[K리그1 POINT] ‘Lesson 4 Shinhwa Lead → Director’…An eye-catching confrontation between Hong Myung-bo and Kim Nam-il

[인터풋볼=성남] Reporter Shin Dong-hoon = 2002 International Football Federation (FIFA) Korea-Japan World Cup semifinals The leading players in the semifinals became managers and fought head-to-head.

Ulsan Hyundai won 1-0 against Seongnam FC in the 7th round of’Hanawon Q K League 1 2021′ at 4:30 pm on the 3rd at Tancheon Sports Complex. With the victory on this day, Ulsan came to the second place by ending a three-match draw. On the other hand, Seongnam was defeated after 5 games, and the uptrend declined.

The showdown on this day drew attention as a match between Ulsan coach Hong Myung-bo and Seongnam coach Kim Nam-il. This is because the two managers are legends who achieved the myth of the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals, a monumental event in the history of Korean football when they were players. Not only this, it has contributed greatly to the development of Korean football. For this reason, the confrontation between Ulsan and Seongnam received great attention.

Director Hong Myung-bo has the nickname of’Korea’s Franz Beckenbauer, the eternal Libero’. In addition to overwhelming defensive power, it was characterized by excellent build-up ability. As the national team, he won 136 games and achieved numerous honors. The 4th place in the 2002 FIFA Korea-Japan World Cup is representative. Based on this, it was also selected for the World Cup All-Star Team and Bronze Ball. Even after retirement, he served as manager of national team by age and national team A, and also served as executive director of the Korea Football Association (KFA).

Coach Nam-il Kim was nicknamed a vacuum cleaner when he was a player. It was because of his active play style in the midfielder and overwhelming his opponents with tough struggles. Each team that goes with its unique ability to control the midfield has become the core of the midfield. As the national team, he played 98 matches and only played in the FIFA World Cup three times. Following the semifinal in 2002, he made a great stride in reaching the final of 16 for his first time away at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Those who devoted themselves to their country are now directors. Coach Kim has been in charge of Seongnam since last season, and coach Hong has been in Ulsan ahead of this season. At a pre-press conference, the two directors revealed their unique feelings about the confrontation. Director Hong said, “Director Kim Nam-il had difficulties last year, but he seems to have overcome it well. I think he will do better in the future.” Director Kim said, “I contacted you yesterday. I am very impressed to meet you as a director.”

The two managers continued to play close to each other through substitutions throughout the game. In the early half of the first half, coach Hong quickly put Lee Dong-jun to change the flow and score the opening goal. Manager Kim also launched a fierce counterattack with the start of the second half by writing three replacement cards. In the tense trend, Ulsan eventually stopped the offensive in Seongnam and maintained a zero point. Eventually, the battle between the legends ended with Hong’s 1-0 victory.

At a press conference after the game, coach Hong said, “Director Kim played soccer with a clear color. Fortunately, we seemed to have won by responding well. The three points gained after defeating Seongnam ended the sluggishness and then a fork in the future to a higher place. This will be,” he said. Coach Kim said, “I continued to push forward because my performance improved in the second half, but it was unfortunate that there was no goal. I felt like I was playing against national team A.”