The Pohang Steelers, which struggled for six consecutive losses, rebounded with three consecutive wins as if they never did that. “It was all thanks to the fans,” said Park Tae-ha, manager of the Pohang Steelers. He thanked the Pohang Steelers, but said, “I still feel sorry,” adding, “I will repay you with good performance from now on.”
Pohang defeated Shanghai Port 3-0 in the second round of the 2024-2025 Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) East Asian League Stage at Pohang Steelyard on the 1st. Shanghai Port is the winning team of last year’s Chinese Super League and the leading powerhouse this year. Pohang has won two consecutive league games and three consecutive ACLE games.
Up until just two weeks ago, the mood at Pohang was at rock bottom. At one point in the summer, Pohang was leading the K-League and knocked on the championship title. Prior to the season, Pohang’s performance was evaluated as top split (final A) at best, which was a huge sensation. However, as the team passed through August, a great ordeal came. It lost six consecutive league games, falling to sixth place. Rather than winning a championship, it was pushed to a position where it had to worry about the bottom split (final B). Notably, its six consecutive losses were the most for the first time since the foundation of Pohang.
K-League coaches are so unsafe that even some even say that they are “short for a fly’s life.” For the moment, Jeonbuk, Daegu, Daejeon, and Incheon replaced coaches just this season. If K-League 2 expands to include K-League 2, Seongnam coach Busan, Suwon, Ansan, and Seongnam dropped out of the team. Despite the burden of demotion and promotion, supporters’ voices have grown louder than in the past due to brisk SNS activities. They give supporters greater support than anyone else when they receive support systematically, but when they turn around, they are most frightening. They block a team bus on their way home after a match, or collectively shout slogans such as “Who is leaving?” and express their opinions by hanging a provocative word.
However, Pohang fans waited. They silently cheered for Pohang. Coach Park Tae-ha said, “The fans are the biggest. I’m not just saying this. Actually, I want the paradigm to change a little, but I also can’t get out of that responsibility. But our Pohang supporters took a different approach.” He said, “Blocking buses or hanging hangers is a real burden. It’s true that the coach has to take responsibility, but it affects the players as well.” He also said, “Our players made tremendous efforts in the first half. So we created a good situation, but things kept getting twisted afterwards. The problem could have become very serious. Still, I think we got through it because the fans were harmonized with the players to accurately recognize the situation and try to overcome it.” 먹튀검증
I could not afford to laugh to my heart’s content already. Three consecutive wins have healed the pain of losing six games less. “I can’t forget it already because I feel like I’ve overcome this. I still can’t go to the supporters’ seats. I feel sorry for that. I can’t stand in front of my fans. I should never forget this pain until the end of the season. Then, I think that will be the driving force to maintain the current level of performance. Let’s not forget it,” coach Park Tae-ha said.
As of the 32nd round of the K-League, Pohang is ranking fourth by accumulating 50 points. It is eight points behind Ulsan, the first place, and two points behind Gangwon, the third place. There is a good chance that the team will advance further. The final round of the Korea Cup is also left in November.