|
[이데일리 스타in 이석무 기자] “We must not forget that soccer is fun. This joy is an art that football can show fans.”
This is the impression of coach Kim Do-hoon, who put Ulsan Hyundai in the K-League on the top of Asian professional football in eight years. It shows how Ulsan defeated the’second runner-up trauma’ and lifted the championship trophy.
Ulsan beat Persepolis (Iran) 2-1 in the 2020 Asian Football Federation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) finals held at Al Janube Stadium in Al Wakra, Qatar on the night of the 19th (Korean time).
Ulsan won the second championship in 8 years after winning the first championship in 2012. It has been four years since Jeonbuk Hyundai in 2016 that the K-League team won the ACL.
Ulsan was also seated on a huge money cushion with the honor of being an’Asian Champion’. The prize money to win this competition is $4 million (about 4.4 billion won). Of this, 5% will be automatically credited to the’AFC Dream Asia Foundation’ fund. Even if this is excluded, Ulsan will have a huge amount of money close to 4 billion won.
In addition, a performance bonus is paid per game. If you win the group stage, you will receive $50,000 and a draw $10,000. Starting in the 16th round, the participation allowance of $100,000 and $150,000 (Quarter-finals, 250,000 dollars (Quarter-finals)) is added. If you include bonuses, you will get a total of over 5 billion won.
Ulsan also obtained qualifications for participation in the FIFA Club World Cup, which will be held in Qatar next February. This tournament is a tournament where club champions from each continent gather to determine the world’s strongest.
The winning prize for the Club World Cup is $5 million and the runner-up prize is $4 million. Even if you finish at the bottom of the 7th place, you will be awarded at least $500,000 in prize money. The winner of the ACL can proceed directly from the second round without going through the first round. By only participating in the competition, it secured at least 6th place, accounting for 1 million dollars (about 1.1 billion won).
Most of all, the biggest income was that he threw a sense of defeat and gained confidence that’we can win too’. Ulsan finished runner-up in the K League 1 regular league last year and this year for two consecutive years. Both seasons continued to lead and were caught by Jeonbuk Hyundai at the last minute.
This year, they also lost to Jeonbuk in the final of the FA Cup. I had to shed tears twice, not once for’No. 2 Jinx’. Ulsan recorded runner-up in K-League 1 alone, the most in history nine times. The runner-up is also a valuable result, but only those who have suffered the pain that cannot be achieved before the victory can be understood.
However, Ulsan regained pride by winning the most prestigious club soccer competition, which determines the best team in Asia. The regret that he had sat down on the threshold of the championship in the meantime was once washed away.
In fact, this competition was not easy in Ulsan. It was difficult for players who experienced frustration to re-establish motivation. In addition, coach Kim Do-hoon, whose contract is the last year of this year, was leaving the team regardless of the outcome of the tournament. I was also concerned about the leadership gap.
To make matters worse, the main goalkeeper Jo Hyun-woo was unable to participate in the tournament because he was tested positive for Corona 19 after participating in the national team away evaluation match. Everything was a negative factor for Ulsan.
But on the contrary, the ordeal brought the team together. Together with coach Kim Do-hoon, the players reaffirmed their will to reap the beauty of Yoo Jong. Coach Do-hoon Kim hoped that the players would bear an excessive burden. The word’let’s throw away greed and let’s enjoy’ was repeated countless times.
As the hearts of the manager and the player reached a consensus, the team became one and began to create miracles. Ulsan has never lost with 9 wins and 1 draw in 10 games of this tournament. In particular, after the tournament was stopped in the aftermath of Corona 19 and resumed in Qatar, a neutral region, he won all nine matches from the second leg of the group stage to the final. In those nine games, he boasted a powerful attack power, scoring more than two goals.
Ulsan has recruited a large number of national players such as Lee Chung-yong and Yun Bit Garam ahead of this season. The rich athletes built in this way shined in this event. Of the 22 goals scored in nine games played in Qatar, the player who made 10 substitutes scored. The evaluation that’bench members are also at the national level’ was proven as the content of the game.
Ulsan officially announced a beautiful breakup with manager Kim Do-hoon, who led the team for four years after the championship was confirmed. After the awards ceremony, Qatar delivered a plaque of appreciation and expressed gratitude for his hard work. Director Kim Do-hoon said, “My role is all here, and I want to go home and relax with a glass of wine.”
Director Kim Do-hoon confessed, “I should have fun playing soccer, but it wasn’t fun after I played runner-up twice,” and “I even thought of not coming to Qatar if I was dead.” “Our players were great and they were really good,” he said and “it was an honor to be together and it was a good season.” He turned the ball to the players.
– .
