Gangwon FC coach wants to fight the good fight vs. K League giants

Gangwon FC squeezed into the upper tier of the K League 1 last year and finished in sixth place out of a dozen teams. And head coach Choi Yong-soo thinks his team was lucky to rank even that high.

“Last year, we played passive football, and our attacking patterns were rather simple,” Choi said at a press conference Friday in the southeastern city of Busan, on the sidelines of his team’s offseason training camp. “This year, we will try to play a more proactive brand of football. We want to be among the top six once again.”

In the top South Korean football league, the 12 teams are split into Final A and Final B after 33 matches. They then played each other once to wrap up the season.

“Last year, we were fortunate to end up in Final A,” Choi said. “On paper, we didn’t have enough talent to be there.”

Choi predicted Gangwon will probably finish outside the top six in 2023, behind the likes of defending champions Ulsan Hyundai FC and runners-up Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

“I think it’s crystal clear that we don’t have quite the depth that other top-tier teams do,” Choi said. “But we want to prove that football isn’t just about having big-name players.”

Gangwon did see the emergence of a couple of exciting young attackers. Kim Dae-won, 26, ranked second in the league with 13 assists and led Gangwon with 12 goals. He was the only player in the K League 1 to reach double figures in both goals and assists.

Yang Hyun-jun, 20, scored eight goals and also had a star turn during a midsummer exhibition against Tottenham Hotspur while representing the K League. He was voted the Young Player of the Year, given to the best player under 23 with less than three years of experience.

“Opponents won’t give them much space this year,” Choi predicted. “Hopefully, they’ll still be able to match their production from last year. Dae-won is really driven to outdo himself this year. The sky is the limit for Hyun-jun, and he will have to learn how to battle through adversity.”

At a separate presser, Kim said, “I was named to the Best XI last year and want to be back on that team again this year.”

Yang, who had four assists to go along with his eight markers in 2022, said, “I want to put up more goals and assists than last year, and help the team finish higher than a year ago.”

As for added attention from opposing defenders, Yang said: “I think I was able to find space last year because opponents didn’t know much about me. But if I can go the extra mile and keep battling for space, I should have my share of opportunities.”