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| Munsu Football Stadium/ K League1/ Ulsan HDFC vs Daejeon Hana Citizen/ Daejeon Lee Myung-jae/ Photo by Kim Jung-soo |
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| Munsu Football Stadium/ K League1/ Ulsan HDFC vs Daejeon Hana Citizen/ Daejeon Lee Myung-jae scoring/ refraining from goal celebration/ Photo by Kim Jung-soo |
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| Munsu Football Stadium/ K League1/ Ulsan HDFC vs Daejeon Hana Citizen/ Daejeon Kim Joon-beom score/ goal celebration/ photo Kim Jung-soo |
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Lee Myung-jae (32, Daejeon) was Ulsan HD's 'One Club Man' in the K-League except when he was serving in the military. He left with the expiration of his contract after presenting Ulsan with a third consecutive championship last season.
Ulsan hoped to renew the contract, but failed to reach an agreement. Lee Myung-jae's choice was to go abroad. Earlier this year, he moved to Birmingham City in League One (third division) England. It was a new challenge in my 30s, so it was very resonant. However, he failed to play properly and returned to the K League last month. It was Daejeon, not Ulsan.
But there were signs of a long hiatus. Faith did not waver. Daejeon manager Hwang Sun-hong said, `Lee Myung-jae is getting better. So intelligent, so clever. I have to find my condition, but I'm not worried too much because I'm cold."
Lee Myung-jae finally responded with a goal. Coincidentally, the opponent was Ulsan, his former team. Lee Myung-jae scored an equalizer in the 44th minute of the first half when his team was trailing 0-1 in the 23rd round of the 「Hana Bank K League 1 2025」 at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium on the 23rd, leading Daejeon to a 2-1 come-from-behind victory.
A thousand emotions crowded on my mind. He "didn't even imagine. He moved to Daejeon and scored a goal in Munsu for the first time in a long time. It felt good to score a goal. On the one hand, there was also a touching heart. I'm in Daejeon now, and I'm playing for Daejeon, so I'll prepare for the rest of the game better so that I can show good performance", he expressed his feelings.
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| Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium/ K League1/ Ulsan HDFC vs Gimcheon Sangmu Football Team/ Ulsan Lee Myung-jae/ Photo by Kim Jung-soo |
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| Munsu Football Stadium/ K League1/ Ulsan HDFC vs Daejeon Hana Citizen/ Daejeon Lee Myung-jae/ Photo by Kim Jung-soo |
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I asked the feeling again. Lee Myung-jae said "It was only in Ulsan that it was touching. I was able to do well because of the fans. Even before I scored the goal, I was moved by the cheering sound of Ulsan fans"I don't care about the performance." But people around me paid more attention. I thought I could do a good job. I did everything I could. The goal is to prepare well and go to the World Cup. I'll prepare well in Daejeon and run well," he smiled.
Lee Myung-jae was selected for the first time in the A-match last year when he was over 30 years old. After moving overseas, he became distant from the Taegeuk mark, but in the head of A national team coach Hong Myung-bo, there is a stone figure named Lee Myung-jae, who was with him in Ulsan. If he is competitive, he can return at any time.
In Daejeon, Joo Min-gyu and Im Jong-eun, who were together in Ulsan, are lined up. Lee Myung-jae said, `I have no regrets about living abroad. It was fun, it was fun. I had a chance to do more, but I couldn't talk about the contract period, so I thought I should play in a good team quickly and came back. It was good to meet Jong and Mingyu again in Daejeon, but other players approach me first and be nice to me I got used to it quickly. The team atmosphere is good. He explained, "The director also led me well, which gave me a lot of strength."
It's not a return to Ulsan, but why Daejeon. "Honestly, I wanted to go back to Ulsan, but the story didn't go well. In that situation, I heard that coach Hwang wanted it, and I wanted to go to the team that wanted me. There was also a mindset that I wanted to try in a new team. It's the process of putting on the soccer that coach Hwang wants to do, and he's adjusting."
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| Munsu Football Stadium/ K League1/ Ulsan HDFC vs Daejeon Hana Citizen/ Daejeon Coach Hwang Sun-hong/ Photo by Kim Jung-soo |
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| Munsu Football Stadium/ K League1/ Ulsan HDFC vs Daejeon Hana Citizen/ Team Greetings/ Photo by Kim Jung-soo |
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Coach Hwang said after the game that `Lee Myung-jae does not play soccer at the energy level. Clever, good at judging situations. It helps the team in many ways. I think it will be helpful if I keep my condition wellexpected "
Lee Myung-jae said, "I felt that way when I arrived in Ulsan after taking the away bus. It was my first expedition, but it was comfortable because it was a place where I had been. I didn't do a goal ceremony, but I might have been caught on the broadcast, but I cried as I got emotional. Ulsan are all close players. On the other hand, I also thought that," he added.
The professional world is cold. There is no eternal enemy, no eternal comrade. Daejeon took three points (2-1 wins) against Daegu FC on May 24 and then lost one in six games before drawing five consecutive games. Following Lee Myung-jae, Kim Joon-beom's theater-reversing winning goal was a joy in seven games. Daejeon rose back to second place (39 points).
Ulsan, on the other hand, failed to turn the tables. He lost all three games at the FIFA Club World Cup, and failed to advance to the semifinals at the Korea Cup. In the K-League 1, he has no win (two draws and three losses) in five consecutive games. 30 points and 7th place are the current.
Lee Myung-jae put a dagger in his old team.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
