“Seeing the fans shed a lot of tears, as a manager, I felt very sorry.”
When asked about the schedule for the upcoming new season, Lee Woo-hyung (57), FC Anyang coach, looked back from last season. It was at the K-League 2 Opening Media Day held at The-K Hotel in Seoul on the 21st. The stage of the promotion and relegation PO stage, which advanced through the K League 2 playoffs (PO) after reaching 3rd place in the regular league of the professional soccer K League 2 (Part 2). He first conveyed his apologies to the fans who shed bitter tears after losing to Suwon Samsung in the second game in extra time and failing to promote.토토사이트
In 2021, Anyang advanced to the K-League 2 PO with second place in the regular league and dreamed of promotion, but the promotion was frustrated by Daejeon Hana Citizen. The following year, he finally reached the PO stage, but was frustrated again by losing to Suwon. The report card accepted by Anyang was a failure in promotion for two consecutive years. Baek Dong-gyu (31), the captain who experienced both promotion failures, said, “It seems that we have been giving fans only hope and torture for the second year.”
The bitter tears shed by fans are motivating Anyang for the new season. This season, it is indispensable to achieve the first promotion since the establishment and to shake off the fans’ disappointment. Coach Lee Woo-hyeong promised, “I will do my best to make sure that we get promoted this season so that the tears of fans and supporters become ‘tears of joy’ this year.” Baek Dong-gyu also threw a vote, saying, “I will make sure to reach the promotion that is within my reach this year.” ‘The 10th anniversary of the foundation, promoted after the third challenge’. This is the virtual title of Anyang’s promotion story that coach Lee and Dong-gyu Baek drew after finishing this season.
It wasn’t just Anyang that fans had to shed sad tears last season. Seongnam, which belonged to K-League 1, stayed at the bottom of the league and suffered relegation in four years. As internal conflicts and political issues were added to the sluggish performance from the beginning, it was shaken throughout the season, and eventually fell back to the second division stage after the 2018 season. The tears of Seongnam fans for being relegated to the second division were as bitter as the tears of Anyang, who failed to win promotion in the last stage. This is the reason why they have no choice but to have a ‘poisonous spirit’ that is different from other teams.
Although he took the new helm, coach Lee Ki-hyung (49) is well aware of the regret and hurt Seongnam fans must have felt last season. He said, “Last year, I gave the fans who love Seongnam the pain of being demoted,” and “so I decided to heal the wounds of Seongnam fans by playing more active and challenging games.” Shim Dong-woon (32) also expressed his aspirations, saying, “After being relegated last year, both the players and the fans had a very difficult time. I will definitely promote this year and attend the media day the day before (K League 1) next year.” The title of the virtual article at the end of the season that Seongnam dreams of is ‘promoted to the first division in one year’.
The will of the two teams to repay the unforgettable fans’ tears with a ‘promotion’ this season is also considered a ‘warning target’ in the eyes of 13 other clubs. Anyang was selected as a candidate for the round of 5 by all the other 12 team commanders on this day, and received votes next to Sangmu Kim Cheon, who is generally regarded as the ‘absolute top 1’.
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