"The strong do not make excuses..."This time, I'll try to conquer Asia"

"The strong do not make excuses..."This time, I'll try to conquer Asia"

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Gwangju FC manager Lee Jung-hyo is the best star produced by the K-League of Korea professional soccer. With his extraordinary star quality, he has received tremendous attention from Korean soccer fans every time Gwangju games are held, and he has a golden opportunity to promote his name to the world.
If Gwangju, which has a total annual salary of only 9.6 billion won, overpowers Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), which is about 280 billion won, and advances to the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Champions League Elite (ACLE), Lee will now have a special modifier, "the head coach who created a miracle." Gwangju will clash with Al Hilal at 1:30 a.m. on the 26th (Korea time) at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

In a recent interview with Maeil Business, Lee said, "As I reached the quarterfinals with difficulty, I want to go to the finals. If I prepare well, I think I can overcome strong teams such as Al Hilal. The prize money of 10 million U.S. dollars and 4 million dollars, respectively, are at stake, and I will earn as much prize money as possible."

Coach Lee, who was appointed as Gwangju's head coach in 2022 after going to Ajou University, has won the K League 2 over the past three years and achieved his first advance to the ACLE quarterfinals. Lee's achievements are drawing attention because they were created in Gwangju, where there are not many star players.

Lee's resourcefulness is the key to producing results even under poor circumstances, in which key players are sent away every year. Lee, one of the leading strategists in the K-League 1, is famous for his ever-changing tactics of improving players' skills and overwhelming opponents.

Manager Lee said, "Gwangju's propaganda was not made by me alone. I think it is the result of players, coaching staff, and club officials working together to achieve it. In particular, thanks to players' outpouring of more than 100 percent at the stadium, the ship called Gwangju seems to be heading in the right direction."

Al Hilal, where Gwangju will face off in the ACLE quarterfinals, has a large number of star players who have performed very well on the European stage, including João Cancelo, Hoobeng Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly. It is an ultra-luxury corps known to exceed the entire salary of the Gwangju team with an average annual salary of about 10 billion won per player.

However, Lee did not pay much attention. He expressed his strong commitment to play like Gwangju, just like he did in the K League 1 and the ACLE Round of 16. "Let's not give excuses to players because what I say the most to them," Lee said. "Strong players never blame their surroundings," he said. "When you start to fight, there is no end. As much as you can achieve anything with consistent efforts, I will try to trust the sweat drops you shed with the players."

"If I advance to the finals and win prize money, I want to use it to build infrastructure for my club such as club houses, stadiums and practice fields. I also want to give bonuses to players as they fought against each other on the field," he added.

Lee, who puts the team's atmosphere first, has never put the authority of the head coach. Since 2022, when he led Gwangju, Lee has been following the club's decision on all his schedules, including vacations and training. 스포츠토토 "I have to take the initiative as a coach so that the players can trust me and follow me. If you set the team's schedule to yourself just because you are a coach, you cannot earn trust from the players," he said.
Lee said he feels the best when he sees players developing in the right direction and likes his nickname, "Hyo-bu-ji." Lee is considering only his skills for the best 11 players and other players who will be substituted in the second half. "His career and age are not important at all. "When I decide who will participate, I only look at my skills," he said. "I try to give as much opportunity as possible to a player who tries hard. It's impossible for me not to participate in the game because I was caught by the coach."