Jeju SK Sweats Marbles in Kagoshima, "It's Time to Achieve Your Goals"
Jeju SK Sweats Marbles in Kagoshima, "It's Time to Achieve Your Goals"
Blog Article
Jeju SK is preparing for the new season more intensely than ever. Since its triumphant comeback to the K League 1 in the 2021 season, SK aimed to qualify for the AFC Champions League (ALC), but ended up with a good result. Over the past four seasons, SK has repeatedly expressed regret by ranking 4th, 5th, 9th, and 7th.
There was no time to rest. After finishing the 2024 season after the match against the Daejeon Hana Citizen (1-2 loss) on Nov. 24, 2014, the team immediately started preparing for the 2025 season. As the East Asian Cup of the East Asian Football Confederation (EAFF) and the FIFA Club World Cup are being held this year, the team also considered circumstances in which the season opens earlier than usual. As the opening match of FC Seoul and the K League 1 to be held at the Jeju World Cup Stadium on Nov. 15 is only two weeks away, players in Jeju already have a lot of tension and expectations.
They have already sweated for six weeks. The Jeju team started quenching at their clubhouse from December 18 last year, and started off-season training in Kagoshima, Japan from April 18. Although players have short breaks since the end of last season, coach Kim Hak-beom is desperately preparing for the new season, saying, "There is no time to rest."
At the training camp for Kagoshima, Kim offered both sticks and carrots to the players. Given the short period of preparation for the upcoming 2025 season, the coach aims to control both breathing and physical condition among the players. As the team plays five to six practice games with the same intensity as the actual games, it has been striving to recover by conducting only morning training sessions. The team will continue focusing on morning training until the end of the training camp for Kagoshima on Friday.
The basic framework for the new season's plan for Kagoshima was laid out. Judging that it was the handshake that made the team change its tactics as a result of a series of injuries to the defense team last season, the team recruited defenders who felt instantly powerful including Jang Min-gyu, Kim Jae-woo and Kim Ryun-seong. It is expected that if midfielder Lee Chang-min and Kim Bong-soo return after completing their mandatory military service in March and June this year, they will be able to breathe more.
The key is the strikers. While Nam Tae-hee, Lee Tal-ro (Brazilian), and Kim Jung-min have many resources to create chances to score goals, they lack players who can highlight the situation. Seo Jin-soo, who has seen his growth stagnate, urgently needs to strengthen additional foreign strikers. Under-22 (U-22) resources should also be sought after following the transfer of Han Jong-moo (Daegu FC).
"메이저놀이터 We still have a lot of vacancies, but we will make them until the end and fill them up," coach Kim said. "(Seo) Jin-soo also has to break the egg now," adding, "Foreign strikers are still being strengthened and U-22 resources are being discovered. Kagoshima weather is better than Jeju Island, so we will do our best in a good environment."