Can I tell you later?” The voices of the players who trudged into the mixed zone were as weak as their footsteps.
They were Ulsan players from the national soccer team who sought to win the Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years, but lost in the semifinal against Jordan. Defenders Kim Young-kwon, Seol Young-woo, and goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo, who had a hard time in Qatar, led them to exhaustion and held their first victory of the new year in a small Korea-Japan match on their team.
At the first round match of the round of 16 at the Asian Champions League (ACL) held at Munsu Stadium in Ulsan on Saturday, he defeated Japan’s Banpo Re Gofu 3-0. Notably, Seol even scored a goal that sealed her victory, but she looked very dark.
Seol Young-woo struggled to pass the mixed zone and opened his mouth. His mouth began to carefully open as he was mentioned in the recent news of the national team’s internal feud and the so-called “table tennis incident.”
Seol Young-woo said, “I don’t know what I can tell you. There’s nothing I can say.”
Ulsan manager Hong Myung-bo said, “I don’t know that Seol will be named in this case. I have nothing to say because it’s not confirmed,” adding, “I have to go to the national team with a higher morality than before. Seol is still a young player. I think he will do well without any problems if he plays like Ulsan.”
Seol Young-woo responded, “I think soccer players are also important externally. I’ve always worked with that kind of mind, and I’ll continue to do so.”
The other two players also felt the same way. Cho said, “I think what you said at the Korea Football Association was right. I didn’t see the situation exactly. I went there late…” and Kim Young-kwon, who came back after passing the mixed zone, said, “I’ll tell you later because I’m so talkative right now. I honestly don’t think there’s anything I can say,” leaving his seat weakly.
After the Asian Cup ended, South Korean soccer is on fire after news of the clash between “captain” Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) broke out. It is a shocking incident that Son Heung-min even caused a physical collision in the process of bringing in Lee Kang-in and some players who were going to play table tennis in the evening a day before the semifinal against Jordan.
As national soccer team coach Jurgen Klinsmann blamed players’ internal strife for failing to advance to the finals, the burden on players has become heavier than ever. It was the moment when I could understand how frustrating it was to end the game with a spectacular 3-0 victory.