Director Kim Cheon of the Armed Forces Sports Corps professional soccer team is getting stronger. Like Oh Hyeon-kyu (22), who entered Europe after serving in the military at Sangmu, it is rather through the recruitment of players who want to solve their military service issues early and pursue bigger dreams through Sangmu.
Suwon Samsung’s key striker Oh Hyeon-gyu moved to Celtic, a prestigious club in Scotland, ahead of this season. Oh Hyun-kyu’s physical fighting ability and goal-making ability were the main reasons for his success in Europe, but his military service was also one of the factors that could not be ignored.
In fact, Postecoglu Celtic coach Postecoglu said in an interview with the club after signing Oh Hyun-kyu, “Korean players have to fulfill their duty of defense. One of Oh Hyun-kyu’s strengths is that he has already solved this problem. He freed his career by fulfilling his military service at an early age. “he said. From these remarks, it can be inferred that the fulfillment of military service is one of the important factors that determine whether Korean athletes go to Europe.
Oh Hyun-gyu, born in 2001, enlisted in May 2020, when he was less than 20 years old. Oh Hyun-kyu was a promising player as the first semi-professional field player in the K-League, signed as a high school student. When he chose Sangju Sangmu (predecessor of Gimcheon Sangmu) at a young age, there were many reviews that said it was unexpected.
At the time, Oh Hyeon-gyu explained through Sangju Sangmu, “I decided to enlist in the military early because I concluded that military life might be difficult, but it would be better to fulfill my duty at an early age.” As a result, this turned out to be the best option. Oh Hyeon-kyu, who was a reserve player without a uniform number at the Qatar World Cup, made a twist by becoming the only player who succeeded in transferring to Europe, beating out prominent seniors who played in the World Cup.
What is noteworthy is that not only Oh Hyun-gyu, but also those who received attention from European clubs such as Celtic this time, were all young players in their early 20s who, unfortunately, had completed their military service in Sangmu and were discharged.
Cho Kyu-seong (25), who received attention from Mainz in Germany as well as Celtic, was discharged after completing his military service in Gimcheon last September. Busan IPark defensive midfielder Kwon Hyeok-kyu (22), who received a love call from Celtic like Oh Hyun-kyu, is also the same military service number as Cho Kyu-seong.
Oh Hyun-kyu’s success in Europe and the popularity of former businessmen are expected to bring about changes in the way soccer prospects fulfill their military service. Promising players from the K-League began to boldly enlist as managing directors. Instead of winning a bronze medal at the Olympics or a gold medal at the Asian Games through the eye of a needle, there is an atmosphere that considers Sangmu as an alternative that allows him to continue his career as an athlete while serving in the military.
This is proven through the faces of the Kim Cheon Sangmu players who enlisted this time. Kim Cheon, executive director, was demoted from the first division to the second division last year, but he experienced a kind of contradiction in which his power was rather stronger.
In the case of Seongnam FC, after being relegated to the second division this year, a large number of key resources were transferred to other first division teams, but on the contrary, resources with outstanding skills came to Gimcheon, which was in the same relegation position. With national team resources such as Yoon Jong-gyu, Cho Young-wook, Park Min-gyu, and Kim Jin-gyu, and many players who went through age-specific representations such as Won Doo-jae, Lee Sang-min, Kim Jae-woo, and Kang Hyeon-mook enlisted, Gimcheon built a force that is considered the strongest in the 2nd division.
In particular, it is noticeable that a lot of young players came in this time. Yoon Jong-gyu (25), Jo Young-wook (24), Kim Jin-gyu (26), Won Doo-jae (26), Lee Sang-min (25), and Kang Hyeon-mook (22) are all in their early to mid-20s. After completing their service, they will grow one year older and return to their original teams in the second half of the K-League next year.
Looking at the age of players who were discharged from Sangmu last year, it seems that the age of enlistment at Sangmu has recently decreased. Koh Seung-beom (29), Park Ji-soo (29), and Song Joo-hun (29), who were discharged last December, are close to 30 years old. Gu Sung-yoon (29), Yeon Je-woon (29), Jeong Seung-hyeon (29), and Ha Chang-rae (29), who were discharged in September of the same year, were also close to the 30th line. All of them enlisted at the age of 27 or 28.
In this way, as more and more promising players like Oh Hyeon-kyu seek to fulfill their military service early and advance into Europe, managing director Kim Cheon is benefiting from it.
At the K-League 2 Opening Media Day held on the 21st, the biggest concern was Managing Director Kim Cheon. The remaining 12 teams all showed their vigilance by naming Kim Cheon as the league champion.
Seoul E-Land coach Park Choong-gyun said, “I think Kim Cheon is the number one player in the promotion because he has such a good squad.” Park Jin-seop, director of Busan I-Park, also said, “I think Kimcheon is the strongest.” Minister Lee Jeonnam Dragons coach made a bone-chilling joke, saying, “There are a lot of names in Gimcheon, but I don’t know why they come down (part 2) and make it difficult for other coaches.”
He must be screaming happy enough to receive the jealous gazes of other clubs, but managing director Kim Cheon also has concerns메이저사이트. It is pointed out that it is difficult to maintain organizational power as key players enlist and discharge repeatedly, and that it is fundamentally difficult to motivate members due to the nature of military service.
On Media Day, there was also a mention pointing out the limitations of managing director Kim Cheon.
Lee Woo-hyeong, coach of FC Anyang, pointed out, “Since Kim Cheon lived in the military base, our players are better in his private life (freedom).” Bucheon FC coach Lee Young-min said, “Kimcheon is discharged after 1 year and 6 months, so we are stronger in terms of organization.” Park Jin-seop, coach of Busan I-Park, pointed out, “Kim Cheon-eun will have difficulties in terms of organization as the players enlist and are discharged.”
As coaches of other K-League 2 teams have said, the splendid squads organized by Kim Cheon will be discharged en masse in the second half of next year. It is possible to achieve excellent results this year and win the second division and be promoted to the first division, but next year after these members leave, the possibility of being relegated to the second division cannot be ruled out.
However, if promising players choose to enlist instead of the Olympic team or the Asian Games team, as it is now, managing director Kim Cheon may have the opportunity to continue receiving excellent resources in the future.