We thoroughly distinguish between Foyet training and privacy led by Radeshima, North Jeolla Province, and this year's MVP is captain Park Jin-seop

Oct 22, 2025

photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association

Coach Gus Foye, who led Jeonbuk Hyundai's 'La Desima' (10th win), was proud of this victory as the biggest achievement.

Jeonbuk won 2-0 against Suwon FC at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the 18th and scored 71 points in the 33rd round of the regular league match of the 「Hana Bank K League 1 2025」, and secured an early victory by widening the point gap with second-place Gimcheon Sangmu (55 points) to 16 with five remaining games.

Coach Foye, who appeared in his first public appearance after confirming the championship, said in the K-League Final Round Media Day held at Nuri Dream Square in Sangam-dong, Seoul on the 22nd, `I think I have achieved the biggest achievement in my manager's career. Much recognition has been given for leading Sunderland to stay in the Premier League. I think it's the next achievement that I got recognized forWhen I talked to the club after taking office in Jeonbuk, I was asked to change the atmosphere of the locker room that was stagnant last season rather than the performance. I focused on that, but I achieved good results during the season and was able to win the championship like this," he said.

Then "After becoming head coach of Jeonbuk, what I felt during the first two months was "Jeonbuk had a hard time last season." Tactically, the way you play offense and defense may take time, but you can change it as much as you want. It was more difficult to change the mental part of the players that they did not know well before. I think there was a moment during the season when the players knew what to do and accepted it."

Coach Foyet brought about change by injecting winning mentality into the locker room, which is based on science-based team condition management, simple and efficient kick-and-rush tactics, inclusiveness that encompasses backup players, and most of all, defeat consciousness. Foyet borrowed the methodology that worked for other clubs. Methodology was used to determine when to increase the intensity, when to mix anaerobic and aerobic training, and when to do speed training. During acceleration training, the players demanded 'Can't you run less once?' but firmly said no. Sometimes when negotiating with the players, he said, "'If we give you a gain, you guys have to repay it.'"

However, as Jeonbuk striker Lee Seung-woo said in past interviews, his privacy was thoroughly guaranteed. "I think we need to thoroughly distinguish between life and privacy as a professional player." When you're at the training ground with me, the players have to listen to me as a coach. However, at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. after training, players can no longer be controlled. I think the players like it because they don't touch it at all.

There was also a crisis in the process of winning the championship. Coach Foyet cited two moments as rebound points. "I was not satisfied with my performance in the Anyang match (1-0 win), so I changed about five to six starters in the next match (2-0 win). The second moment is an away game in Pohang, where the winless streak (22 games) has been cut. Ahead of the second leg of the important Korea Cup semi-final against Gangwon, the record was broken, and it was said that "Jeonbuk will be difficult in the future due to its lack of momentum", but it won against Gangwon and won the important derby against Ulsan by scoring two goals."

Coach Foyet specifically responded to the game against Anyang with extreme defensive tactics "It was the most important game." He was still looking for a best-Eleven ahead of the match against Daejeon, which was No. 1 at the time. Defensive tactics are not my favorite style of football, but I think I was trying to try a new one by putting in another player. I said that to the players, but I think it was a `crazy judgment' to win just one game. "I've won a lot of trophies in my four years at Chelsea, but I haven't won the Premier League. I always tried to show beautiful soccer. In order to win the championship, I thought it would be necessary to have a lot of competitions to win the game with a score of 1-0," he added.

For Foye, who is new to the K-League, the teams he faced were as unfamiliar as the city of Jeonju. He learned a lot as a director. Some teams had different offensive and defensive forms. Some teams changed their formation three times during the game. We had to make changes accordingly"I've thought about what it would be like if I became a coach of another team and faced Jeonbuk. Then, if I were a coach of another team, I thought it would be easy to train against Jeonbuk. The 4-3-3 formation is the same, and there is no change in players. It was difficult to make changes to the training session because the formation was different for each team."

Regarding the level of the K-League he experienced firsthand, "I think there are a lot of technical players on the offensive side. In particular, there were many such players in the offensive midfielder position. Fans are welcome because there are a lot of goals (if there are many players like that). But I'm a slightly differently pragmatic style. He said he prefers a 1-0 score over a 4-on-3 score.

As for Choi Chul-soon, who retires after this season 'Legend'," all I have to say is thank you. It's professional. There were times when I didn't make the first team, but first, I asked if I could play in the N team (B team), I would like to play there. He sets an example for young players and the entire team. From day one, he called his nickname 'Legend'. That's what players and staff call it now. I'm happy to win the trophy in the last season. I hope the future will be full of happiness."

When asked to select one MVP candidate, "It's hard to choose just one, but it's captain Park Jin-seop." He's a good leader. I watched Park Jin-seop's video after the playoffs last season. I saw him struggling because he felt responsible. I thought he was a good leader, so I asked him to continue his captaincy, and he thought about it and replied that he would continue to make the captaincy. Our coaching division was also pleased. Park Jin-seop is a good player and an exemplary player. He deserved the trophy as captain. Who knew that the player who played in the promotion playoff last season would win the trophy this time. You don't know your life."

Regarding split rounds and goals for next season "I intend to prepare the game fairly for other teams. One or two people can be changed for the starting position. With the last two games left, we have to prepare for the Korea Cup final. I promise to play competitive soccer next year. I will try to show good performance in the Asian Champions League as well."

Meanwhile, coach Foyet was fined 3 million won by the Korea Professional Football Federation for expressing his dissatisfaction with the referee's decision on SNS on the 21st, a day before Media Day. After the Jeju-Jeonbuk match at Jeju World Cup Stadium on the 3rd, coach Foye shared a scene on his personal SNS where Jeon Jin-woo (Jeonbuk) fell on the ground after being stepped on by Jeju defender Jang Min-gyu. "Not penalty, Not VAR, Not words" (no penalty kick, no VAR, no words) was also written. The federation is sanctioning negative comments about refereeing decisions as regulations. The Korea Football Association acknowledged the scene as a misjudgment through a meeting of the referee evaluation panel on the 14th.

Coach Foyet will be able to seek this year's Coach of the Year award by avoiding the rule of being excluded from this year's Coach Award if he is suspended for more than 6 million won in sanctions or more than 5 games. Coach Foyet said of the disciplinary action, `It's already gone. No comment", he declined to comment.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.