Director Lee Min-seong’ is growing every game.
The best topic at the beginning of the 2023 season K League 1 is by far the ‘promoted team’ Daejeon Hana Citizen. Daejeon Hana, which has entered the K-League 1 for the first time in 8 years, is shaking the leaderboard with an amazing performance in the early stages. In 7 games, 4 wins (2 draws, 1 loss, 14 points) were placed in 3rd place. The highlight was last weekend’s Hyundai War in Ulsan. Daejeon overcame the ‘defending champion’ Ulsan 2-1 with bold pressure and aggressive football that did not back down. It was the first win against Ulsan in 4258 days. An average of 14,850 spectators for the four games visited Daejeon World Cup Stadium to watch the match armed with hot matches. It was the return of ‘Soccer Special City’.
At the center is ‘immigration leadership’. Coach Lee, who made his K-League coaching debut and is in his third year in Daejeon, took off his training suit and changed into a suit this season. As much as his changed appearance after entering the K-League 1, he is attracting attention with even more innovative leadership. His growth is visible. It focuses on forward pressure and quick transitions (conversions), and raises the number of wins in detail in every game, and this is working well. In the game against Ulsan, it was not pressure to take away the ball, but rather a form of pressure to ‘press’ the opponent, preventing Ulsan from advancing. As a strategy, they shook the opponent and secured a 3-2 victory.
In Lee’s special strategy, Daejeon captured all of Ulsan, Seoul, and Suwon Samsung (3-1) in a single season for the first time since its foundation. In particular, they won 25 matches (8 draws and 17 losses) against Seoul, their first win in 19 years. He broke the record for the most draws against a specific club.
He is properly exploding the inner strength he has accumulated over the years. Coach Lee made a name for himself as a great defender during his active career. In particular, the final goal in the 1997 France World Cup Asian final qualifier, ‘Tokyo Battle’ in Japan, was the highlight of Lee’s coaching career. After retiring from active duty, Lee took over as a playing coach at Yongin City Hall and transformed into a leader. He has been on many teams. Yongin City Hall, Guangzhou Hengda. From domestic and foreign professional teams such as Gangwon FC, Jeonnam Dragons, Ulsan Hyundai, Changchun Yatai, and the U-23 national team to the national team. He coached for a whopping 11 years. His managerial career is only three years, but his experience is very rich.
He did, of course, through trial and error. The promotion playoffs in the 2021 season were representative. Daejeon met Gangwon FC and won 1-0 in the first game, but even after scoring the opening goal in the second game, they gave up 3 goals in 5 minutes as if possessed, and suffered a 1-4 come-from-behind loss and frustration. The 2022 season was also somewhat sluggish at the beginning, but it continues to win and win with the recruitment of Ju Se-jong in the second half and the installation of an asymmetric three-back that forms the framework of the current Daejeon. Coach Lee is changing his trend with bold choices that break his stereotypes, such as using Lee Hyun-shik as a wingback. He also actively employed young players such as Bae Jun-ho and Jeon Byeong-gwan, bringing a new wind to the squad.
Strict leadership is becoming more flexible.안전놀이터 After his last 3-5 loss against Suwon FC, the first thing coach Lee did was admit his wrong choice. He said he would bow his head to the team and reflect on himself. He met with the players at dinner parties and sought ideas for a new direction. The fantastic performance against Ulsan was the result. Coach Lee said as a habit before the season, “I believe in the players. Our players can do better in the K-League 1,” which was the result of the trust built over three seasons. “With the players now, we can go to a better place,” he said. Daejeon is also developing along with coach Lee, who is growing. The rise of Daejeon is frightening.