A man called’Kamisama’, Kawasaki guardian deity Jeong Seong-ryong

Jung Seong-ryong (left), the leading goalkeeper of the 2020 Kawasaki 2nd crown. [사진 가와사키 프론탈레]

Kamisama (神様). There is a man called’God’ in Japanese professional football. This is Jeong Seong-ryong (36), a Korean goalkeeper for Kawasaki Frontale.

He led Kawasaki to two crowns in the 2020 season. On the first day of the year (1st), he finished a zero-run victory (1-0) against Gamba Osaka in the final of the Japanese Cup (Cup). Earlier, he took the lead in winning the J-League 1. I recently interviewed Seong-ryong Jeong in Kawasaki’s clubhouse via video. He said, “There are fans who call me’Kawasaki Guardian Deity’. Thank you very much.”

Guardian deity is a name that deserves him. Since 2016, he has played in the J-League in 5 seasons and has won three times (2017, 18, 20). Kawasaki recorded 26 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses (83 points) last year. It was an overwhelming victory with 18 points difference between 2nd place Gamba Osaka. Last season, Jeong Seong-ryong was selected as the best goalkeeper in the league with a goal rate of 0 points (31 runs in 34 matches, 0.91 per game).

It wasn’t just the save. In particular, it was the attack that Jung Sung-ryong shined. He became the starting point of the team attack. “The team tactics were aggressive. “From the goalkeeper, I stood further in front of me to cover, and I was involved in the build-up.”

Jeong Seong-ryong served as a starting point for team attack as well as a save. [사진 가와사키 프론탈레]

6 years in Japan. Jeong Seong-ryong’s tone has a distinctive Japanese accent. “I tried to communicate with my Japanese colleagues in Japanese. During the game, the word’shuchu’ is often used, which means’concentrate’. We all united in defense and blocked. Among the 11 best J-League players, 9 players from our team were introduced.”

The J-League recently prefer Korean goalkeepers. Besides Jeong Seong-ryong, there are Kim Seung-gyu (Kashiwa), Kwon Soon-tae (Kashima), and Kim Jin-hyun (Sereso). Jeong Seong-ryong said, “There is no guarantee that a Korean goalkeeper will play when he comes to Japan. “It’s about surviving the competition rather than being better (than the Japanese goalkeeper).”

The J-League was also hit by Corona 19 last year. It took only the opening round, was stopped, resumed in July, and ended only in December. I stayed at home for 6 weeks from April to May due to team training interruption. Jeong Seong-ryong said, “There were many confirmed cases in Japan. According to the rules of each team, Seung-gyu and Sun-tae could not meet, and only exchanged messages. I remembered that time by putting a mat in the living room and receiving the ball thrown by an acquaintance.”

Jeong Seong-ryong donated 30 million won in March last year to ask for the use of vulnerable Koreans suffering from Corona 19. He said, “Even if I’m overseas, I’m Korean. I couldn’t get past the difficult domestic work. I wanted to be helpful, even small. I was born in 1985. In the new year this year, I hope to overcome Corona 19 and become a world full of power like a cow.”

Jung Seong-ryong (left), the leading goalkeeper of the 2020 Kawasaki 2nd crown. [사진 가와사키 프론탈레 ]

36-year-old Jeong Seong-ryong re-signed with Kawasaki on the 2nd. “I want to do my best to keep the goal. I want to do long runs like Kim Byeong-ji and Lee Un-jae hyung.” Goalkeeper Kim Byeong-ji was 46 and Lee Un-jae played active roles until the age of 39. He is a ‘da-dong dad’ with two sons and daughters. He said, “I stay away from my Korean family. Make frequent video calls. The two sons dream of becoming a soccer player. My first, fourth grader, is a goalkeeper like me. When I missed Korea, I watched the Suwon, Pohang and Seongnam games that I played in the K League.” (Jung Seong-ryong returned to Korea on the 2nd, a year after December 2019, and is currently in self-isolation.)

Jeong Seong-ryong was the leading goalkeeper of the national team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and 2014 in Brazil. Since 2016, he has not been selected for the national team. He said, “(Lee) Dongguk hyung said,’The best goal should be for a player to become the national team until the moment he quits sports.’ I agree. I will try to fill in the gaps and show the state of continued growth until the day I retire.”

Reporter Park Lin [email protected]