“I’ve been nagging him, but in the end, I have to believe in my players.”
K League 1 Daegu FC coach Choi Won-kwon, 42, is one step closer to qualifying for this season’s final round of Group A (1-6) after being sacked. Choi, who took over last season when former coach Alexandre Gama (BRA) quit, led the team to a first-place finish and then to fourth place (11 wins, 11 draws, 8 losses, 44 points) after 30 rounds.
This is a remarkable achievement considering Choi is the youngest manager of all 25 clubs in the K League 1 and 2 this season. While he has the “big brother leadership” style of a young coach, Choi is also known for his straight talk and nagging.
Choi recently told SportsDongA, “Our team hasn’t lost a game this season. Although 80 percent of our training schedule is defensive, we have been able to teach our players to make sharp counterattacks regardless of the time of the game,” Choi said.
Of course, there have been ups and downs. Choi’s defensive-oriented tactics and heavy reliance on Sejingya (Brazil) came under criticism after a poor start to the season. In addition, the team has a small goal difference with seventh-place Incheon United (11W, 10D, 9L, 43 points), so there are still plenty of bumps in the road. 바카라
Despite the difficult environment, Choi emphasizes consistency and trust in the team. At times, he has been blunt in his criticism of the defense’s lack of buildup and some players’ poor performances, but behind it all, he has faith. As a result, the players have begun to live up to Choi’s trust. On the 17th against Suwon Samsung Electronics (1-0 win), Choi Young-eun and Jang Jang-won, who were given a chance due to injuries to existing starters, teamed up to improve their fitness with a dawn hike, and Vaselus (Brazil), who had suffered from poor decision-making earlier in the season, responded with a goal.
“For our team, it doesn’t make much difference whether we win or lose,” Choi said, “I’ll trust the players but I won’t spare them any nagging. We will play every game with the determination to win three points.”