Last season, Ulsan Hyundai, which replanted the ‘winning DNA’ by coming to the top for the first time in 17 years, wisely overcame the first hurdle they faced in the process of achieving their second consecutive league title. Coach Hong Myung-bo and the players all knew ‘how to win’.
Ulsan is leading with 7 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss and 22 points in the ‘Hana 1 Q K League 1 2023’, which has finished up to round 9. Prior to the 9th round away match against Incheon United on the 25th, they suffered from 2 runs in 2 consecutive games and a draw (1 draw and 1 loss), but they overcame the first hurdle of the season with a 1-0 victory on the day.
The victory on this day was significant for Ulsan. As the midweek game started, concerns were raised about the players’ physical problems and the deterioration in performance due to the rotation operation. However, Ulsan’s depth, which is the highest level in the league, shined. The players who had not been able to play in the meantime showed a performance comparable to that of the main players. The bench was also lined with the best jokers in the league, such as Um Won-sang, Cho Hyun-taek, and Kim Min-hyuk.
Coincidentally, on this day, Martin Adam also reported his first goal of the season. He joined in the second half of last season and scored 9 goals and 4 assists in 14 games, but after the start of this season, he was unable to raise a single attack point in 5 games. He showed the epitome of a ‘team that can be’ by scoring goals that both the team lives and himself.
Unlike in the past, Ulsan is now transforming into a team that safely overcomes difficulties. It is clearly different from the 2019-2021 season, when it was pushed by rival Jeonbuk Hyundai and stayed in runner-up for three consecutive seasons.
In the 2019 season and 2020 season, Ulsan finished runner-up to Jeonbuk with a 1-goal difference and 3 points, respectively. In the 2019 season, Jeonbuk (1-1 draw) and Pohang Steelers (1-4 loss) faced Jeonbuk (1-1 draw) and Pohang Steelers (1-4 loss) in the last two home games, and had to suffer because they could only add 1 point, and in the 2020 season, they lost 0-1 in the last home game against Jeonbuk. The aftermath of the defeat was too great. In the 2021 season, in an away game against Suwon Samsung at the end of the season, Lee Dong-gyeong’s penalty kick (PK) ended in a 0-0 draw, so he stayed in the runner-up by 2 points.
But last season was different. Martin Adam’s multi-goal in the second half of the extra time, when they were trailing 0-1 in the last-minute confrontation with Jeonbuk by 5 points, widened the score to 8 with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory, and the third star was attached to their uniform. This season, they are continuing their momentum from last year.스포츠토토
This is thanks to the fact that the entire team came together to win the league for the second consecutive time. Coach Hong said, “We can become a good team only when we overcome a difficult schedule. Even if the rotation is running, I will make it so that the performance can be maintained.” Martin Adam also said, “I don’t care about Joo Min-gyu, the competition for starting positions, or my goal score. The important thing is the team’s victory.”