‘Veteran’ Choi Chul-soon (36, Jeonbuk Hyundai) made no excuses for the ‘shock loss’.
Jeonbuk, led by Dan Petrescu, suffered a 0-2 defeat against Ryan City at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Jalan Besar, Singapore on Aug. 8 (KST) in the fourth leg of their Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) Group F match.레모나토토 주소
With the result, Jeonbuk and Lion City are tied at two wins, two losses, and six points apiece. With a one-goal lead on goal difference, Jeonbuk is now one spot above Ryan City in second place.
Jeonbuk conceded the first goal in the 22nd minute. Zivkovic dedicated the goal with a non-stop right-footed shot. They conceded another goal to Djivkovic 10 minutes into the second half. In the end, they couldn’t avoid defeat.
After the game, coach Dan Petrescu said, “It didn’t go exactly the way we wanted. There were injuries, fatigue, etc. Ryan City hadn’t played an official match for a long time, so they were fresh. But they played the game they wanted to play. But it didn’t go the way we wanted it to go.”
Choi Chul-soon, a Jeonbuk veteran, said, “It’s very disappointing to lose such an important game. It’s been a long time since I played, and I’m sorry for the players. I’m also sorry for the fans. I was supposed to help them stabilize the atmosphere on the field, but I couldn’t do that, and that’s the biggest regret.”
Jeonbuk was at a disadvantage on this day, as the players who had always played on natural grass at Jeonju Castle had to quickly adapt to the artificial turf at Ryan City. It was a huge advantage for the home team, but a disadvantage for Jeonbuk.
However, Choi Chul-soon said, “Talking about natural grass is just an excuse. It’s because we didn’t prepare properly. We needed to turn the tide with the win against Ryan City, but we couldn’t do that. I, as a senior, should try harder. I should have led the way,” he said, hanging his head.
“When you play a lot of games in a short period of time, the players’ fatigue level goes up. I should have been the one to set the tone that we can do well, but I didn’t do a good job,” he said.
Midway through the second half, there were some Ryan City players on the ground, even though it wasn’t a big fight. “It can happen in soccer,” Choi said. I think it’s inevitable. We will do our best to avoid such situations in the future.”
At the end of the group stage, the top team from each group (five from East Asia and five from West Asia) will automatically qualify for the round of 16. The top three second-place teams from each region will also qualify for the round of 16.
Choi concluded, “We have two games left. We need to prepare well. We need to prepare well.” Choi encouraged the players to work together to win.
Finally, he said, “My pride is bruised. We didn’t win any trophies. I’m sorry, and I’ll try to do a better job on the field than with words,” he emphasized.