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‘Winning for 2 consecutive years’ Ulsan, ‘Club’s first ACL advance’ Gwangju, gathering place of stars Gwangju Jeong Ho-yeon wins Hangzhou gold medal and K-League Young Player Award

 

MVP crying

 

The 2023 professional soccer season was a year in which Ulsan Hyundai, which had been dominant since the beginning of the season, early confirmed its title as champion for the second consecutive year and reigned as the strongest team in Korea.

 

Gwangju FC, a sensationally promoted team, ended the season in 3rd place in Final A in the midst of a battle for rankings, bringing a breath of fresh air to domestic soccer.

 

It was natural that stars who embellished professional soccer were born in Ulsan and Gwangju, two teams this year.

 

First, Ulsan"s central defender Kim Young-kwon (33) was selected as the K-League 1 Most Valuable Player (MVP) and became the brightest star in the K-League this season.

 

Kim Young-kwon, who made his professional debut at FC Tokyo (Japan) in 2010, played in Japan and China, and entered the K-League last year wearing an Ulsan uniform, was honored as the best player in his second season.

 

Kim Young-kwon, the core of the defense who played in 32 league games this season, led Ulsan to a tie for third place in the fewest goals conceded (42 goals).They were only 2 runs behind Pohang (40 goals conceded), which ranked first in the fewest goals conceded.

 

Kim Young-kwon has played 103 A matches, including appearances in three consecutive World Cups, including the 2014 Brazil, 2018 Russia, and 2022 Qatar tournaments, so Kim Young-kwon calmed the anxiety about Ulsan"s backfield with his strong defense and leadership.

 

Ulsan, with a stable back line, attacked freely and ranked first in scoring in the league (63 points).

 

The salty defense centered around Kim Young-kwon became the foundation of Ulsan"s league dominance.

 

Ulsan coach Hong Myung-bo praised Kim Young-kwon, saying, "He is a player who plays an important role in the soccer I play. He is the best among domestic defenders in terms of build-up. He played a big role in winning this year"s championship."

 

2023 K League 1 Highest Scorer Award: Joo Min-gyu, Ulsan Hyundai

 

Ulsan striker Joo Min-gyu (33) scored 17 goals and regained the top scorer in two years since 2021 when he was a member of Jeju United.

 

Ju Min-gyu has the same number of points as Thiago (Daejeon), but he took the top scorer due to less playing time.

 

Last season, he scored 17 goals, the same as Cho Gyu-seong (Midtjylland), but shook off the regret of being delayed in playing time.

 

Joo Min-gyu, who became the top scorer for the first time in his career in 2021, became the fifth player in the K League to win the top scorer more than twice, and the fourth player in 20 years and history to be the top scorer more than twice.

 

Now all that remains is the Taegeuk mark.

 

Joo Min-gyu has never been selected for the national team under former coach Paulo Bento and under current coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

 

Joo Min-gyu, who was unable to wear the Taegeuk mark, said, “Now I’m going to put my mind down and wait calmly.” He added, “One day, if I work hard and be humble, I will be able to wear the Taegeuk mark.”

 

However, as the existing national team striker, Hwang Ui-jo (Norwich City), was temporarily excluded from the national team selection after being accused of illegal filming, the possibility that Coach Klinsmann"s attention, who must fill the empty spot, will

now turn to Joo Min-gyu cannot be ruled out.

 

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Son Heung-min succeeds in his own penalty kick in the 40th minute of the second half 10th league goal 7th consecutive double-digit scoring record in EPL history for 8 consecutive seasons

 

Son Heung-min

 

"Captain" Son Heung-min played a big role with 1 goal and 2 assists, leading his team Tottenham (England) to escape without a win for the first time in 6 games.

 

Tottenham defeated Newcastle 4-1 in the 16th round home game of the 2023-2024 English Professional Football Premier League (EPL) held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England on the 11th (Korean time).

 

Son Heung-min kicked his own penalty kick in the 40th minute of the second half when Tottenham was ahead 3-0, putting a wedge in his team"s victory.

 

This is Son Heung-min’s 10th goal this season.

 

After scoring his 9th goal of the season in the 14th round away game against the mighty Manchester City (Man City) on the 4th of this month, Son Heung-min restarted his scoring spree a week later, leading Erling Holland (Man City, 14 goals) and Muhammad Salah (Liverpool, 11 goals) ), and maintained 3rd place in the EPL scoring rankings.

 

Son Heung-min, who achieved double-digit scoring this season in just 16 games, scored 113 goals in his EPL career.

 

In addition, Son Heung-min set a double-digit scoring record for eight consecutive seasons.

 

Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Sergio Agüero, Harry Kane.It is the 7th record in EPL history, following Thierry Henry and Sadio Mane.

 

Son Heung-min

 

Prior to scoring, he laid the foundation for Tottenham"s first goal and additional goal, and even recorded his 3rd and 4th assists of the season, accumulating a total of 14 attack points this season.

 

Son Heung-min stood out as the main character in the Newcastle demolition and was also selected as the best player of the match (MOM).

 

Tottenham, who had been mired in 5 consecutive league games without a win (1 draw, 4 losses), took advantage of Son Heung-min"s performance to add a valuable victory for the first time in 6 games and maintain 5th place (30 points), while also beating 4th place Man City (33 points). I chased by 3rd car.

 

Newcastle remained at 26 points and fell to 7th place.

 

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Ulsan’s crisis management ability shines with a ‘winning mentality’ established Suwon, with its dwindling investment coupled with the club"s incompetence, will compete in the second division next year. Gwangju FC, a sensational promotion team, finished in 3rd place

 

As the 2023 professional soccer season comes to an end with the K-League promotion playoffs on the 9th, we are sending out four settlement articles.

 

Director Hong Myung-bo wins the championship

 

Coach Hong Myung-bo of Ulsan Hyundai, the winner of Hana One Q K League 1 2023, is receiving a rinse from the players at Munsu Soccer Stadium in Ulsan on the 3rd.

 

In the 2023 season of professional soccer K-League 1, Ulsan Hyundai achieved two consecutive league wins for the first time in the club"s history.

 

Ulsan won against Daegu FC in the 35th round home game of Hana One Q K League 1 2023, confirming the championship early regardless of the results of the remaining three games.

 

Following last season, when they won the championship for the first time in 17 years, they ascended to the throne for two consecutive seasons.

 

Ulsan, who had been labeled as the "second-tier player for the rest of his life" due to his high number of runner-up finishes, achieved two consecutive league wins for the first time since its founding, showing that it had clearly broken with its "past" of lack of motivation.

 

Winning the 2023 season is meaningful in that it is the first season in which the ‘winning mentality’ began to become deeply entrenched in Ulsan’s DNA.

 

The most notable aspect of Ulsan"s actions this year was its "crisis management ability."

 

They suffered only one loss in a row, and only had 3 draws (2 draws, 1 loss) twice, so they stood up like a roly-poly in a crisis situation.

 

2023 K League 1 Manager Award: Ulsan Hyundai Manager Hong Myung-bo

 

Ulsan Hyundai coach Hong Myung-bo, who won the K-League 1 Manager Award, is giving his thoughts at the 2023 Professional Football K-League Awards ceremony held at Lotte Hotel World in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 4th.

 

In June, it was revealed that some players, including Park Yong-woo, had exchanged racist language on social media, leading to an awkward situation in which the team atmosphere was drastically disrupted.

 

Soon after, Park Yong-woo transferred to Al-Ain in the United Arab Emirates, and even the team"s organizational strength was shaken.

 

However, even in this situation, it did not completely collapse.As a result, the trophy was booked two games earlier than last season, when the championship was confirmed with one game left.

 

Ulsan coach Hong Myung-bo, who played a key role in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup semifinals and led the team to a new bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, once again proved himself as a master by leading the team to its second consecutive victory.

 

Many say that the reason they were able to maintain the gap with the 2nd and 3rd place teams by gaining momentum at the end of the season was thanks to the "older brother"s leadership" of coach Hong Myung-bo, who values ??communication to the point of checking each player"s MBTI (personality type test).

 

Coach Hong Myung-bo received the K League 1 Manager Award for two consecutive years.

 

The club"s efforts to invest, including re-recruiting Korea"s best goal scorer Joo Min-gyu, are also considered the driving force

behind the win.Joo Min-gyu repaid the team well by becoming the top scorer with 17 goals.

 

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Lotte won the title twice, 1984-1992

Longest title drought in Korea

Hanwha won the title in 1999.

Lotte players pose for a photo during the awards ceremony in 1992 after winning the Korean Series title for the second time in its history. Lotte hadn"t won a title in 31 years until this season. 

 

With LG"s return to the top of the Korean Series after 29 years, Lotte and Hanwha are the only two of the 10 teams in the KBO that have not won a title in more than 20 years. Lotte has won two Korean Series titles, in 1984 and 1992, but is 31 years away from a third. Hanwha hasn"t had a "V2" in 24 years since its first title in 1999. Coincidentally, Lotte"s 1992 Korean Series opponent was Hanwha"s predecessor, Binggrae, and Hanwha"s 1999 Korean Series opponent was Lotte.

 

Last year, after 30 consecutive years of irrelevance, Lotte was eager to bolster its roster during the Stovrig period. The team spent a total of 17 billion won in the free agent (FA) market, signing catcher Yoo Kang-nam (8 billion won), infielder Noh Jin-hyuk (5 billion won), and pitcher Han Hyun-hee (4 billion won). Lotte was the team that spent the most money on outside free agents in last year"s Stobrigue. However, Lotte"s regular season ranking only improved by one spot from 8th last year to 7th this year.

 

After failing to achieve much with their arms and legs, Lotte is now replacing their head coach. Former Doosan head coach Kim Tae-hyung has been handed the reins. Kim previously led Doosan to the Korean Series for seven consecutive years (2015-2021),winning the title three times. Lotte has also shaken up its coaching staff with Kim"s appointment, as it looks to revitalize the team.

 

Hanwha also spent 12 billion won on outside free agents, including infielder Chae Eun-sung (9 billion won) and pitcher Lee Tae-yang (2.5 billion won) in the last Stobrig, but the team only managed to move up one spot in the standings from 10th to 9th. Hanwha has been trying to bolster its offense since the end of this season, when it hired head coach Jung Kyung-bae from SSG, who is said to be an expert in hitting instruction. This season, Hanwha ranked last in team batting average (.241).

 

Kiwoom is also approaching its 20-year anniversary. Since its founding in 2008, Kiwoom has reached the Korean Series three times (2014, 2019, and 2022), but has finished as runner-up in each of those years, extending its drought to 16 years. Kiwoom is the only club in the Korean Baseball Organization that has never won the Korean Series.

 

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First-place finisher falls just short

Head-to-head in the final event of the season tomorrow

Finish at least 1 stroke behind the tee taker.

Kim Hyo-ju (pictured) will be going for the lowest stroke average award, the Bear Trophy, at the final event of the season on the U.S. Women"s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour. The award is given to the player with the lowest stroke average among players who have played at least 70 rounds in a season, and is earned by maintaining good form throughout the season. Kim has nine top-10 finishes this season, including a win at the Ascendant LPGA last month.

 

Hyo Joo Kim will next compete in the LPGA Tour"s CME Group Tour Championship on April 16 at Tiburon Golf Club (Par 72) in Naples, Florida, USA. The final event of the season will feature only the top 60 players in CME Globe Points based on season-long performance. Hyo Joo Kim is fourth in CME Globe Points (2,355).

 

Kim is attempting to win the lowest stroke average title for the first time since her LPGA Tour debut in 2015. Through 14 days, her stroke average of 69.689 is second, just 0.013 strokes behind Thailand"s Ataya Thititjerin (69.676). Kim, who has led the division since the middle of the season, missed the Annika Driven event, which concluded on Wednesday, allowing Thititjer to take the lead. Kim will need to finish the tournament with at least one stroke less to regain the lead.

 

Six South Koreans have lifted the Bear Trophy, starting with Park Se-ri in 2003. The last winner was Jin Young Ko in 2019. With a stroke average of 69.955, Ko ranks third in the category and could win the title for the second-lowest individual score depending on how she finishes the tournament. Jin is fifth in CME Globe Points (1970).

 

Hyoju Kim, who is sixth on the season earnings list ($2,048,856), is still in contention for the prize. She is $1.2347 million behind

the money leader, Lilia Vu (USA - $3.252 million). The first-place prize is $2 million and the runner-up prize is $550,000.

 

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