Ulsan HD supporters, who left the coach during the season, thanked Park Joo-ho for his remarks.
Ulsan lost to Gwangju FC 0-1 at a home game in round 22 of Hana Bank K League 1 2024 at Munsu Football Stadium on Sunday. Ulsan (39 points), which had sought to regain its lead, has been pushed to the third place along with no wins (one draw and two losses) in three consecutive league matches.
The match was the first match of Ulsan coach Hong Myung-bo since he was named the next head of the national soccer team. More than 50 reporters gathered, showing such enthusiasm. Above all, attention was paid to Hong’s leaving process because it was not smooth.
Earlier, the Korea Football Association said on the 7th that it appointed Hong as the next head of the national soccer team. Ulsan fans’ anger reached its peak as he suddenly changed his posture and left the team during the season, after he had expressed his intention to refuse whenever he was mentioned as a candidate for the head coach of the national team.
Ulsan fans expressed their feelings on the day with phrases such as Hong’s name and initials. The phrases included “Congratulatory Dog MB,” “Pinoki Hong,” “Liar Ren Myung-bo,” “clear move,” “the worst coach we’ve ever seen,” “MB’s big acceptance for the co-op,” and “Where is loyalty?”
He also criticized the association through phrases such as “KFA Out Ignoring the K-League,” “I will not pray for the association’s repose,” and “Samryu Association.” In addition, when kickoff was imminent, he shouted “Jung Mong-gyu, get out” and “Hong Myung-bo, get out” with boos.
Nevertheless, Ulsan fans did not forget to thank Park Joo-ho, who expressed his strong belief. Park, who played for Ulsan during his active days and was one of the members of the national team’s reinforcement committee, pointed out the process of appointing a coach through his YouTube channel.
He said he was not aware of Hong’s nomination, adding, “Even before the start of the meeting, I said, ‘Don’t you think the domestic coach should do it?’ He said, “When it comes to foreign leaders, they talk about their strengths and weaknesses, but the domestic coach just says, ‘Good, good,’ without anything.” “(Coach Hong) kept saying no, but he kept mentioning it, so I wondered if there was something,” and he was worried, “What are Ulsan fans going to do?”
In response, the association said on its website, “We express serious concern and regret over the situation in which Park Joo-ho distorts the process of appointing the director from an arbitrary perspective and causes great misunderstanding in the media and the public.” 스포츠토토
Ulsan supporters, who had expressed criticism against Hong and the association, also presented messages for Park. They cheered and supported Park with racks such as “Don’t hesitate to move on with curiosity” and “Courageous Park Joo-ho.”
Meanwhile, after the game, head coach Hong said he watched Park’s video and said, “I felt that Park worked hard on the committee through his connection,” adding, “Some people may feel uncomfortable about what he said, but now I accept it and think it’s an important part for Korean soccer.”