Forty years have passed since the beginning of the K-League. So far, countless stories have been created, and many people cried and cried. The center of the story that is still being talked about is the “Goal Dotcom.” This time, he opened a collection of memories with former K-League player Kim Young-kwang, who played 605 games in the K-League for 22 years and defended the goal.
[Goal Dotcom] Reporter Kim Hyung-joong = Big Star of the K League has ended his career. In January, Kim Young-kwang, a former national team goalkeeper, announced his retirement after 22 years of professional career. Now, he met Kim, who is preparing for a second life, foreshadowing various broadcasting activities.
Last month, I met Kim Young-kwang at a studio in Gangnam, Seoul. When he announced his retirement, he said that he felt great not to have to exercise the next day, but his physical condition remained the same. He looked back on the past by exerting his unique sense of humor.
How are you doing now?
He has announced his retirement and is working as hard as he can as a promising broadcaster. He is going as he is invited. I think it is important to experience a lot. My soccer life for 30 years has ended. Now I am bumping into society with a mind that it is nothing but a blank state.
How did you announce your retirement?
In fact, there were four to five teams that asked me to do another year. I always set goals and played soccer, but my final goal was to break (Kim) Byung-ji’s record for most appearances (706 games). Byeong-ji also told me to break that record. But when I calculated it, it was a number that I had to go to all the games for three years to break. One more year would be about 640 games, and I wondered if it was meaningful. As I became less conscious of my goal, I wondered if I would be able to do my best 100% when I joined the team for winter training. Of course I could. I could have done it. But that’s deceiving myself. When I thought that I might not be able to do my best 100%, I could decide that it would be better to stop.
Do you have any regrets?
I have no regrets. I did my best 100 percent and 200 percent right before I quit.
What did the family tell you?
Still, he said, why don’t you try more? However, I made a decision that I didn’t regret while talking about my feelings. And most of all, I had favorite juniors who were just about to play on the teams that I told them to come. I didn’t want to go there and be the object of resentment from my juniors. That was a big part. Excluding those teams, there was one team left, but he politely refused, saying, ‘I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ll do my best.’ 안전놀이터
Kim joined the Jeonnam Dragons in 2002, but he never got a chance in the first season. At that time, goalkeeper Park Jong-moon was the starting member of the team. Having ended the season with zero appearances for a year, Kim prepared even harder for the new season. Although he didn’t have a chance, he trained four times a day (dawn-morning-afternoon-afternoon-evening) every day to have the chance to come anytime. Then came the opportunity to make his debut in May 2003.
Do you remember the process before our debut?
Of course, I remember. I had to sleep at night, but I was nervous, so I jumped rope on the veranda the night before. I was very nervous because I had a hard time coming. At that time, there was no 22-year-old rule, and I could only go out with my skills. At first, I worked out four times a day in the year and a half when I couldn’t compete, but I didn’t have the chance, so I thought I’d do it three times. But when I lay down to sleep at night, I felt so uncomfortable. So I thought it wasn’t right, so I remember going out again and exercising. Since I was short, I thought I had to jump faster and higher than other athletes, so I did a lot of quickness and jumping exercises.