“I didn’t care at all. I just went my own way.”
Coach Hwang Seon-hong (55) achieved the great feat of winning three consecutive Asian Games soccer titles. Even though he suffered from a lot of criticism before the competition, he did not give in and ultimately proved it with the results.
Korea, led by coach Hwang Seon-hong, was down 0-1 against Japan in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games men’s soccer final held at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, but won 2-1 and won the gold medal.
This is their third consecutive win following Incheon in 2014 and Jakarta-Palembang in 2018.
Even before the competition, Coach Hwang was at the center of controversy due to mistakes in player selection and disappointing performance. Nevertheless, he silently went his own way and eventually gave rise to the term ‘Hwang Seon-hong Magic’ with his flawless process and results.
Director Hwang Seon-hong smiling while waiting for the awards ceremony. /Photo=Korea Football Association
Coach Hwang, who held a press conference after the game, already looked to the future. “This is not the end. Tomorrow, we will yearn for something and work hard to continue it, and the meaning of a leader is to quietly go our own way,” he said. “Winning only gives us one day. We also have to prepare for the preliminaries, so we have to work again from tomorrow.” “I have an idea,” he said.
As for the secret to winning, he explained, “We spent a lot of time on defense, and the offense had very strong personalities, so I think the key to success was that we put together a puzzle that fit the players instead of fitting them into a mold.”
Coach Hwang Seon-hong, who rarely smiled, only showed a bright smile after winning. He similarly made his players let down their guard. “I thanked the players and told them that they had worked hard, and the reason I maintained tension throughout the tournament was because the tournament was psychologically important, so I tried to control it a lot by telling them to go a little heavy at times and have fun at other times. Many of them may have been for broadcast (answers),” he said, smiling. “I don’t hate it that much. I like it,” he said with a smile.
Coach Hwang, who is looking at the Paris Olympics, said, “Soccer is becoming more and more detailed. We need support. In this tournament, we worked with the physical part, but the reason we replaced Jung Woo-young after 60 minutes is because the player’s performance is high-intensity in 60 minutes. “This is because everything is exhausted. If these details are not supported, soccer will not be easy in the future,” he said with determination.메이저사이트
Jung Woo-young (right) is presenting his gold medal to Director Hwang.
He continued, “That’s why we need to work together to increase the number of people in the physical and analysis departments so that we can provide better service to the players. This is not an extremely personal issue, and unless we really work together, Korean soccer cannot develop.” said.
I was able to hear a more honest answer from Director Hwang Seon-hong, whom I met again in the joint reporting area (mixed zone). Regarding the reason why Baek Seung-ho hugged him after winning the championship, he said, “Seung-ho must have been thrilled. Normally, I have to cry to make a picture,” and “He must have been desperate. I was desperate too. I told Seung-ho not to worry at all (about public criticism). All the players would be gathered together. “I told the players not to even look at the comments, because that’s what I experienced,” he said.
He continued, “I don’t care about that at all. You just have to do what you have to do. I have experience with things like that in the future, so I have to overcome them all. It’s something that can’t be done. Even if I do my best, they won’t understand. There’s nothing I can do about it.” “There is nothing and I just quietly do my job. There is no reason to worry about others,” he emphasized.
Of course, I looked at the criticism directed at my students with a sad gaze. Coach Hwang said, “I feel sorry when my juniors get criticized by the media. Please stop criticizing me. What kind of person am I? I’m just doing my best. (Regarding the fact that the probability of winning before the competition was 35%) Bring everyone with you. Even before the competition, I told the players, ‘You guys are the best’ and ‘I’m confident that there won’t be any problems inside.’ I don’t want to worry about what’s said outside. I’ve been criticized to the point of being ground to dust, but I always do that. “What’s there to worry about? I’m just doing my job.”