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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| Yonhap News |
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| Photo courtesy=광주FC |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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Japanese club Vissel Kobe didn't even think about anyone giving him rice cakes, but he drank kimchi soup first.
Kobe won 2-0 in the first round of the Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) round of 16 at home in the 2024-2025 season against Gwangju on the 5th, facing a return match against Gwangju at an advantageous point. Is that why. According to a soccer official familiar with Kobe's situation, Kobe went on a trip to the Middle East at the club level ahead of the second round of the round of 16 at Gwangju World Cup Stadium on the 12th. This season's ACLE will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from the quarterfinals to the semifinals and the finals, which will be held from April to May. Returning from a search for candidate sites for base camp such as Qatar means that he considered the advance to the quarterfinals a fait accompli. As he won consecutive games against Gwangju in the league stage and the first round of the round of 16, he must have had confidence such as 'Gwangju is not our opponent'. Upon hearing the news of Kobe's expedition, an official from the Gwangju club said, `We didn't even plan to explore. We put everything into preparation for the second game against Kobe."
The difference in mind toward the second game eventually made a difference. Gwangju had nothing to lose. Gwangju, which advanced to ACLE for the first time in the club, was the only K-League team to win a ticket to the round of 16 and secured about $1.4 million (about 2 billion won) by advancing to the round of 16. No fan would have pointed a finger at a team that lost against a team with a salary difference of approximately four times (Gwangju 9.8 billion won and Kobe 35 billion won). Gwangju, which took out 600 to neutralize Kobe's offense in the first round of the round of 16, changed its concept to Lee Jung-hyo's offensive soccer. Coach Lee could be playing the second half of the first round of the round of 16 by replaying the first half of the game' gained confidence. We analyzed what was vulnerable about Kobe. And looking back at the two games, we thought a lot about 'It wasn't like Gwangju.'" 'Gwangju-like' was 'Attack Forward' after all. Coach Lee, who took office in Gwangju in 2022 and achieved results such as K League 1 promotion, K League 1 surprise third place, and ACLE advancement through fast-tempo passes, active positioning, and space utilization, ordered his players to do what we are good at.
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| Yonhap News |
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| Photo courtesy=광주FC |
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Kobe, who won the J-League in 2023 and 2024 with aggressive football, lowered the line and played defense. As manager Takayuki Yoshida Kobe said, the plan was to focus on Asani, Gwangju's key striker, and win a ticket to the quarterfinals without losing a point. The opponent's passive game management was a welcome thing for coach Lee. Gwangju, which shook Kobe's defense with strong forward pressure and bold forward passes from the beginning of the first half, took the lead with Park Jung-in's header first goal in the 18th minute of the first half. 'First goal in the first half' was the best scenario for Gwangju, which had to overturn the two-goal gap. Asani hardly caught the ball on his opponent's shadow mark, but Hayes, Oh Soo-sung and Kim Jin-ho, who were located on the other side, actively attacked the left side and eventually made a crack. Midfielder Park Tae-joon said "Today Kobe players didn't come to their senses" In the process, Asani scored an equalizer in the 40th minute of the second half with a penalty kick chance by an opponent's handball foul, and in the 13th minute of extra time in the second half, Asani scored a decisive goal to advance to the quarterfinals with a left-footed mid-range shot that penetrated the top of the corner of the goal. The response 'Gwangju's Miracle' was written as 'the best game in Gwangju history'I cried without realizing' at the scene.
Director Lee recalls the words of Kia Tigers' Kim Do-young. 'There are days like that. On a day when I feel like I can do anything.' As I prepared for today's game, the players had different eyes, so I had a lot of faith and anticipation. I'm proud of our players for showing results in a game that seemed impossible to win." He caught two rabbits with a prize money of 1.8 million dollars (about 2.9 billion won) and a ticket to the quarterfinals. He also wrote a new history in the history of the K-League as the first municipal team to reach the quarterfinals in the top stage of the Asian club competition. How far is the limit of 'Jeong Hyo Ball'? What is clear is that coach Lee will not be satisfied only with the ACLE quarterfinals.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
