Reporter Park Dae-ro = Professional football K-League 2 (Part 2) Busan I-Park has emerged as a dark horse wary of other clubs. As Kwon Hyuk-kyu, who had been courted by Scotland’s prestigious Celtic, remained in Busan, other teams began to pay attention.
At the Hana One Q K League 2 2023 opening media day held at The-K Hotel Seoul in Seocho-gu on the 21st, when asked to pick the top 5 this year, many coaches mentioned Busan.
Eight of the 13 team managers, including Anyang FC manager Lee Woo-hyung, Seoul E-Land FC manager Park Choong-kyun, Seongnam FC manager Lee Ki-hyeong, Bucheon FC manager Lee Young-min, Chungnam Asan manager Park Dong-hyeok, Chungnam Asan manager Ko Jeong-woon, Gimpo FC manager Lee Jang-jang, Jeonnam Dragons manager Lim Jong-heon, and Ansan Greeners manager Lim Jong-heon, are Busan. was selected as the top 5.
The top 5 in K-League 2 is a ranking that can challenge for promotion to the first division. If you finish in 5th place, you can go through the semi-playoffs and playoffs of the 2nd division and play the promotion playoff with the 1st division team.
Such a reaction is unusual in that Busan was the lowest ranked team last season, ranking 10th out of 11 teams. 메이저놀이터
In response to other teams’ checks, Busan coach Park Jin-seop said, “Thank you for putting Busan in the top 5.” said.
Busan captain Lee Han-do said, “Last year was a very difficult year, but this year I promise to be different.”
The background of the change in the evaluation of Busan is Kwon Hyuk-gyu’s stay.
Born in 2001, Kwon Hyuk-gyu, who is regarded as the next-generation defensive midfielder, received a transfer offer from Celtic ahead of the start of this season, but stayed in Busan. Celtic took an active approach, offering a specific transfer fee, but Kwon Hyuk-gyu chose to stay after consulting with the club.
Kwon Hyuk-gyu is a promising player whose ability is recognized enough to sign a semi-professional contract for the first time in the K-League 2 in 2019, when he was a senior at Kaesong High School. Kwon Hyuk-gyu, who signed an official contract with Busan’s promotion to the first division, was highly evaluated even after Busan was relegated to K-League 2.
Kwon Hyeok-gyu, who joined the military and played for Gimcheon Sangmu, showed off his versatility while playing as a starting player. He returned to Busan after being discharged in September of last year.