“Has the energy of the universe been driven?”… Opening 3 consecutive wins, Ulsan Hong Myung-bo, 3rd year, I can feel the strength
‘Defending Champ’ Ulsan Hyundai’s early momentum stands out. It is the only K-League 1 12 team to achieve 3 consecutive victories since the opening and is in the leading position. Last year, they succeeded in winning the title for the first time in 17 years, but they have to overcome the fierce challenges of competing clubs this season. However, it is an early trend to have confidence rather than burden.
The driving force was the 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Jeonbuk Hyundai, which was held as the official opening game on the 25th of last month. Afterwards, Gangwon FC won 1-0 on the 5th and FC Seoul 2-1 on the 12th. As they have won three consecutive victories against formidable opponents, there is an opinion that Ulsan’s momentum will continue for the time being.이브벳 토토
The attitude of not being satisfied with the third star in the league last year stands out. Celebrating the ‘3rd year of protection Hong Myung’, all players have upgraded the team spirit as well as the tactical color that the coach is aiming for. In the process of winning two come-from-behind victories and wisely defending the close 1-0 score, the changed Ulsan’s strength was clearly demonstrated.First of all, the ‘new captain’ Jung Seung-hyun is playing a strong role in defense without superfluity. Naturally, the central defense partner, Kim Young-kwon, makes up his mind and advances according to the game situation, and also plays a role in opening the way for the team’s attack. Defensive midfielder Park Yong-woo is performing well even if he goes to the national team right away. It’s to the point where Vojanić, a Swedish foreigner, can’t play.Since the back is strong, the strength of the front striker is also doubled. Um Won-sang, who scored consecutive goals against Jeonbuk and Gangwon, played a decisive role in the team’s championship last year, but lost the league MVP and best 11 to Lee Cheong-yong. He once ended the year on a bitter note when he was also eliminated from the final roster for the World Cup in Qatar. Instead, he had poison all season. After scoring a valuable equalizer against Jeonbuk, he masterfully controlled Park Yong-woo’s long pass from behind and beat the goalkeeper to score the winning goal against Gangwon. Eom Won-sang’s high-level offensive development played a part in the come-from-behind victory against Seoul. Ataru Esaka, who came in as a substitute after Japanese midfielder Jun Amano left, is also doing his job, and goal scorer Joo Min-gyu, who returned to Ulsan after four years, woke up after reporting a comeback goal against Seoul.
What stood out in the winning process was that the opponent’s defensive team made two decisive mistakes, which is rare. In the match against Jeonbuk, goalkeeper Kim Jeong-hoon missed the ball given by captain Jeong-ho Hong, leading to Rubikson’s winning goal. In the game against Seoul, goalkeeper Choi Cheol-won mistook a teammate’s back pass for a second and caught it with his hand, resulting in an indirect free kick, and Lee Chung-yong scored the winning goal. This is why an official from the K-League multiple clubs jokes, saying, “It seems that the energy of the universe has been concentrated in Ulsan this year.”
Even so, it is not easy to cleverly figure out all the mistakes and connect them to the goal. A successful team has a well-balanced performance for each position, and the players express the manager’s intentions well on the ground. Along with that comes luck. At the beginning of the season, Ulsan Hong Myung-bo is like that.