Football fans are excited for the summer. The number of European players symbolising the competitiveness of Korean football has increased. 온라인카지노
The number of players playing in major European leagues has now exceeded double digits. In the English Premier League (EPL), Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) and Kim Ji-soo (Brentford) have begun to build up their fitness for the start of the season, while the Bundesliga has seen the arrival of Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) and Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart).
Lee Kang-in, who joined French giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Yang Hyun-joon and Kwon Hyuk-kyu, who joined Celtic in Scotland, and Cho Kyu-sung, who switched to Denmark’s Mittwillan jersey, can be described as the heyday of European football.
On the 20th, an official from the Korea Football Association said, “It is difficult to count the number of players who go to Europe from overseas rather than domestically,” but “it is true that the number of players playing in Europe has been increasing rapidly recently.”
Football experts believe that the heyday of the European wave has surpassed the early 2010s, when ‘Yang Bak-saeng-yong’ was the centrepiece.
“In those days, Park Ji-sung, Park Joo-young, Lee Chung-yong, and Ki Sung-yong were the main European players,” said Han Jun-hee, a commentator for Coupang Play. “Considering the number of players playing for big clubs and their salaries, I think this is the golden age of Korean football.”
Kim Min-jae | Bayern Munich Social Networking Service
The heyday of the European wave is evident in the national team. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, there were eight Europeans in the squad. Half a year later, at the June call-up, the number of Europeans had risen to nine, and again to 10 with the departure of Cho Kyu-sung and Hwang Eui-jo (Nottingham) to Europe. Depending on the development of Yang Hyun-joon and Kwon Hyuk-gyu, who have yet to earn a tricolour, the squad could be almost half European in September. With a European goalkeeper, we can expect a European best eleven.
The rise of Europeans has been fuelled by pioneers. While former national team coach Cha Bum-geun led the rise of Park Ji-sung and Son Heung-min, Korean players such as Kim Min-jae, Lee Jae-sung, and Hwang In-beom have recently drawn attention to themselves. Scottish club Celtic, in particular, signed Oh Hyun-kyu in January and Yang Hyun-joon and Kwon Hyuk-kyu in July, recognising the quality of Korean players despite their relatively low prices. If these proven K League players succeed in landing at Celtic, it could be another challenger in this winter’s transfer market.
The steep rise of the European wave could lead to an upward curve for Korean football. National team coach Jürgen Klinsmann has welcomed the expansion of Europe. Unlike previous national teams, Klinsmann has most of his coaching staff based in Europe to observe the players. This is in the same vein as Japan’s support for the European teams in Düsseldorf, Germany, after the announcement of the Football World Cup.
“We are realising how fast Korean football is developing,” said Klinsmann, “and we will always help our players to continue to improve.”