‘Is there a Limit to Great Luck Every 10 Years?'… Hong Myung-bo's 'Communication Soccer' Broke Out of his Own Shell
Last year, ‘Hong Myung-bo's 10-year cycle speech' attracted attention… K-League 1 2nd consecutive win achieved ‘skill, not luck'
“When we lost, we worked with the players to find a way to prepare for the next game.
I have never been angry with my players due to my personal feelings."
These are the words of coach Hong Myung-bo (54), who led Ulsan Hyundai to its first two K-League wins since its founding.
Ulsan won 2-0 in the home game of the 35th round of the 2023 Final A against Daegu FC held at Ulsan Munsu Stadium on the 29th.
‘Early victory' was confirmed with three regular league games remaining. 카지노
Last year, under the leadership of coach Hong Myung-bo, Ulsan regained its 'pride of a famous family' by reaching the top of K-League 1 for the first time in 17 years, and experienced the joy of winning its first two consecutive regular league games since its founding, bringing its total number of wins to four (1996, 2005, 2022). Increased to 2023).
In particular, Coach Hong, who took the helm of Ulsan, a 'famous' professional soccer team, on December 24, 2020, became the 6th coach in history to lead '2 consecutive regular league wins' and was proudly named to the ranks of 'masters' in name and reality.
In the 40-year history of the K-League, the coaches who achieved more than two consecutive regular league wins were coach Kim Ho (1998, 1999, then Suwon Samsung), the late coach Park Jong-hwan (1993, 1994, 1995), and the late coach Cha Gyeong-bok (2001, 1995).
Seongnam Ilhwa (2002, 2003), coach Choi Kang-hee (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018), Jose Morais (2019, 2020, Jeonbuk Hyundai), coach Hong Myung-bo (2022, 2023, Ulsan) There are only 6 people so far.
Director Hong attracted a lot of attention last year with the ‘10-Year Great Luck Theory'.
It is said that great luck comes to Coach Hong, the '2002 Korea-Japan World Cup semifinalist', every 10 years.
The '10-year great fortune' began in 1992 when he joined Pohang Steel (predecessor of the Pohang Steelers) and helped the team win the championship, becoming the first rookie to be selected as the Most Valuable Player (MVP).
In 2002, at the Korea-Japan World Cup, Coach Hong played an active role as the 'Captain of Hiddink' and became the first Asian player to receive the Bronze Ball, which is equivalent to being ranked 3rd in MVP of the tournament, as well as being a 'semi-finalist'.
Ten years later, at the 2012 London Olympics, he served as the head coach of the national team and led the team to win a bronze medal, the best performance ever in Korean soccer.
Finally, in 2022, as the head coach of Ulsan, he resolved the sorrow of winning a 17-year-old championship.
Coach Hong, who started the 2023 season amidst a joke that last year's championship was a result of the '10-year great fortune,' once again led the 'Ulsan Tiger Corps' to achieve its first two consecutive wins since its founding.
Coach Hong proved himself to be ‘skill, not luck' by winning the K-League title for two consecutive seasons with his outstanding ability to escape crisis and his ‘older brother leadership' that emphasizes communication.
Coach Hong, who spent his active years more splendidly than anyone else, walked the path of a leader after retirement, winning the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup (quarterfinals), the 2012 London Olympics (3rd place), He led the Taegeuk Warriors at the 2014 Brazil World Cup (1 draw, 2 losses, elimination in the group stage).
From 2016 to May 2017, he served as the head coach of Hangzhou Ruicheng, a Chinese professional soccer team, and experienced the professional stage for the first time as a head coach.
Coach Hong was selected as the executive director of the Korea Football Association at the end of 2017 and worked as a football administrator for three years before being appointed as the manager of Ulsan in December 2020 and debuting as the 'K League head coach'.
Ulsan, led by coach Hong, was unable to overcome the competition with Jeonbuk Hyundai in the 2021 K League 1 and finished in second place in the league, but last year, with 'build-up - forward pressure', they finally succeeded in winning the championship.
As the 2023 season began, fans' attention naturally focused on whether Ulsan would 'achieve its second consecutive K-League win'.
As if responding to fans' interest, Ulsan showed off its power as the 'absolute top' with 17 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses, including two 6-game winning streaks and one 5-game winning streak from the opening game to the 21st round, laying the foundation for two consecutive losses in K League 1.
Director Hong boasted of his excellent ability to escape crisis.
Ulsan did not collapse easily, suffering consecutive losses for the first time since coach Hong took office in the 22nd and 23rd rounds of this season.
The foundation was Coach Hong's 'communication ability', which motivates players through informal conversations.
Coach Hong said, "When we lose, we find a way with the players on how to prepare for the next game.
I have never been angry with the players due to my personal feelings just because the team lost.
I talk to them about what they need for the next game."
“That's important,” he said.
In particular, he said, "At the beginning of the season, compared to last year, the rate of goals conceded due to the opponent's counterattack decreased by more than 30%. Until last year, in most cases, goals were conceded due to counterattacks after losing the ball during the build-up process.
This year, in that respect, it was significantly better.
“It's gotten better,” he said.
Ulsan was in the greatest crisis as its team organization plummeted starting in July following the 'social media (SNS) racial discrimination controversy' within the team at the end of June.
However, based on their unique ‘crisis escape ability', they prevented consecutive losses and reaped the shining fruit of ‘K League 1 2nd consecutive loss'.
Coach Hong smiled brightly, saying, “There were a few instances this year where we were ahead in score but then the trend changed to complacent play in the second half.
Still, the team as a whole did not slacken this year.”
