Midfielder Won Doo-jae, who left Ulsan Hyundai for military service this season, scored his first goal eight months after enlisting. He did not hide his awkwardness in a position where he is not good at scoring goals.
Gimcheon won 4-0 at home against Seoul Eland FC in the 26th round of the Hana OneQ K League 2 2023 at 7 p.m. on April 15 at Gimcheon Sports Complex. It was a four-goal victory following the last match against Seongnam FC.
Won Doo-jae set the tone for the victory. He scored the first goal in the 39th minute with a precise header from a cross by Kim Hyun-wook from the left flank. After that, Gimcheon, who had a good start to the game, scored goals from Lee Jun-seok, Cho Young-wook, and Politician in succession to seal the victory.
Won Doo-jae scored his first goal of the season and his first goal since joining Gimcheon. In a post-match interview, he said, “I’m flustered. I focused more on the win than the goal. I scored a goal once a year, but I think I didn’t fulfill my personal goal.” “I didn’t think about how many more goals I would score. I was only thinking about winning,” he said, showing an awkwardness in scoring.
Gimcheon is leading the way this season and is on track to win the title and promotion to K League 1. At the beginning of the season, they were not able to adapt to the K League 2 and had to go through a transition period. The same was true for Won Doo-jae, who was new to K League 2.
“I panicked at the beginning of the season,” he says. The players are more determined and motivated, and there’s a lot of man-to-man defense, so it’s not easy to kick the ball,” he said.
However, the Gimcheon players adapted quickly and stabilized after the appointment of coach Jung Jung-yong. The fact that the entire squad only thought about sports in their training and life also played a role.
Won Doo-jae said, “It’s important to take care of your body while exercising. I often have to lift weights because I have a lot of time on my hands. I’m thinking a lot about playing injury-free,” he said, revealing the secret to his and the team’s success. 꽁머니
He was called up to the A team in June. Training and playing alongside some of Korea’s best players, including Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan, and Lee Kang-in, was a great honor and a helpful moment.
“The national team has the best players,” says Won. I feel like I’ve gotten a little more comfortable playing since returning to the team,” he said.
He has less than a year left in the military before he is discharged in June 2024. He has also set himself a task for the rest of his military career. “I think the time has passed faster than I thought. I want to take good care of my body for a year and grow,” he said.
