“Are you going to fight or give up. I chose the former, and I won’t give up and fight.”
It was last June. Hwang Sun-hong (56), who was appointed as the manager of Daejeon Hana Citizen in the K-League 1, expressed his strong commitment at the inaugural press conference. At that time, Hwang had a reason to choose to give up. He failed to advance to the 2024 Paris Olympics only two months ago, leading the U-23 national team. The result of Hwang’s failed advance to the Olympics for the first time in 40 years also left a fatal stain on his leadership career.
“Even now, my heart aches and my stomach aches when I think about the failure (to advance to the Olympics),” Hwang said. “I thought it was important whether I would fall down or stand up again. At this point, I thought that the most important thing is to trust myself and try again,” Hwang said, explaining why he accepted the position as coach of Daejeon just two months after his failed bid to advance to the Olympics. He was determined to continue his challenge rather than sitting down after the Olympic disaster.
In fact, there were strong voices of criticism and concern. There were also criticisms from the outside that he might be returning to the soccer world too soon after the failure to remain in the history of Korean soccer. There were many concerns even within Daejeon. After converting to a corporate team in Daejeon in 2020, he was appointed as the first manager and retired less than a year after his contract period, and there were also questions about his “leadership” that could lead the rebound of Daejeon, which was in the relegation zone to 11th place at the time.
“I am well aware of fans’ opinions and concerns,” Hwang said, but calmly started reorganizing his team. He said the only way is to prove it at the stadium. He also had ups and downs in the beginning. Although Hwang won in his debut match against Gwangju FC in June, he ended up with no win (three draws and four losses) in seven consecutive matches and even plummeted to the bottom of the league. Some even criticized that Hwang’s leadership career is now over if he fails to prevent Daejeon from being demoted following his failed advance to the Olympics.
However, Hwang propped up players on a massive scale with support from his parent company to pave the way for a rebound. He has aggressively reorganized his team by recruiting national team defender Kim Moon-hwan, Martha (Japan), Choi Geon-ju, Lee Sang-min, and Bob Shin (Brazil). He has elevated the completeness of his tactics by appointing former Tokushima Bortis (Japan) coach Yoshida Tatsuma as his tactical coach. With a large number of newly recruited players under Hwang, Daejeon has become a completely different team in the first half and the second half.
It began to produce results in August. It had four wins and one draw, including its first consecutive win of the season through the match against Suwon FC and Incheon United. Although it slowed down due to two consecutive losses at the end of the regular season, it had three wins and one draw in the final round, where direct competition for survival took place. In the end, he won 2-1 away to Incheon on the 10th, directly confirming his remaining in the K League 1 regardless of the result of the final match. He achieved his first goal of staying when he took office.
Daejeon fans have also changed their minds. Fans in Daejeon who filled all the away cheering seats at the Incheon Football Stadium shouted Hwang Sun-hong’s name right after the team was confirmed to stay, and Hwang responded to those fans with a big bow. He exchange water washing with the players, and enjoyed the joy of confirming his stay. Seven wins, three draws and two losses since August. It was meaningful that he did not narrowly decide to stay, but shared hope for the next season amid a steep rise. 안전놀이터
Coach Hwang Sun-hong, who breathed a sigh of relief after the game, has already looked at next year. Coach Hwang said, “You should never give up. I think life is a series of challenges, as there is a saying that if you stand up for a hard time, that is the end. Hwang Sun-hong’s appearance is not letting go of himself and challenging himself,” looking back on the situation when he took office in June. He then said, “This is the beginning. There is still a long way to go. A team that fans can understand more needs to be made.” It was the moment when Hwang’s turbulent 2024 ended with a “happy ending.”