Journeyman Kim Da-sol (35, FC Anyang), who has been through a lot of hardships, smiled broadly, announcing a splendid revival in the twilight of his players. The veteran, who was on the verge of retiring as a player, is aiming for the best goalkeeper position in K League 2.
After a press conference to win and promote the K League 2 title, Kim Da-sol told reporters at the soccer center in Sinmun-ro, Seoul on Sunday morning, “I haven’t attended an award ceremony in my 15th year. I really want to win the Best 11 award this year. I think I have a lot of time left in my career.”
Starting with the Pohang Steelers in 2010, Kim Da-sol joined Anyang last year after playing for Daejeon Citizen (currently Daejeon Hana Citizen) and Incheon United. In his seventh career team, Kim Da-sol made a brilliant contribution to his first promotion as Anyang’s main goalkeeper since the club was founded, scoring 33 goals in 34 games.
During his time in Jeonnam, Kim Da-sol suffered from a cruciate ligament injury and a ruptured Achilles tendon. He thought about retiring at an age beyond his prime, but was able to survive on the professional stage thanks to Anyang’s reaching out. “I was also upset to leave Jeonnam after a major injury,” Kim Da-sol recalled. “I was even more desperate because goalkeeper coach Choi Ik-hyung and coach Yoo Byung-hoon called me. I was even more desperate because I came to Anyang after changing my teeth.”
Kim Da-sol said, “I didn’t know if I would be able to play soccer again. Actually, I thought about going to the K3 line. Actually, I signed a one-year contract when I came to Anyang. I had no choice but to prove it,” and added, “Now I am at an age when I retire. I want to play for a long time in the same team and have a retirement ceremony.”
Anyang, which became a powerhouse in the K League 2, was always frustrated at the threshold of promotion. It was fatal to slip in the final destination even after accumulating a good number of points in the first half. This season was different. Although it lost three consecutive games in late September, it quickly became on track to win the K League 2 title and confirm direct promotion.
“I wanted to change my bad perception of myself a lot. I wanted to repay the fans,” Kim said. “As captain Lee Chang-yong (34) said, the love from the fans was so impressive. I wanted to show good performance. I tried to prove my trust.” 토토사이트
“Anyang has invested a lot in the past three years. There have been many good players. I felt Anyang is not an easy team in South Jeolla Province,” he said. “I wanted to get promoted somehow. However, I let go of the pressure. I did it with the mindset of a challenger. I think this mindset worked well when I was the first Robin.”
Kim Da-sol said, “Fans can always show their support in every match. However, it is difficult for a player to display his best performance in every match. Young players sometimes have a hard time because of social networking services (SNS). “It was amazing how Ahn Yang-yang plays. Fans give strong trust to players. I felt like they were really nice. That made the players even more desperate.”