Gangwon FC and Daejeon Hana Citizen will play the opening round of the 2023 season K League 1 (Part 1) at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 26th. Gangwon ranked 6th last season, and was in Final A (1st to 6th) for the first time in 3 years. Until the end of the season, it showed competitiveness enough to compete for advancement to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL). Daejeon went through the promotion playoffs (PO) and returned to the first division after 8 years.
Gangwon coach Choi Yong-soo (50) and Daejeon coach Lee Min-seong (50), who are close friends in the football world, will face each other with pride. The commanders of both teams played together in the national soccer team and had a relationship that led to a historic match. Striker Choi Yong-soo and defender Lee Min-seong scored a come-from-behind goal (Lee Min-seong scored and Choi Yong-soo assisted) to win 2-1 in the 1997 France World Cup final qualifying match against Japan held in Tokyo, Japan. This is the so-called ‘Tokyo War’.메이저사이트
Unlike the relationship of the command tower, the Daejeon and Gangwon teams have a bad relationship. Daejeon has a debt to repay Gangwon. Both teams blushed with the ‘ball boy incident’ in the last 2021 season. On December 12, 2021, in the second leg of the promotion PO held at Gangneung Stadium, Gangwon scored 3 goals in 4 minutes to win 4-1 and remain in the first part, but the match that said ‘I will risk my life for promotion’ brought tears to my eyes. had to steal
In the match between Gangwon and Daejeon players, Oek was the ball boy who stood by the ground to help run the game smoothly. In the game at home in Gangwon, the ball boy deliberately passed the ball to the player late, causing controversy by delaying the game. At the time, Daejeon fans protested and threw water bottles, and Daejeon coach Lee Min-seong protested vehemently. In the end, both teams were punished by the federation.
Director Lee Min-seong, who has vivid memories of that time, is determined to repay past defeats this time. Coach Lee attended the media day for the opening of the 2023 season and said, “It seems that all the players and I want is to win against Gangwon.” We will come together as one and win.”
Gangwon coach Choi Yong-soo did not back down either. At the time of the promotion PO in 2021, he was assigned to Gangwon as a ‘special firefighter’ and led to the retention and prevented Daejeon from being promoted. Coach Choi said, “I will challenge with the same attitude as I did in the 2021 promotion this season.” he cautioned.
The tactic is a strong strategy for both teams. Gangwon is expected to put foreign player Dino (Montenegro) at the forefront and scramble Yang Hyun-jun and Kim Dae-won on both wings. Hyun-Jun Yang received the Young Player Award in Division 1 last season, and Dae-Won Kim was the 1st in attack points (12 goals, 13 assists). Daejeon strengthened its offensive power by recruiting Yoo Kang-hyun, who won the top scorer (19 goals) in the K-League 2 (2nd division) last year, and Tiago (Brazil), a 1m90cm tall striker and second in scoring (18 goals).