“I’m curious, what is the salary of coach Dan Petrescu? I’m really curious.”
Gwangju FC head coach Lee Jung-hyo asked reporters at a press conference after his team’s 0-1 home loss to Jeonbuk Hyundai in the 31st round of the K League 1 on Thursday. He accused Jeonbuk, which is a favorite to win the title every season, of playing uncharacteristically backward, locking down the line and trying to play result-oriented football. It was reminiscent of the way Ahn Ik-soo expressed his frustration after losing against FC Seoul in March, when he said, “It’s frustrating to lose to a team that plays soccer like that.”
Just like against FC Seoul in March, Gwangju dominated the match, but ultimately lost. Gwangju had 21 shots on goal, three times more than Jeonbuk, and 66 percent of the possession. However, a single mistake on a free kick led to their downfall. Defender Doo Hyun-seok’s header off an opponent’s shot was deflected, resulting in a goal. Gwangju was unable to shake Jeonbuk’s goal despite a late flurry of attacks. With the loss, Gwangju’s unbeaten streak came to a halt at 10 games (5 wins, 5 draws).
The comments could be seen as an excuse for the loss. On the other hand, it can also be seen as a reflection of Lee Jung-hyo’s philosophy of playing soccer that is fun to watch and allows players to grow. “We should have scored a lot of goals and won a lot of games to give the fans pleasure, and we should have made the fans come back, but I’m sorry that we didn’t,” Lee said before asking about Petrescu’s salary.
Gwangju, which was promoted this season, has been attracting fans with its attack-oriented soccer that doesn’t back down against any team. On this day, all 7,303 seats were filled. It was the fourth sellout this season, and Jeonbuk sold out within three hours of ticket sales.
This is partly due to the end-of-season propaganda, but also because many fans want to see the passionate coach Lee Jung-hyo. “Especially the seats behind the bench, where you can see Lee Jung-hyo, sell out the fastest,” said a Gwangju official, adding, “I think they want to buy a lot of these seats first to get a taste of Lee’s reactions.” In this game, Lee was loud enough to be heard from the stands, calling out plays and encouraging or reprimanding his players throughout the game.바카라
Lee believes that players need to kick the ball more and pass the ball more while working on offense in order to improve and grow. He’s right, and Gwangju’s players have grown up playing attacking soccer and have been selected for the national team at all levels. Lee Soon-min earned his first call-up to the A team, while Uhm Ji Sung and Heo Yul were selected for the Paris Olympics. Jung Ho-yeon, who was named to the Hangzhou Asian Games squad, has been a standout, assisting on the opening goal against Bahrain in the group stage. “I’m proud of my players and proud of myself that they have grown up and represented my country. I think Gwangju’s status has also increased a lot,” he said.