New GK Kim Dong-heon, chosen by Hong Myung-bo, the goalkeeper team in their 30s, emphasizing generational change
Mar 11, 2025
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They are all well over their 30s. With the best goalkeepers in the K League, there is no doubt about their skills, but there was the downside of being too old. Kim Seung-gyu (Al Shabab), who was the main goalkeeper of the Qatar World Cup, is also 35 years old. Coach Hong Myung-bo, who declared a generational change after taking office, desperately needed a new goalkeeper.
In the meantime, young resources of the goalkeeper's team included Kim Joon-hong (22, DC United) and Song Bum-keun (28), who returned to Jeonbuk. However, Kim Joon-hong is adjusting to the U.S. stage, and Song Bum-keun has yet to show 100% of his appearance. Hong's choice was Kim Dong-heon (28, Gimcheon).
Kim Dong-heon, raised by Incheon Youth, has been recognized since high school. Along with Song Beom-geun and Ahn Jun-su (Suwon FC), who are the same age, they were called 'Big 3'. Kim Dong-heon, who entered Incheon's first team in 2019, has gradually heard opportunities to play since 2020, and has established himself as the league's top goalkeeper with the best performance in 2022. It also ranked No. 1 in defense percentage. Kim Dong-heon, who later established himself as the core of Incheon, joined Gimcheon Sangmu. He played as the main goalkeeper in the second half of last season, his first year, but failed to perform as expected and lost his pride.
This season was different. Kim Dong-heon started all four of Gimcheon's first games and performed the best. Coach Hong paid attention to Kim Dong-heon, the first contributor to Gimcheon's early propaganda. "I watched Kim Dong-heon's three games since the opening of the season," Hong said. Last year, he was not considered, but he showed the most stable performance at the beginning of this season and made a lot of good plays to select him.
Kim Dong-heon's advantage is his ability to defend himself with excellent reflexes. He also has excellent ability to save penalty kicks. It is evaluated that the basic skills are good and the stability is excellent. Above all, he has a good build-up ability that is emphasized by goalkeepers in modern soccer. Kim Dong-heon's accurate and fast kick is also a big weapon in counterattacks. If you adapt quickly, you have enough competitiveness in the national team.
Kim Dong-heon, who will wear the national team uniform for the first time, said, `I am happy and honored to be selected as the A team that I have always dreamed of. I think I was able to improve by working with good players on a good team called Gimcheon Sangmu. I think I was selected because of the support from the fans. Thank you very much."
Reporter Park Chan-joon vanbasten@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
