Promoted from head coach and ready for the new season… “I really want to win the ‘Jijidae derby’ with Suwon.”
FC Anyang, the ‘Teojudaegam’ who has been with the team since the beginning of professional soccer K-League 2, is burning its will to achieve the dream of its first promotion this year with coach Yoo Byung-hoon, a leader who is a ‘novice coach’ but knows the team well.
Coach Yoo said at the K-League winter training media camp held at the Namhae General Social Welfare Center in Gyeongsangnam-do on the 13th, “Anyang should be a team that goes beyond the playoffs and challenges promotion,” and added, “Let the viewers clearly understand our play and let the fans know what to expect.” 파워볼게임
“Our goal this season is to get promoted with decent performances,” he said.
Anyang, which has participated since 2013, the first year of K-League 2, has consistently ranked in the upper-middle tier, but has never been promoted, including losing to Suwon Samsung in the 2022 promotion playoff (PO) and turning back at the threshold.
Last year, they finished 6th in the K League 2 regular league and failed to even enter the playoffs.
Former coach Lee Woo-hyung (currently the club’s technical director) stepped down and former head coach Yoo Byeong-hoon took over the baton this year.
Coach Yoo, who played as a defender for the Daewoo Royals as a player, has a long experience as a coach, starting with Anyang in 2013 and working his way through Asan Mugunghwa, Seoul E-Land, and the U-19 national team.
Most of his coaching career was spent in Anyang.
Coach Yoo said, “It is a personal honor to take on the first managerial position at Anyang, where I have been with the team since its inception,” and added, “I am preparing to play ‘leading football’ by developing what I inherited from former manager Lee Woo-hyung’s system and adding my own color to it.”
Specifically, he said, “We are emphasizing that the offense should be done quickly and concisely based on short passes, and the defense should be solid,” and that “for that to happen, the balance of offense and defense must be right.”
Anyang, who recruited seasoned defender Kim Young-chan, striker Yoo Jeong-wan, new Brazilian striker Dan Lei, and midfielder Matheus from K League 2, conducted field training in Chonburi, Thailand last month and then began final preparations, including practice games, in Namhae from the beginning of this month. It continues.
Coach Yoo confessed, “After becoming a coach, I was at a loss as to how to start,” and added, “I contacted director Lee Woo-hyung and other team coaches to get advice, and senior players, led by captain Lee Chang-yong, helped set the tone well.”
“I was able to overcome it by going through the first training well,” he explained.
He said, “Anyang is a team prepared enough that it would not be surprising if they were promoted right away,” and added, “As we had a particularly difficult time last year due to failure in injury management, I want to challenge for promotion this year with thorough injury management, health, and fierce internal competition.”
Coach Yoo, who evaluated Suwon Samsung, Busan I-Park, and Seoul E-Land as the ‘Top 3’ of K League 2 this season, predicted that Anyang will compete in the playoffs with Gyeongnam FC, Bucheon FC, and Seongnam FC.
At the same time, he expressed great expectations for the ‘Jijidae derby’ with Suwon.
The support derby, which originated from the confrontation between Suwon and Anyang LG in the 1990s, was fiercely fought until the early 2000s and was only held occasionally in the Korea Football Association (FA) Cup or promotion/relegation PO.
I was able to do it.
Coach Yoo expressed his determination, saying, “I’ve played the support team derby four times as a coach, but I haven’t won a single one yet.
I really want to win against Suwon this year.”
