this year, I thought that the club and I would go with Shin Jin-ho. I thought there would be no problems now, but suddenly (Shin Jin-ho) left the team and became very busy. In the process of looking for a replacement for (Shin) Jinho, he chose Kim Jong-woo.
(Shin) Jin-ho and (Kim) Jong-woo have different soccer styles, so it will not be easy to adapt to the team right away. need a little bit of time. Jin-ho also showed a lot of good looks last season, but I think Jong-woo will be able to adapt to the team like that because he had a hard time adjusting at the beginning of the 2021 season.
-I want to know what made the decision to recruit Kim Jong-woo.
He is a player that our players also liked. I heard a lot that Jong-woo also wants to join our team. We didn’t have many midfielders to choose from, but when he was called up to the Olympic squad for the Rio 2016 Games, he made a good impression.
He’s a good technical player. After depressing, the pass can go well. The difference from Jinho is that Jinho can spread the ball widely, and Jongwoo can hit and run in tight spaces. If Jong-woo comes, he can lift the other players up. In that regard, he recruited Jong-woo.
-I had a lot of worries about foreign players, but I brought Jeka.
He is a player who bothered us a lot when he was in Daegu. He trained briefly, but I felt that he was a player who set an example for the players by sacrificing considerably for the team and working very hard when training. However, I took a little break due to a slight injury during training in Hanoi, and with the birth of my first child, I am now in Brazil and will be returning tomorrow.
Anyway, after Ilyuchenko left, there were a lot of difficulties, but with Jeka coming in, I think it will help in scoring.
– Every season, many players come out, but I am curious about the secret of coach Kim Ki-dong who overcomes and produces results.
He took office in 2019 and (Kim) Seung-dae went out. And in 2020, (Heo) Yongjun also went to the army. In 2021, (Song) Mingyu left. Situations like that kept happening.
However, I pursue being a team, not a style that leads the game to a specific player. If one or two people are missing, it will affect the performance right away and it will be difficult, but I think that as time passes, we will gain strength as a team.
– Please pick a key player for this season.
I want the team to come back as one. New players have arrived, and I hope it will be a year of revival because they fit well with me.
-I entrusted the captain’s armband to Kim Seung-dae.
(Kim) Seung-dae was born in Pohang as a youth player and can well carry on the history and tradition of Pohang, so I thought he would do well in that role. He also assumed the captaincy because he thought he was a player who tried hard to fulfill his role when junior players followed him well and gave him some responsibility.
-What aspects did you see in Kim In-seong and Baek Sung-dong and promoted recruitment?
Since the style I pursue is a more direct and quicker goal, I needed a player with the same speed as (Kim) Inseong. (Baek) In the case of Seongdong, I thought that since he has the ability to deliver the ball forward, he could serve as a link to the goal.
– Signed a 3-year contract renewal. There seems to be something that Pohang wants to achieve in the long term.
First of all, I would like to thank the club for giving me the time of three years. I think I signed the contract because I showed great potential while I was at the club for four years. I’m greedy too, but I think I, the club, and the citizens of Pohang have to메이저놀이터 work hard to achieve the goal of winning.
-How do you clear your mind when you say goodbye to the players?
I always say, “As long as you’re here with me, raise your value as much as possible. Then, if we can’t protect you, I’ll send you into a big water.” Of course, if I just leave without sympathy, I’m a human too, so I wonder if our relationship is the only thing that’s going to be a bit regretful.
-When the ACL (Asia Champions League) and the league were combined, the ranking was not good. I want to know what plans you have for this year.
However, I think that the first half of the year has been somewhat relaxed as the festival has changed. Everyone says that our ranking was low in 2021, but no one remembers that we were 3rd until the 22nd round. At that time, (Kang) Hyeon-moo’s injury caused the ranking to gradually drop.
At that time, there was also the speciality of the bubble form (digesting all group leagues in neutral areas due to Corona 19) and the characteristics of the spring festival. Since this time it has been changed to the Chuchun system, I think it is right to focus on the league in the first half to accumulate points and focus on the ACL in the second half.
-Kang Hyun-moo went to the army. Who is he planning to use as the goalkeeper?
There are (Yoon) Pyeongguk and (Hwang) Injae. Perhaps the two players will compete and I will have to take my pick. In training right now, the two players are quite good, so I’m thinking about it.
-Stayed runner-up in the ACL in 2021. I think the resolution to work on the ACL this season will be different.
I think the goal of all coaches is to do well in all competitions. He said his goal was to represent Korea in the finals in 2021, but this year, he plans to pass the group stage and make plans for the next round. Rather than saying that the goal is to win the ACL right now, I think it’s right to play well in the group stage and then make the next plan.
– What are your specific goals for this season?
I talked to the players. After finishing 3rd last season, I talked to the players, but it is ambiguous about what to do when we win runner-up, and when we finish 6th. The goal is to win, he said. The championship is not just me and the players preparing, but the entire club must look at the goal.
Also, Pohang citizens and fans think that something must be done to win the championship. If a lot of fans come to the stadium and give strength, I expect good results because I am preparing well now.
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