Ulsan HD coach Kim Pan-gon expressed his determination to end the third consecutive Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE) League.
Ulsan will play the fourth game of the ACLE League Stage against Johor Darlle Takjim at 9 p.m. on the 5th (Korea Standard Time) at the Johor Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Malaysia.
Currently, Ulsan is ranked 12th at the bottom of the East Asian region due to its three consecutive losses. Johor is in fifth place with four points.
Ulsan secured an early victory in the 2024 season with a 2-1 victory over Gangwon FC in the K League 1 on the 1st. There was a change in the team when Hong Myung-bo left to lead the national team in the summer, but Kim Pan-gon took over the baton and brought the team back together based on experience. Under Kim’s leadership, Ulsan has reached the top of the league for three consecutive years.
Unlike their performances in the league, however, Ulsan has failed to display strength in the ACL elite. It has lost all three of its matches, struggling against Japanese J-League teams. In its first match against the Kawasaki Frontale, the team fell sharply to 0-1 at home, and 0-4 away against the Yokohama Marinos. In the ensuing match against Vissel Kobe, the team lost 0-2 and failed to keep its pride at home. During these three matches, Ulsan failed to score any goals, and lost as many as seven goals.
This Johor match is an important opportunity for Ulsan to change the atmosphere.
Coach Kim Pan-gon and player representative Kim Min-joon’s resolution before the game
▲ Resolution for the game
Coach Kim Pan-gon: We had such a disappointing result in the last three games. This is more important than that. We have to rebound and do our best to advance to the tournament. Johor evaluates it as one of the best teams in Southeast Asia. As everyone knows, Johor is not an easy team, so we expect a tough game. We also have no place to retreat. As it is an away game for Johor, we will do our best to win three points.
▲ He left the Malaysian national team and returned after two to three months.
Coach Kim Pan-gon: I know about Johor really well. I also know that there are not many teams that do well at Johor’s home and it is not easy. We are also nervous because the results are not good in the away match against Johor.
Still, there are some positives. After 100 days, I came back to Malaysia. I am happy to meet the players I loved. Also, we will do our best to perform well as we are in Malaysia.
Kim Min-jun: It was really hard to come this far. Every time we come to Johor every year, we keep losing. I think we are a completely different team from then. The coach’s soccer color has also changed. I think the opponent will find us very difficult in this game. As I came from a long distance, I really want to win and go. I haven’t tasted the ACLE victory yet, so I want to win and go back.
▲ There are no foreign players restricted in the new format ACLE. How do I watch it?
Manager Kim Pan-gon: In our case, we have some injured players in Ulsan, so we regret not being able to bring them in. Johor is an optimized team for such a system in the ACLE stage. So I think he will show good performance.
Johor’s team itself is quite aggressive and has a philosophy of dominating the game. On top of that, I think the level of players has also increased a lot. Still, the last three games we played recently were good. So I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s game a lot.
▲ If you were to pick a threatening player in tomorrow’s game?
Coach Kim Pan-gon: “I think it’s Arif Ayman (born in 2002 as Malaysian national team striker, who has three goals in two matches for ACLE). When I look at recent matches such as ACLE, I think he has displayed great quality and performance. And he is paying attention to his performance as well. Looking at him, I think he will become the best talent in Asia.
▲ I don’t get many opportunities in the league, so I think I can appeal positively to the coach in this game. What turning points do you want to make?
Kim Min-jun: I didn’t play many games in the league, but my team is that strong. In addition, the atmosphere of the team is good because I came from Korea to win the K League 1. Regardless of the opportunity, I want to focus on tomorrow’s game. I think the first thing is to play hard for the team rather than appeal. 토토사이트
▲ The three consecutive wins seem to have resulted from focusing only on winning the K-League. Are you focusing on ACLE now?
Kim Min-jun: We came here after winning the championship, but we are not drunk on it yet. We only celebrated on that day. We still have the league and a lot of Korea Cup and ACLE games left. The coach asked us to clear up the loss quickly. The players said, “Let’s not get drunk on winning the K League 1 anymore and just think about tomorrow’s game.”