At the 2023 FIFA (International Football Federation) U-20 (under 20) World Cup, which ended on the 12th (Korean time), coach Kim Eun-joong (44), who wrote the “four-final myth” in Korea’s two consecutive tournaments, expressed his feelings as if he was relieved. . Coach Kim, who met at the La Plata Grand Brizo Hotel right after the tournament, said, “I’m finally going to say it, but I thought that if I do my best, I’ll make it to the quarterfinals, and I’m going to pass through the group stage somehow.”메이저놀이터
However, there were times when I felt sick to my stomach because of the ‘immature’ players who did not know the speed of coach Kim and shouted, “The goal is to win” in every interview. He laughed, saying, “The coaching staff was thinking that they had to go to the round of 16 somehow, but the players didn’t know the reality well.”
Thanks to such players, I shed tears after defeating Nigeria in the quarterfinals and advancing to the semifinals. Coach Kim said, “I said I would not curse at Korea since I went to the quarterfinals, but watching the players exert all their strength in the overtime, I was grateful and shed tears.”
Coach Kim participated in the 1999 U-20 World Cup held in Nigeria during his playing days. He raised expectations by forming a two-top match with Lee Dong-guk (44), but failed to score a single goal. He said, “I was eliminated in the group stage 24 years ago and came home right away, but this time I was with his first students who welcomed me as a coach until the last day of the tournament, and the pain in my heart was relieved.”
Kim Eun-joong did not have any star players that attracted attention before the tournament, but he garnered attention with his organizational power through the spirit of ‘one team’. Coach Kim said, “My first daughter was born in 2006, but the players were born in 2003-2004, so they are like children.” He explained the secret to communicating with Generation Z players, saying, “Kids these days have clear self-subjectives, so rather than giving instructions unilaterally, we need to understand them by saying, ‘This is good, but this way is better’.”
The national team had a lot of fun with quick counterattacks in every game. Coach Kim said that his soccer is “to find the best combination of players and draw out the advantages under the basic motto of developing an attack through quick switching between offense and defense.” Under his guidance, Lee Seung-won (20, Gangwon), Choi Seok-hyeon (20, Dankook University), and Bae Jun-ho (20, Daejeon), who won the Bronze Ball, made their names known in this tournament.
However, coach Kim picked Kang Sang-yoon (20, Jeonbuk), who participated in all the games and recorded the most activity (78.13 km), as a grateful ‘Unsung hero’. Manager Kim said, “It’s not very noticeable, but other players were able to shine because they took care of the dirty work in the game.”
Coach Kim’s contract expired after the match against Israel for third place. He had a successful debut as his manager, taking his first team to world No. 4. Regarding his next step, he said, “I think I will have to go back to Korea and watch the situation,” and he plans to focus on his role as a father.
“The second is a freshman in elementary school, and it’s the first time I’ve been away for this long, so I’m waiting for me a lot. You have to go and play with them a lot and take them to school holding hands. While doing so, I will prepare for the next one.”