“I’m happy to win the K-League and J-League Coach Award for the first time as a Korean.”
Gangwon FC manager Yoon Jung-hwan (51), who led the K League 1 “Gangwon Fairy Tale” this season, smiled with a special emotion after receiving the Coach of the Year award.
Yoon won the K-League 1 coaching award at the Hana Bank K-League 2024 Awards held at the Grand Hotel in Hongeun-dong, Seoul on Sunday. “It is meaningful to receive the coaching award. I want to thank all the media here. In fact, this award is not just mine. It was helped by many players, coaches, support staff and front office of the team,” he said in a press conference.
After serving as a firefighter in Gangwon Province, which was struggling to be demoted last season, Yoon transformed his team into an attack-oriented soccer game this season, and led the team to the second place with the best record in history. Gangwon, which had strong defense characteristics before, scored 62 goals in 38 league matches to tie for the top scorer with Ulsan HD (62 goals), which won the title. He also spent a meaningful season in terms of content, discovering 18-year-old Young Gun Yang Min-hyuk and making good performances by changing the positions of key players including Hwang Moon-ki, Lee Ki-hyuk and Lee Yoo-hyun. The team has been praised for opening a new future for the provincial and provincial teams with poor conditions.
The MVP, manager award, young player award, and best 11 players will be decided by votes from the coaches (30 percent), captains (30 percent), and media (40 percent). Yoon received as many as seven votes each from the coaches and captains. Media votes earned 89 out of 116 votes overall. The votes were overwhelming. He garnered 65.69 points in combined score, beating Ulsan coach Kim Pan-gon (17.33 points), who led the team to its third consecutive win in the K League 1, and Chung Jeong-yong (16.98 points), who led the team’s Gimcheon Sangmu.
Coach Kim led Ulsan to the championship, but the obstacle was that the number of games (9 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in 13 games) was small due to his appointment as a firefighter during the season. It is the first time in four years that a head coach other than the winning team has received the manager’s award at the K League 1 awards ceremony since Kim Ki-dong, the current FC Seoul coach who led Pohang to third place in 2020. In terms of the overall K-League, Yoon is the fourth coach after O Ji-ryong (Incheon, runner-up) in 2005, Park Kyung-hoon (Jeju, runner-up) in 2010, and Kim Ki-dong in 2020.
He also won the J-League Coach of the Year award in 2017 when he was leading the Japanese team Cerezo Osaka. At the time, Yoon won the Cup and the Japanese King’s Cup title, achieving double titles (two gold medals). He also ranked third in the league and secured a berth to the Asian Champions League early. As he became the best coach in the K-League in seven years, he became the first Korean to win the Korea-Japan Coach of the Year award.
“I didn’t think of a coach award when I came to the K-League. No matter how successful the team is, I didn’t think deeply about it because there was a winning team (Ulsan) and another leader,” Yoon said. “Thank you for giving me the coach award.”
Next is Director Yoon’s question and answer
- How do you feel about winning the K League 1 Coach Award.
It is meaningful to receive the Coach Award. I thank all the media here. Actually, this award is not just mine. There were many players, coaches, support staff, and front office of the team.
- He received the J-League Coach Award in 2017. As he also received the K-League Award in seven years, he became the first Korean to receive the Korea-Japan Coach Award.
Back then, the performance of the team (Cerezo Osaka) was much better than that of today. As the team won the championship, I had confidence that I would win the award. When I joined the K-League, I had never thought about winning the title of coach. No matter how successful the team was, I did not think deeply about it because there was the winning team (Ulsan) and another leader. “Thank you for giving me the award. It is good to receive it whether it is in Japan or here. I am also pleased to become the first coach (to receive an award from both countries).”
- It is the first time in four years that a team other than the champion won the Coach Award. What do you think was the driving force.
I think the people here must have felt a lot while watching our team’s soccer. It has changed a lot compared to the color of Gangwon soccer until last year. A new star player came out, and I think that would have appealed the most. Also, the team’s atmosphere was good enough to be compared to other teams. They gave me tickets considering various parts.
- Gangwon had a winter training camp in Turkiye last winter.
It was unique. Other teams were going to Thailand or Southeast Asia, but we were the only ones going to Turkiye. I drew what I wanted to do this year through many games there. As a result, I think it was a great plus for the team. Yang Min-hyuk also met for the first time and took a peek at the possibility. While transferring to Turkiye, I expected that I could get a job in the K-League, but I didn’t know this much. However, I was confident that I could do it.
- Regarding the renewal of the contract, he stressed that the team should evaluate the performance before the awards ceremony.
I don’t think Gangwon would have thought of finishing second. Gangwon Football showed a hot performance this year, so any leader would have wanted to be evaluated for it. CEO Kim Byung-ji should make a decision. There are difficult situations in the city and provincial teams, but I think they should be evaluated as a coach. We are discussing this. I am careful to say something when there is no decision. 온라인바카라
- Yang Min-hyuk mentioned Yoo Byung-hyun from Matan High School as a player who will take over his baton.
In fact, Byung-hyun is attending Matan High School, but he came to our team to train. It is true that not much is known. He will come in next year. Minhyuk seems to be one of the close players. He is short and has explosive power. He has potential, including the power of shooting. Since it is not easy to be a professional, there is no guarantee that he is as good as Minhyuk. However, our team is a place where young players get many opportunities. It is important how well the right place is used.