Sports Seoul selected Kang Sang-yoon for the 15th round of “Player of the Round (POTR)” in the “Hana Bank K League 1 2024.”
Kang laid foundation for his team’s 2-0 win with the first goal in the 14th minute of the second half in a showdown with Daegu FC in the 15th round that took place at Suwon Stadium on Tuesday. He replaced Ji at the 13th minute of the second half and kicked a goal in the first minute. This was his K-League debut goal.
Born in Yeongsaeng High School, a youth club in Jeonbuk, Kang was recognized for his potential from an early age. His main position is central midfielder. In 2022, he signed a semi-professional contract with Jeonbuk. That year, Kang made his professional debut in Jeonbuk, and appeared in 15 matches.
However, Jeonbuk, which is full of national team-level resources, did not have much room to play as a regular midfielder. In 2023, he played in just one game. Last year, he rented out to the Busan I’Park at the request of coach Park Jin-seop, who had been a teammate of Jeonbuk B team. He played in 15 games for Busan.
Manager Kim Eun-joong has been keeping an eye on him since he was the coach of the U-20 national team. Kang was a key midfielder at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina last year. He played as a starting midfielder in six of the seven matches. As a result, the U-20 national team also made it to the semifinals.
Kim has become the head coach of Suwon FC ahead of this season, and he wanted to be with Kang. Kang also chose to live on loan again in response to Kim’s request. Kang, who was born in 2004, is a U-22 resource, and has played nine games this season.
Considering that he was drafted at the 2024 Asian Cup of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which ended early this month, he is effectively the main midfielder of Suwon FC. Eight of them are starters. The match against Daegu was the only game he played as a substitute. He played 559 minutes in nine matches, already exceeding the 500 minutes he played last season. The average playing time per match is 62.1 minutes. 핑크알바
Along with Lee Jae-won and Jung Seung-won, Kim has been playing the role of “hard walker.” “Midfielders run about 12 kilometers per game. They operate an effective rotation system,” Kim said. Despite concerns, Suwon FC remains in the upper middle ranks. Lee’s ability to solve the problem is one of the reasons, but Kang Sang-yoon’s ability to do his part quietly behind the scenes is also important.