“The time has come to produce results.”
Starting as the youngest coach in the K-League 2 (Second League), coach Park Dong-hyeok of Chungnam-Asan, who is about to enter the 6th season, gave strength to his voice. Coach Park said at the ‘2023 K-League Winter Training Media Camp’ held at the Parev Hotel in Seogwipo, Jeju on the 26th, “I thought (the past) 3 years was a preparation process. I thought it was a time to build a team. Good football last year. I think the results have not come out in three years. It will be the same this year, but the time has come to produce results.”
Director Park, born in 1979, took the baton of the ‘military and police team’ Asan Mugunghwa and made his command tower debut. In his first season, he recorded 21 wins, 9 draws and 6 losses, demonstrating his leadership. However, apart from his leadership, the team situation was not good. Asan Mugunghwa started a new start as a citizen team, Chungnam Asan. Coach Park stayed with 5 wins, 7 draws and 15 losses as the first coach of Chungnam Asan in 2020.
On and off the field things were not good. Chungnam Asan spent the 2022 season without foreign players. The total annual salary of domestic players was only 1.81 billion won. It was ranked 10th out of 11 K-League 2 clubs. There are frequent departures from the team. Ahead of the 2022 season, Chungnam Asan had to send Kim In-kyun, the “Young Player Award,” and Yoo Kang-hyun, the “scoring king,” to other teams this season. Thirteen people have already changed this season.
Director Park was not shaken. He kept the team even stronger. Chungnam-Asan recorded 11 wins, 8 draws and 17 losses in 2021 and 13 wins, 13 draws and 14 losses in 2022. Coach Park led Chungnam-Asan as a ‘team that is not easily seen’.
He cited ‘communication’ and ‘trust’ as the secret to growth. Coach Park said, “The players are well aware of the direction we want to play football. The direction we want will come out not only from the staff but also from the mouths of veteran players. We communicate a lot. We are all working together,” he said.
“In fact, I think reliability with the players is important. How much trust is built up and how well I communicate with the players seems to play an important role for me. Because I have faith, I feel comfortable on the field, and because I have trust, I feel more comfortable on the field. I think we have a sense of responsibility. In fact, our team has rarely collapsed easily. Last year, it was only one or two games out of 40. I think it has become stronger through faith.” 안전놀이터
Coach Park and the players are preparing for the new season by sticking together as one. He said, “I think we have to go with the goal of advancing to the playoffs (PO). Not only me but the players will think so too. , I am confident in teamwork. I look forward to achieving my goal if only goals are scored in the absence of Yoo Kang-hyun.”
“The worry is that the players keep changing. It is difficult to carry out 100% of what was planned. “We need to find a player to do it. Only with a player can we lead the league for a long time. If only that part is done, I think we can challenge beyond the playoffs.”