“What am I doing? I just throw my body at the given time and encourage my juniors.”
If you were to pick the oldest (?) excluding the resources assigned to the role of playing coach in the 12 professional soccer K League 1 clubs, you could see Lee Geun-ho (38, Daegu FC). After scoring a goal against Gwangju FC in the 23rd round, he laughed to the reporter, saying, “I thought this year would pass without scoring a single goal.”
That much was an indirect expression of how difficult it was for him to make up for his falling speed, which was his long-term skill, as he grew older. Of course, he claims to be a mentor within the team and is a great asset to young blood who lack experience.
Aside from playing in overseas leagues, Lee Geun-ho went through many clubs, including Incheon United, Daegu, Ulsan Hyundai, Jeonbuk Hyundai, Jeju United, and Gangwon FC. He shows that he can still do it with his transfer ability.
A similar example is Shin Kwang-hoon (36, Pohang Steelers). Starting with Pohang Steelers, he returned to Pohang after passing Jeonbuk Hyundai, FC Seoul, and Gangwon. He is a side defender, but he plays all possible positions such as central midfielder. Director Kim Ki-dong highly evaluated the value of a veteran, saying, “It is difficult to buy with money” over Shin’s experience.
Even in a fierce battle for ranking, Daegu is 6th and Pohang is 2nd. In the past, they would have been called veterans, but they emphasized that they would be evaluated only by their skills, not by their age, saying that they were still capable of competing with juniors.
Most club veterans have many transfer students. It is much more difficult to find an intact franchise star, minus the situation of returning after going abroad. Of course, there are clubs that are exceptions. Jeonbuk, which fell to the bottom of the rankings, rose to third place without realizing it. Choi Cheol-soon (36), who is called ‘Choi Tu-ji’ and ‘Jal Soon-i’, is the main character.
Except for the time when he played for Sangju Sangmu to fulfill his military service obligation, he is entirely a Jeonbuk man. In his first year with the club in 2006, he contributed to Jeonbuk’s victory in the Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) with his body. He failed to play in the finals due to being selected for the under-19 (U-19) national team, but Choi Cheol-soon was clearly in the process. After that, Jeonbuk did not fall into the process of winning 9 K-League championships (2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021).
Although he is a side defender, he is Choi Cheol-soon, who stood as a central midfielder as well as a central defender. When there was an injury, Choi Cheol-soon was the first alternative and lived up to 99% of the responsibility given. 1% is the percentage that Choi Cheol-soon was left out of because he insisted that he did not know satisfaction.
Throughout this season, Choi Chul-soon moved up and down the 1st and 2nd teams due to the gradual generational change. As a representative of the team, he asked for understanding and forgiveness in response to the fans’ voices demanding manager Kim Sang-shik’s resignation and reasonable club management. In the process, he was misunderstood by some fans as saying, “Isn’t it because the club ordered it?”, but Choi Chul-soon didn’t care. He had faith that fans would recognize the authenticity of the star of the franchise.
‘Left’ Kim Jin-soo – ‘Right’ Kim Mun-hwan It was difficult to secure a position for Choi Cheol-soon in the side defender system, but he always did not neglect his preparations. He was Choi Chul-soon, who played in team B games and bought meals for his juniors, introducing the aesthetics of waiting. An official from Jeonbuk said, “I was really grateful for the way he looked after his juniors without paying attention to the team situation. They said they learn what desperateness is from Choi Chul-soon.”
Such Choi Cheol-soon is being used again like a madang iron when Kim Jin-soo is injured while being selected for the A national team and Kim Moon-hwan transfers to Alduhail, Qatar. He doesn’t care whether he’s right or left. He is grateful to be able to run. Choi Chul-soon, who we met after the Daejeon match, responded calmly, saying, “It’s just nice to have a chance. What more can you ask for at this age.
Compared to the past, it is true that his speed and agility have declined. However, his ability to awaken and encourage the spirits of his teammates on the pitch did not go anywhere. Because he is Choi Chul-soon who cares about Jeonbuk more than anyone else, he is not wasting the opportunity and remaining time.
After the end of the 2017 season, Choi Cheol-soon received a gift of a five-year contract. It is a contract with a mixed character of credit for the growth of Jeonbuk’s prestigious club. After the 2021 season, he renewed the contract for two years, and the contract ends this year. Previously, Jeonbuk continued the virtuous cycle of the players by renewing the contract one year before the contract expired, but after Park Ji-sung, technical director, had an influence on the operation, it seems that players over 30 are going in a direction where multi-year contracts are not easy.메이저사이트
It is true that it is difficult to renew the multi-year contract with Choi Chul-soon if you look at it as a simple capital logic. However, at the moment when the so-called hole needs to be filled, Choi Cheol-soon is chosen. It is ironic that Choi Cheol-soon gets a chance under Romanian coach Dan Petrescu. If Ahn Hyun-beom transfers from Jeju United and adapts to a new uniform, Choi Chul-soon’s position may change again, but his value is the same as old.
Even if he lives for one year after another, Choi Cheol-soon seems to need certainty. Of course, Choi Cheol-soon must have the wisdom to walk while understanding the club’s situation.
In an era where romance has disappeared, will the title of ‘K League 1 only franchise star’ Choi Chul-soon be maintained until the end?