“If you trust each other and have faith, there is no opponent you can’t beat,”
is the long-awaited message from Jeju United coach Nam Ki-il after winning his first win this season. Jeju, who has won one victory by sticking together despite the crisis, is challenging for a winning streak.
Jeju won a 1-0 victory thanks to Seo Jin-soo’s winning goal in the match against Gangwon FC in the 6th round of Hanawon Q K League 1 2023 held at Songam Sports Town in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province on the 9th. As concerns were greater than expectations, it was a victory that gave more value than just 3 points.
Until the match, Jeju was full of question marks. After the opening of this season, it had the worst start with 5 consecutive wins (2 draws and 3 losses). This was the first time that coach Nam Ki-il, who has been in charge of the K-League official command tower for nine seasons since 2015, failed to win until the fifth round after the opening.
The situation of the squad was even worse. Following the loss of captain Choi Young-joon due to injury in the opening game, key players such as Lee Chang-min, Lim Chae-min, Jeong-woon, Yeon Je-woon, Jin Seong-wook, Ahn Hyun-beom, and Ahn Tae-hyun left due to injury. In fact, only 16 field players participated in the training to prepare for the Gangwon expedition.
The fact that the opponent was Gangwon also came with a lot of pressure. Jeju had not won against Gangwon for 8 games (4 draws and 4 losses) since winning 1-0 in Gangwon away in May 2019 until this match. In particular, the Gangwon expedition, which took more than 5 hours for simple travel, caused more physical strength. 메이저놀이터
However, Jeju overcame the burden and pressure with football of faith. Under the team slogan, ‘Jeju is one!’, they came together as one team. Director Nam Gi-il’s sincere mentoring was also incorporated into this trust. Prior to the expedition, coach Nam Ki-il emphasized football of faith, “There are many injured, but let’s trust and rely on each other.”