Korea’s Asian Games soccer coach Hwang Sun-hong is gaining momentum with his squad after beating China in five games to reach the quarterfinals.
Hwang used a different starting lineup for all five games, playing the round of 16 and quarterfinals in three group stage matches at the 카지노사이트 Hangzhou Asian Games, which began on March 19. As a result, most of the players, both starters and non-starters, were in good shape for the quarterfinal match against China on the 1st. Flanker Song Min-kyu (Jeonbuk), who came into the tournament with a calf injury, also made his first start against China and scored a valuable goal for the team after Hong Hyun-seok (Hent) took the lead with a free kick. Hwang said: “The strikers are in good shape overall, so no matter who I put in, they do their job. It doesn’t seem to matter who starts,” he said.
That’s why he defied expectations and left key midfielder Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) out of the starting lineup against China. Even if he benched Lee Kang-in, who has the highest name value and price tag of any soccer player outside of South Korea at the Asian Games, he could still produce consistent performances. Against China, Hwang picked a starting lineup centered around the same strikers and midfielders who came on as second-half substitutes in the last game against Kyrgyzstan and made good moves that led to the big win. Cho Young-wook (Gimcheon) started up top, while Song Min-kyu, Go Young-joon and Ahn Jae-joon (Bucheon) formed the second line. Hong Hyun-seok was selected as Baek Seung-ho’s (Jeonbuk) midfield partner. With Lee Kang-in, Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart), and Uhm Won-sang (Ulsan) on the bench, South Korea raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first half. Lee Kang-in came on as a substitute in the 19th minute of the second half in a relaxed mood and played 28 minutes.
Hwang was frustrated that he didn’t know when Lee would join the team before departing for the final match in Hangzhou. On the 21st, the day of the match against Thailand, the two chatted on the bench for more than 15 minutes, sharing their opinions on tactical planning and utilization. It was widely assumed that Hwang would somehow fit the “European big man” into the existing team, and it was hard to see how he could give Lee an average of 41 minutes per game after playing 36, 60, and 28 minutes in the last three matches. However, Hwang made the bold decision to leave Lee out of the starting lineup (against China) and substitute him early to midway through the second half (against Kyrgyzstan) in a tournament where it was a lose-lose situation. He also took into account Lee’s physical condition, as he was sidelined with a thigh injury for about a month from late August to late September.
Lee’s situation is eerily similar to that of Lee “Faker” Sang-hyuk, who led Korea to a gold medal in League of Legends (LoL). At the Asian Games, the first time esports was included as an official sport, Lee played only one qualifying game and missed the tournament. He didn’t even make it to the final against Chinese Taipei. He was also battling a cold and lost his starting spot to juniors like Jeong “Chobi” Jung-hoon. Kim “Chobi” Jeong-gyun, the head coach of the League of Legends national team, proved his decision was the right one, as the team defeated rivals China in the semifinals and went on to win the final without the venerable “faker”. Lee Kang-in, on the other hand, is the most talented player in the Hwangsun Hongho. He is a “genius” that everyone recognizes. Coach Huang has been using him strategically, and he’s ready to make bold decisions for his team in the upcoming matches.
So far, things are going according to Huang’s plan. The China game was a “strategy victory. Against Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals at the Huanglong Stadium on April 4, he will make decisions for the sake of the team and the championship. Whether it is ‘benching Lee Kang-in’ or ‘replacing Lee Kang-in early’.