Gwangju's Lee Jung-hyo Ball, 'The Opposite of Impossible,' hits ACLE beyond the K-League
Gwangju's Lee Jung-hyo Ball, 'The Opposite of Impossible,' hits ACLE beyond the K-League
Blog Article
Gwangju FC's "Lee Jung-hyo Ball" is shaking beyond the K-League to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE) stage.
At 4 p.m. on the 17th (Korea time), the draw for the quarterfinals of ACLE in the 2024-2025 season will be held at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In East Asia, Gwangju, Yokohama F. Marinos, Kawasaki Frontale (Japan) and Buriram United (Thailand) advanced to the quarterfinals.
In West Asia, Al-Hilal, Al-Ahli (Saudi Arabia) and Al-Sad (Qatar) advanced to the quarterfinals along with Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nasr.
From the ACLE quarterfinals to the finals, the finals will be held in Saudi Arabia from the 25th to May 4th of next month.
The quarterfinals will be played in a single match between the East Asian team and the West Asian team through a draw.
Gwangju, led by head coach Lee Jung-hyo, was the only professional soccer K League 1 club to survive.
It also reached the quarterfinals by beating Vissel Kobe, who won the J1 League championship in Japan for the previous two consecutive seasons.
He lost 0-2 in the away game of the first game, but balanced his total score 2-0 in the home game of the second game, and wrote an unscripted drama in which he won with Asani's winning goal just before the penalty shootout.
Director Lee was at the center.
Coach Lee produced a miracle every year after taking office in Gwangju, where he was staying in the K League 2 in December 2021.
In the 2022 season, his debut season, he won the K League 2 title and promoted to the K League 1 with overwhelming performance.
In the 2023 season, he achieved the third place in the final K League 1 rankings after a rebellion by the promotion team.
After receiving a berth to the ACLE playoffs from the Pohang Steelers, the winner of the FA Cup (currently the Korea Cup) in the same season, he even enjoyed the joy of advancing to the ACLE finals for the first time since its foundation with a bye.
Coach Lee drew attention for his hot attack soccer on the ground and charismatic talking outside.
Gwangju's offensive soccer also worked in Asia beyond Korea.
In the league stage, they defeated Yokohama (7-3 wins), Kawasaki (1-0 wins), and Shanghai Shenhua (1-0 wins, China) to compete for the lead in East Asia.
Last winter, coach Lee briefly rumored to be appointed to Jeonbuk Hyundai, but he continued to accompany Gwangju.
In the end, after advancing to the ACLE round of 16, he met Kobe and won after extra time, reaching the quarterfinals.
It was a journey as arduous as the dramatic result.
Starting with Um Ji-sung (Swanji) last summer, key players such as Jung Ho-yeon (Minnesota), Lee Hee-kyun and Heo Yul (Ulsan HD) left Gwangju one after another this winter.
At one point, it was not easy to strengthen its power as it was hampered by the K-League's fiscal consolidation system.
However, coach Lee defended his attacking soccer by using the existing players and succeeded in defeating Kobe, which was called the strongest in East Asia.
In other words, coach Lee's philosophy of focusing on "one team" instead of "one player" has paid off with the quarterfinals of ACLE. 메이저놀이터
Gwangju supporters 'Bitgoeul' are cheering the players with a hanger that reads '1 percent chance, 99 percent belief', 'As long as my heart beats, Gwangju' and 'We are the opposite of impossible'.
"Lee Jung-hyo Ball" made the impossible possible as Gwangju fans wished, and continued its great challenge on the ACLE stage to determine the best club in Asia.