This season, the K-League 1 promoted team battle is fierce.

With 16 goals in the league, it records the most points in the team, and as of the end of the 7th round, it has won 14 points with 4 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, and is in third place in the league after Ulsan and Pohang.

Fans’ enthusiasm is also so hot that Daejeon’s nickname, ‘Soccer City’, comes to mind. A total of 59,403 spectators attended the 4 home games this year, surpassing the 45,411 people recorded during 20 K-League 2 games last season in just 4 games. Even compared to the average audience this year, it is ranked third after Seoul and Ulsan. The Daejeon club added an explanation that sales of sales products had already surpassed last season.

It is difficult to explain the rise of this match with only one player’s performance, but among them, the presence of captain Joo Se-jong is unique. In the league this season, he has only played 3 games, and his performance is not revealed in figures and records, but he is filling in the team’s lack of ‘experience’ and erasing the weaknesses of the match.메이저사이트

Joo Se-jong, who suffered an orbital fracture in the match against Incheon in the second round and returned wearing a mask after a month.
It was uncertain whether he would be selected even before the 7th round match against Ulsan last weekend because his body was not yet perfect, but coach Lee Min-seong asked Ju Se-jong to start the game on the morning of the game. Joo Se-jong played full-time and led the team to a 2-1 victory, meeting the expectations of coach Lee Min-seong, who needed veteran experience.

Joo Se-jong became the captain for the first time in his professional debut. In the past, if I played soccer as the manager, coach, and senior told me to, it is different now in Daejeon. He said he was very happy with the process of making it together with his teammates, coaching staff and fans. It feels like everyone is growing up together, and Joo Se-jong is playing soccer full of excitement to the point of revealing that it is the first time he feels this kind of feeling after coming to the pros.

He returned from Q. injury and won a valuable victory against Ulsan. How do you feel about returning?

A. After the injury, I only watched our players play outside for a while, and at that time I really really wanted to go in and help my friends a lot. I think I was happy.

Q. It must have been more meaningful since it was a victory after a bitter loss against Suwon FC.

A. Actually, of course we expected that it would be very difficult coming to K-League 1, but it was our first loss of the season anyway. On the surface, the players have already lost one game, but they just need to prepare again. Even though they talked like this, they all won again and then turned around, so I think they felt a little bad. If I were in the stadium right now, I would have tried to make this result at least 1 point by communicating with our players and the bench a little more.

Q. Last week in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, you played a comeback wearing a mask.

A. Actually, I wasn’t in 100% condition, and I thought about the upcoming game against Ulsan, so I played the game with the thought of slowly lifting my body, but since I was wearing a mask, in fact, my performance wasn’t as good as I thought. I think it was regrettable.

Q. Is it the first time in your career to wear a mask?

A. Yes, this is the first time. In fact, Heung-min also wore a mask during the World Cup, but when he heard it through the news or something like that, he said, ‘I can’t see it. It’s a bit difficult.’ that feeling. So at first, I thought it was okay when I was training with a mask, but now when I enter the stadium, it shakes a lot and I can’t see my cheek well, so it’s a bit difficult to judge the situation. So I think I felt that this is really not easy.

Q. What are the specific difficulties?

A. Because the mask is slightly under the eyes, the mask is also black, so there is something that looks like a black line, and if there is an angle of my head that I normally look at the ball at, I have to bend down more than that to see the ball so I can’t see it well, so I pass. I don’t think it’s a bit difficult to catch the timing or something like that. Certainly now, being aware of the situation requires looking at the surroundings a lot, but I have to look at it in those short moments.

Q. I think of Son Heung-min during the Qatar World Cup…

A. I’m in a league match, and in the case of Heung-min, I really respect him as a player that he put on a mask and made such an effort even in a place where he competed with world-class players in the World Cup. I think I felt once again that I put a lot of effort into it.

Q. You are leading the team as captain for the first time this season.

A. In fact, as I became the captain, I didn’t want to be authoritative or nag my juniors as a senior, and I didn’t want to become such a captain. I wanted to be a little ‘one team’ so that I could do it. In that respect, the players are following along very well, and I also try to match the players a lot, so it’s not 100%, but to some extent, the overall atmosphere and color of our team seem to become one, so it’s very pleasant and fun. are doing

Q. It was revealed through the club’s YouTube channel, and it was impressive to see you get angry with your junior players in the 3rd round of the last FA Cup, where you played with Team B players.

A. Among Team B players, of course, there are players who really want to go to Team A and really work hard, while there also seem to be players who think, ‘Because I am a Team B player, I have to work hard for Team B’. But still, in that part, I feel like my earnestness or pride for our Daejeon Hana Citizen is very low, so I think that I was really angry without realizing it. Rather, I said that because I felt that the opponent players were playing the game more professionally in the stadium and our players were a little complacent, just thinking about a game like that. I apologized first, saying I was sorry for getting angry.

Q. I saw you run to the bench after conceding an equalizer to Rubiksson against Ulsan. You ran almost as if you were sprinting and communicated with the bench. What was it about?

A. Actually, what we prepared for the game that day was that the Ulsan center back couldn’t get the ball a little easier, so we hoped that Leandro or Thiago would press the ball in front of us, but just before the point was lost, the opposing center back Kim Ki-hee received the ball comfortably, and the ball came over and the second ball I lost and conceded, but Leandro put a little more distance. So now I translated and called and talked, and the coach said the same thing, so Leandro understood well and did it again from now on, so I think it went well. It could be that this is an act of responsibility. Also, since there are a lot of young players on our team, I thought that Oh Jae-seok or I should be the player who can control that part in the middle of the game. I think I couldn’t do it, so I ran and talked quickly.

Q. You often say that you have ‘grown up’ while leading the team this season. What does that mean?

A. First of all, I think it’s team-like. As a team, I felt that the players really didn’t get discouraged no matter what opponents they faced, and they were playing really confidently with confidence in the soccer we were playing. Also, there are so many fans who keep coming. At the same time, I think the value of our team is increasing a lot, and I think I said that because I felt that various players, clubs, and fans were really growing in that complex way. I am really happy every day for being with these players and being with the coaching staff, and I have been a professional for almost 13 years, and I think I am feeling a lot of emotions this season that I have not felt before.

Q. Can you explain in detail what kind of emotion it is?

A. In fact, until then, the coaching staff followed things like this or what the seniors did. In this season, the coach listened to the opinions of our players a lot, and the coaches also tried to get closer to us and the players. “I hope this kind of problem can be solved this way” started to give opinions to each other, and since those things came together, the fact that our club’s front desk, coaching staff and fans are growing together seems really happy.

Q. Your goal before the season was to stay. Is the goal still to remain even now, riding in a good mood?

A. Regardless of whether we win 10 or 15 in the future, staying is our first goal, and in order to remain, we keep saying that there is no tomorrow. We have to think that one game every day is really our last game, and if we keep playing such a good game, at some point, when we really go to the end of the season, we may be confirmed to remain or a good situation may come out. Only then do we revise our goals a little. Until then, we are all preparing with the same mindset, saying, “Let’s work hard and only think about the real retention.”