At the end of the 2023 season, there was nothing but concern for Pohang. Head coach Kim Ki-dong, who had built Pohang into a solid club since 2019, left for FC Seoul. Attacking core Zeca (Shandong), Ko Young-joon (Partizan), Kim Seung-dae (Daejeon), and starting center backs Ha Chang-rae (Nagoya) and Grant (Tianjin) left. In the long run, that’s a lot of Cha and Po. New coach Park Tae-ha, who was appointed in December, has had less than two months to take over.
After undergoing major changes in such a short period of time, Pohang lifted the veil in the Asian Champions League (ACL). They faced off against heavy favorites Jeonbuk in the round of 16 in the first and second round. They were eliminated 1-3 (1-1), but that was enough to excite the fans, especially in the second leg at home. Even if Jeonbuk, who led 1-0, played passively, Pohang answered many of the question marks that had been raised earlier.
Forward Cho Jor-ji, who was recruited from Cheongju in Chungcheongbuk-do, definitely stood out. He was one of the best 11 strikers in the K League 2 last year (13 goals in 34 games). He dominated the second division, 바카라사이트 but we wondered how well he would do in the first division. Against Jeonbuk, the top-ranked team in the K League 1, he was a real threat. Lee Dong-hee, a central defender acquired from Bucheon FC, also performed well. There weren’t any immediate holes to worry about,
Park Tae-ha focused on the content rather than the result.
The ACL is important, but the team needs to focus on the league, which starts on March 1. “The result was disappointing, but the performance of our players deserves applause,” Park said. Pohang performed as well as they could given the lack of available players. The squad will be stronger when Kim Jong-woo, Baek Sung-dong, Jung Jae-hee, and Oberdan return from injury. Oberdan is trying to be fit for the opening match. Kim Jong-woo, Baek Sung-dong, and Jung Jae-hee are looking at the end of March.
“The players have gone through a lot of changes in a short period of time,” Park said, “but they have shown enough competitiveness. It will be an opportunity for them to gain confidence. I’m looking forward to it.”
Defender Park Chan-yong was also unhappy with the draw. “I felt we deserved to play in the first leg. The players were not intimidated and played their game. We always have confidence. That’s why we played boldly,” he reflected.
With Pohang showing off its strength, the 2024 season is now completely unpredictable.
Pohang finished second last year, but the team lost a lot of key players. The consensus was that they wouldn’t be able to hold on to the top spot. On top of that, FC Seoul, who missed out on Final A, made a big splash by signing Jesse Lingard from EPL’s Man United. Gwangju and Incheon have preserved their strength and are ripe for the taking under Lee Jung-hyo and Cho Sung-hwan. Jeonbuk and Ulsan are still in the championship hunt. Jeonbuk coach Dan Petrescu is also wary. Facing Pohang, Petrescu said, “They are a strong team. I think they will fight for the top three again this season. They have a lot of young players with good skills,” he said tongue-in-cheek.
Park said he was eager to play soccer with all his heart as the training camp came to a close. He said, “I don’t want to lose when Jangsu goes to war. 토토사이트 순위 It’s not easy, but we want to go higher than last year, and the players’ tactical understanding is quite high. We will definitely make it to the ACL. I think we have to go there and we will prepare.”
