It was September 10th of last year. K League 1 Daegu FC lost 0-5 at home to Jeonbuk Hyundai. Daegu, which fell repeatedly, seemed to be on a demotion train. Daegu coach Choi Won-kwon, who was acting manager at the time, even showed tears and expressed his apologies to the angry fans.
Time passed. ‘Hana 1 Q K League 1 2023’ has begun. Even in the third round, the situation in Daegu was not good. 2 draws and 1 loss. The opponent in the 4th round held at DGB Daegu Bank Park on the 19th was Jeonbuk. Even if they fell below expectations with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss, the away team could not deny the mandate, whether it was with their strength or with the recent trend.
Still, the atmosphere was different. I was full of anticipation. Early on, the Daegu club announced that tickets were sold out, and 12,253 people entered. It is the most since the opening of the stadium, including before the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19). Coincidentally, the national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany), who is about to face the two A-matches in March, which will lead from Colombia (24th, Ulsan) to Uruguay (28th, Seoul), also attracted attention by visiting the site.
Coach Choi, dressed in a neat suit, said, “There are always a lot of people visiting the stadium, so the burden is great, but I think this is a burden on the privilege we enjoy. The big defeat last year served as an opportunity for a rebound, but I hope this year will turn into a different situation.”
Of course, the preparation process was not leisurely. Throughout the week, everything in Jeonbuk was checked and analyzed. And on the day of the final match, he threw a word to the players. “Blow your whole body. You cannot beat Jeonbuk by running the same way as your opponent. Everyone deserves a warning. Win the fight with a lion’s heart,” he ordered the utmost fighting spirit.
An irregular operation was also added here. Cezingya and Edgar were put on the waiting list, and veteran duo Lee Geun-ho and Lee Yong-rae were put in first. A scenario where Daegu’s leading foreign strikers were missing at the same time was difficult to imagine as a Jeonbuk bench.
Jeonbuk coach Kim Sang-sik had high hopes for Jung Tae-wook, a central defender who had played in Daegu for four years, but he only realized what a situation where he could ‘know but not stop’. Rather than Jeong Tae-wook knowing his old teammates, Daegu knew every single weakness of Jeong Tae-wook. The fast strikers of the home team avoided air supremacy, but easily cooked Jeong Tae-wook with low ball distribution and penetration into the back space. 메이저놀이터
Daegu, armed with the will to “never be pushed back” by the five Taegeuk warriors (Kim Jin-soo, Kim Moon-hwan, Baek Seung-ho, Song Min-gyu, and Cho Kyu-seong), whom coach Klinsman observed intensively, followed luck. In the 10th minute of the first half, Keita’s cross was missed by Jeonbuk goalkeeper Jeong Min-ki, and Kim Jin-hyeok did not miss it and pierced the goal with a roving shot.
While Jeonbuk, which became desperate, was at a loss, Daegu put Edgar and Sejingya in turn and looked for an opportunity with a clever ‘counterattack’, and the opponent’s offensive continued in the 49th minute of the second half. Cesingya, who received a pass from Jang Seong-won, put a wedge in the game with a calm left-footed shot. After a 1-0 win in May 2021, the chain of 5 matches (2 draws and 3 losses) was broken and the moment they won 3 more valuable points than ever, the exhausted Daegu players lay down on the ground and enjoyed a long aftertaste.