Daegu FC, which wandered in the lower ranks last year, succeeded in remaining in the K-League 1 (Part 1) after a lot of hard work. Dark clouds were overshadowed by repeated lethargic play and disastrous results, but with a surprising backseat, the K-League 2 (Part 2) crisis was overcome.
Daegu coach Choi Won-kwon (42) also feels dizzy whenever he thinks of that time. In August of last year, just before leaving for Japan to play the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) East Asian region tournament, he received news of the resignation of former coach Gama (Brazil) and the appointment of an “acting manager,” and he also went through a lot of trial and error. . He even showed tears in front of furious home fans. Fortunately, the finish wasn’t bad. Undefeated in the final round was decisive.
Coach Choi, whom I recently met in Namhae, Gyeongsangnam-do, where the first winter training in Daegu is in progress, said, “My heart burned black. He only slept 2 hours a day. There were many wounded, but the sense of defeat was even more serious. He spoke frankly at the meeting. ‘It’s going to be difficult for everyone, but please help’. At the time, there wasn’t much we could do. He looked back on the second half of his time as an ‘acting manager’, saying, “I made some progress by focusing on regaining the confidence and the desire to do so by entrusting the captaincy to Sejingya to change the atmosphere.”
Daegu did not have to change the manager again. In November, coach Choi was appointed as the 13th command tower. He knows Daegu better than anyone else. He played as an active player from 2013 to 2015, went through a coach-head coach-acting role, and was already approaching his 11th season.
Standing on such a new starting line, coach Choi has also set a clear direction. The priority is to restore Daegu’s unique color. Daegu had a strong defense. That’s not lock football. It is more like a ‘counter-attack soccer’ with a bold and active attack added. As a well-known memo fanatic, Coach Choi is improving the team bit by bit, using the training diary and game reports he has written whenever he has free time as notes for incorrect answers. 메이저놀이터
“We are trying to build Daegu’s unique DNA. Even if the squad is not thick, we have a lot of players who are ambitious and eager. I was able to persevere through hard times. Now I want to increase the frequency of good matches and wins. Football is the first thing you can do best. While improving ball possession and passing, which are at the bottom of the index, we are trying to increase concise play and attack success rate. If you concede 4 goals, I will bite and stretch towards the 5th goal.”
However, coach Choi does not want a flashy leader. He dreams of a humble leader who always inspires positive energy. He said, “I learned a lot by attending great senior directors, and I am still in the process of growing up. He always keeps his ears open and looks around him intently to spend his humble first season. In particular, I want to create an environment where players can play well and at the same time provide fan service through high-quality games. Daegu is a big family. I don’t want to hurt my family again.”