Hangzhou Gold Leader Baek Seung-ho and Ko Young-joon advanced to Europe and proved their competitiveness again in the K League
The opening of “2024 K-League 1” is fast approaching. K-League 1 will be on a nine-month journey, starting with the official opening match between K-League defending champion Ulsan HD FC and FA Cup defending champion Pohang Steelers on March 1. The hottest issue in the K-League, which produced a lot of stories last year, was the “K Leaguers’ entry into Europe.”
Prior to the opening of the 2023 season, Suwon Samsung’s Oh Hyun-kyu headed to the prestigious Celtic FC in Scotland, and Cho Kyu-sung, Lee Han-beom Mitt Whelan, Yang Hyun-joon, Kwon Hyuk-kyu Celtic, Kim Ji-soo Brentford, Bae Joon-ho Stock City, and Hwang In-taek Prya succeeded in entering Europe. Former K leaguers are showing off their skills by adapting to Europe, which is considered the world’s soccer hub.
In the meantime, there are other players who have advanced to the European stage of their dreams ahead of the opening of the K-League in the 2024 season. It is Baek Seung-ho and Ko Young-joon, who won their first three consecutive Asian Games under coach Hwang Sun-hong last year.
Go Young Jun achieved his dream with Baek Seung Ho again
The biggest issue in the transfer window this winter has been whether Paik will re-enter Europe. After more than a decade in Europe, including his youth, Paik headed to Jeonbuk Hyundai after signing a contract with Darmstadt, Germany, ahead of the opening of the K-League in 2021. There was uproar in the transfer process, but Paik began to be considered a key player under the steady trust of former Jeonbuk Hyundai coach Kim Sang-sik. With four goals and one assist in 33 games during his K-League debut season, he was key to Jeonbuk’s ninth league championship.
Baek Seung-ho, who was appointed as captain of Jeonbuk the following year, continued to play steadily and unfortunately failed to reach the league championship, but he performed well by showing top-notch plays in the K League. He proved his skills by making an outstanding contribution to Jeonbuk’s achievement of its fifth FA Cup currently Korea Cup. Later, Baek Seung-ho, who was called by then national team coach Paulo Bento and was included in the final list of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, failed to play in the group stage, but he made a valuable chase goal at the end of the second half in the round of 16 against Brazil, making his presence known to the world.
After the World Cup, interest from the European stage continued, but he, who was born in 1997, could no longer postpone military issues, so he unfortunately continued his performance in Jeonbuk in the 2023 season, leaving his dream behind. Baek Seung-ho, who also captain in the 2023 season, swept the Player of the Month award in May with three goals in four league games under the leadership of acting coach Kim Doo-hyun Cheongdu despite his team’s poor performance.
At the same time, he was called upon by coach Hwang Sun-hong at the Hangzhou Asian Games and benefited from his military service by making an outstanding contribution to winning the gold medal. Baek Seung-ho, who made 27 official appearances in the 2023 season with four goals and one assist, became a free agent after the end of the season and eventually made it back to Europe. Although he received offers from various places, he ultimately signed with Birmingham City FC, which is part of the English Championship, marking the end of a long and historic transfer.
Baek Seung-ho, who officially announced his joining on the official website of Birmingham City on January 29, is currently playing in four league games two starts and is showing a brilliant performance on the European stage again.
Express midfielder Ko Young-joon, who showed great performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games, also headed to Europe, the dream stage. Born in 2001, Ko Young-joon, who graduated from Pohang Steelers Youth High School ahead of the 2020 season and immediately flew directly to the professional stage, made his name known to soccer fans by playing in eight league games in his first year of debut with two goals and one assist.
The following year, Ko Young-joon, who quickly secured the starting lineup amid Pohang’s outstanding competition, showed an extraordinary pace of growth with three goals and two assists in 32 league games. Ko Young-joon, who also drew a perfect growth curve in the 2022 season, appeared in 38 official games and scored six goals and four assists, contributing greatly to Pohang’s league’s third-place Mercury, and was selected for the East Asian Cup national team and even made his A-team debut.
The 2023 season has also seen his team grow further. Having missed the exhibition match against China due to injury ahead of the Asian Games in the middle of the season, Ko has added momentum to his team’s upward curve every moment except for the time that he was excluded due to injury. Ko Young-joon, who played in 33 official matches and scored nine goals and four assists to generate the most offensive points since his professional debut, also played as the backbone of the Korean national team at the Hangzhou Asian Games, contributing to his team’s gold medal victory.
Ko’s transfer to FK Partizan, a traditional powerhouse in the Serbian Super League, was eventually made official. After announcing his three-and-a-half-year contract on the official website of Partizan on Jan. 23, Ko is now quickly adjusting to the team. On the 18th, he played as a substitute in the second half against FK IMT Belgrade and scored his debut goal.
Incheon-Zakarta-Hangzhou, who’s next
Korean soccer announced the birth of a new generation. The men’s national soccer team, which won the 2014 Incheon Asian Games for the first time in 28 years, built its pride by winning three consecutive titles in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games and 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. Through this, several players who received military service benefits headed to Europe, raising the status of Korean soccer.
Kim Jin-soo Jeonbuk, Park Joo-ho retired, and Yoon Il-rok Ulsan, who won the title in 2014, succeeded in advancing to Europe one after another. Resources such as Son Heung-min Tottenham, Hwang Hee-chan Wolverhampton, Kim Min-jae B. Munich, Hwang In-beom Zvezda, Kim Moon-hwan Alduhail, Hwang Ui-jo Alanjaspro, and Na Sang-ho Machida, who won the title in 2014, have grown into the main players of the national team in the future. The Hangzhou Asian Games, which were held last year, also have several players who are expected to grow in the future with excellent power.
Seol Young-woo, Um Won-sang Ulsan, and Jung Ho-yeon Gwangju, who are likely to head to Europe in the future, are also expected resources. Park Jin-seop, Song Min-gyu, Lee Jae-ik Jeonbuk, Hwang Jae-won Daegu, and An Jae-jun Bucheon are also considered promising players. After the Incheon-Jakarta generation, the Hangzhou Asian Games generation has begun to signal its advance to Europe in earnest. At the same time, competitive K-League players are constantly being produced on the European stage, proving that the K-League stage is also a competitive stage. 안전놀이터
Now, who else is the K-League player to succeed the Hangzhou generation, Baek Seung-ho and Ko Young-jun? Let’s pay attention to the future moves of K-League players in the 2024 season, which will open on March 1.