"Please coach Vissel Kobe" who fell in love with Lee Jung-hyo. "Korean people I want to cheer for, if I come to the J-League someday,"
"Please coach Vissel Kobe" who fell in love with Lee Jung-hyo. "Korean people I want to cheer for, if I come to the J-League someday,"
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Japan is also fascinated by the soccer of Gwangju FC coach Lee Jung-hyo (50).
Gwangju, led by head coach Lee Jung-hyo, collapsed 0-7 in the quarterfinals of the "2024-2025 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE) against Al Hilal (Saudi) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the 26th (Korea time).
Gwangju aimed for a miracle, but realized the difference in weight class of the ultra-luxury corps consisting of players from European big leagues. According to "Transfermarkt," the value of Al Hilal's squad is 180 million euros (about 295.1 billion won), more than 20 times that of Gwangju (14 billion won).
Gwangju's challenge ended in the quarterfinals, but coach Lee Jung-hyo fully deserved applause. After qualifying for ACLE by ranking third in the K League 1 in 2023, he performed well at the league stage with four wins, two draws and one loss, becoming the only Korean team to advance to the tournament.
It was in the round of 16 strongest teams against Vissel Kobe that surprised Asian soccer fans. Gwangju, which lost 0-2 in the first away match, beat the first half 2-0 in the second home match, and advanced to the quarterfinals through an upset goal by Anina in the playoff. Gwangju is the first team that advanced to the quarterfinals in the ALC among municipalities in the history of the K-League.
At that time, it was natural that Japanese fans were surprised. Gwangju's attractive soccer even captivated Japanese fans.
Japan's "Scar Digest" reported the news of Gwangju's complete defeat on the same day, saying, "What did the Gwangju head coach who beat Gobae and reached the quarterfinals of ACLE?" and published the interview contents of head coach Lee Jung-hyo.
Coach Lee Jung-hyo said, "If I started with a small dream and doubt at first, I'm somewhat sure now," adding, "I'm worried that I'll hit another wall and my confidence will turn into a question, but I think I have a homework to solve that question with confidence," and vowed, "I'll lead the players well so that they don't have any small doubts, and move forward to have greater confidence."
Japanese fans praised Lee and wished for him to be named the J-League team. The most sympathetic comment said, "Lee Jung-hyo is fantastic. He has great respect for the Japanese team and affection for his team. I want to support such a coach regardless of country. I want to see him lead the Japanese team." 안전놀이터
Another Japanese netizen recommended Lee as the coach of the Korean national soccer team. "Lee seems pretty good. If he becomes the coach of the Korean national team, Korean soccer will likely improve again, but the Korea Football Association will not do that," he said.
In addition, there were also responses such as "Director Lee Jung-hyo, please be the coach of Vissel Kobe" and "I hope Lee Jung-hyo becomes the coach of Yokohama Marinos."