Yang Min-hyuk said Yoo Byung-hun, a native of Matan High School, a youth at Suwon Samsung, who recently came to Gangwon Province, is a player worthy of his successor.
The “Hana Bank K League 2024 Grand Prize Ceremony” was held at the Grand Hotel in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul on Tuesday. Winners and candidates from each team that were selected in the Best Coach, Most Valuable Player (MVP), Young Player, and the Best 11 categories were at the ceremony.
Young player of the K League 1 was Yang. Yang received 11 votes for the coach, 10 for the captain, and 115 for the media. His conversion score was a whopping 92.16 points.
Yang Min-hyuk, a former Gangwon youth player, debuted in the K-League as a semi-professional contract player this season. He started from the opening game and scored a goal 32 seconds after the start of the game, and in the second round, he scored 12 goals and six assists in less than two minutes. In all K-League matches (38 games) this season, he became the youngest player to break all records of his club, including participation, scoring and attacking points, and changed his contract to an official professional player during the season. He also joined Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League in July, and led Gangwon to the runner-up finish line up with a hot year as a young player and MVP candidate in his debut season.
Yang Min-hyuk said in a press conference after the ceremony, “I am honored and happy to receive two big awards. I am grateful to everyone,” adding, “I am glad that I received the Young Player Award because I performed well for my age. All three MVP candidates are good players, so I wanted to congratulate anyone, and (Cho) Hyun-woo was happy to receive and congratulated me.”
“Personally, I want to give more meaning to my 38th game. I was able to increase my attack points because I was able to participate in the entire K-League 1 match.”
Unlike other players whose families participated and shared their joy, Yang Min-hyuk’s parents watched his son win a big award on TV at home. He also contacted them via messenger to congratulate them on winning two awards.
Yang Min-hyuk said, “There’s no particular reason why my parents didn’t come. My parents are shy, and I wanted to be serious rather than laughing too much. I think that’s why I’m seen as such because I’m shy and timid.” At Tottenham Hotspur, he also expressed his determination to adapt successfully by reducing shyness.
Yang picked winter training as one of the most difficult moments of the season. “I thought it was difficult during the first winter training session. I came to the professional league and lived with the older brothers, but it was awkward to train with the players I always watched on TV. Still, the older brothers approached me and acknowledged me, so I was able to adapt well to the professional league by turning the difficulties into confidence,” he said.
Yang Min-hyuk is leaving now, but Gangwon wants a “second Yang Min-hyuk.” Gangwon has become a well-known promising player in name and reality, producing Kim Ji-hyun in 2019, Yang Hyun-joon in 2022, and Yang Min-hyuk this year. Kim Byung-ji, 메이저사이트 CEO of Gangwon Province, has also expressed his willingness to make the number 47 a special rising star.
The player Yang Min-hyuk recommended was unexpectedly from Matango. “I know that there will be a lot of good enough players next season. Personally, I would like to recommend Yoo Byung-hun. I have become acquainted with him in the U17 national team, and he is capable enough.”
Yoo Byung-hun recently left Matan High School and is reportedly training in Gangwon Province. “Yoo Byung-hun is currently attending Matan High School, but he joined our team when he left Matan High School to train. It is not well known, but it is true that he will join the team next year,” coach Yoon Jung-hwan admitted.