Hong Myung-bo, Heading to the National Team, Will he Lead Ulsan to the Top and Have a Beautiful Farewell?
Pohang in 3rd place with 5 games undefeated, Gangwon in 4th place with 2 consecutive wins… Clash between top teams.
Will Coach Hong Myung-bo, who received the crown of the Korean national football team, be able to say a 'beautiful farewell' after leading Ulsan HD to the top of the professional football K League 1?
Ulsan will play the 22nd round home game of the Hana Bank K League 1 2024 against Gwangju FC at Ulsan Munsu Stadium at 7:30 PM on the 10th.
The Korea Football Association held a press conference on the 8th and explained the background of appointing Ulsan coach Hong Myung-bo as the head coach of the national football team, and announced that he will be in charge until the 2027 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia in January.
However, it has not been decided exactly when Coach Hong, who is currently leading the Ulsan team, will begin his duties with the national team.
Coach Hong is expected to step down from his post as Ulsan manager soon after consulting with the club.
Lee Im-saeng, the technical director of the Korea Football Association, said, “This is because Ulsan has cooperated with the association and helped develop Korean football,” and “We will discuss the plan that Ulsan wants.”
Ulsan, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, has recorded 11 wins, 6 draws, and 4 losses in 21 games, accumulating 39 points and is in second place behind first-place Gimcheon Sangmu (40 points).
In a situation where they had been consistently competing for the lead since the beginning of the season, they faced the unexpected situation of a leadership vacuum right after turning the corner.
The points gap between the top teams is very close.
If they slip in one game, even if they are in the lead, they can fall two to three places in an instant.
Following 1st place Gimcheon and 2nd place Ulsan, 3rd place Pohang Steelers (38 points) and 4th place Gangwon FC (37 points) are also closely behind with only 1 point difference.
Ulsan club and players cannot help but be shaken after losing their successful captain in an instant.
In this situation, attention is focused on whether Coach Hong Myung-bo will part ways after putting Ulsan back in the lead.
Ulsan, which has recorded 1 draw and 1 loss in its last 2 games, can return to the top if it defeats 8th place Gwangju.
Gwangju is in the middle of a fight for the middle ranks.
6th place FC Seoul (27 points), 7th place Jeju United (28 points), and 8th place Gwangju are neck and neck in the rankings with a 1 point gap.
Gwangju’s atmosphere is not very good.
They have 1 win and 3 losses in the last 4 games, so they are slowly accumulating points.
Um Ji-seong, the key player of the offense who could play as a midfielder, winger, and striker, has been sent to Swansea City in the English 2nd division.
In this situation, if they beat Ulsan, a top-ranking team, they can not only get 3 points but also fill the team with confidence.
Pohang and Gangwon will face off at the Pohang Steel Yard at the same time.
The two teams have been maintaining a good form recently, and are tied for 3rd and 4th place with one point difference.
Pohang has 2 wins and 3 draws in the last 5 games, undefeated.
Gangwon has shown perfect harmony between offense and defense by playing shutout games during their 2-game winning streak.
Attention is focused on whether Pohang can shake off Gangwon's pursuit, or whether Gangwon will surpass Pohang and further raise its ranking.
