Resignation is not an easy decision for employees. The same goes for professional sports. It takes a lot of courage to choose a transfer. If a rival club is the destination, it becomes much more worrying. Past Portuguese legend Luis Figo transferred from FC Barcelona, Spain’s “greatest rival” to Real Madrid, and the pig’s head flew to show what it means to transfer between rival teams.
Even in the K-League 1 (Part 1), the rivalry is great. Just like FC Seoul, Suwon Samsung, Ulsan Hyundai and Pohang Steelers, these days ‘Hyundai is a rival’ Jeonbuk Hyundai and Ulsan have a difficult relationship. In recent years, the hostility has grown even more as they compete to win.
However, in this winter transfer market, a surprising ‘large transfer’ came out. Amano Jun (32), a member of Yokohama Marinos in the Japanese J-League and who contributed to Ulsan standing at the top of the league last year for the first time in 17 years, changed into a Jeonbuk uniform. During an interview on the 11th at the clubhouse in Dong-gu, Ulsan, Ulsan coach Hong Myung-bo (54) felt betrayed enough to express his anger, saying, “(Amano) is the worst Japanese player I have ever met.”
Unfortunately, Sports Dong-A met Amano two days ago (9th) at a clubhouse in Jeonbuk. At this meeting, he said, “(Transferring to a rival team) is not an easy decision. It was a complex and profound feeling because I had never even imagined it,” he said. “I got the title in Ulsan. I made a challenging choice to reach a higher level,” he said calmly.
In Ulsan, it was because of ‘money’, but Amano’s story was different. “I was always happy in Ulsan and it is full of good memories. However, at the crossroads of choosing whether to stay or transfer, I thought deeply about what was right for me. It was difficult even when I came to Ulsan, but I am not 100% sure about the transfer. Later results will tell (whether this is a good choice).”
Even when I was in Ulsan, my impression of Jeonbuk was not bad. Amano said, “This is a team that wins trophies every season. Everyone is at such a high level that I can’t pick a specific player. Based on thick football, they steal the second ball and quickly develop an attack. The build-up was also detailed, and the side play was very good,” he said, expressing expectations, saying, “I wonder what kind of performance I can put out here and how far I can go.”
Amano, who made a cold-hearted decision from the standpoint of a professional player, is not afraid of the Ulsan match. The official opening game of the 2023 K-League 1 scheduled for the end of February at Ulsan Munsu Stadium is highly likely to be the “Hyundai Derby” between “defending champion” Ulsan and “FA Cup winning team” Jeonbuk. “I had a good time in Ulsan and made many memories. From Jeonbuk’s point of view, I don’t know the feelings of the Ulsan expedition yet, but it’s interesting and I’m looking forward to it. Amano from Ulsan and Amano from Jeonbuk are the same person.”
Amano, who will go from champion to challenger, knows her role well. “Jeonbuk is a team that exists only for victory and winning. The league, FA Cup, and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League are all aimed at. He said, 온라인카지노 “I will achieve more than the record (30 games, 9 goals, 1 assist) in Ulsan last year,” he said, “The frequency of Japanese players entering the K-League is much less than that of Korean players entering the J-League. If I build a good career in Jeonbuk following Ulsan, it will be an opportunity to open a new path (for Japanese juniors).”