Jeju United made a novel attempt ahead of this season. The ‘leading team’, which usually consists of a captain and a vice-captain, has been increased to as many as six. This contains Jeju coach Nam Ki-il’s will to communicate properly with the players.
At the K-League winter training media camp held at Parev Hotel in Seogwipo, Jeju on the 7th, coach Nam said, “Last season, I couldn’t talk much with the players, so there were many difficulties in many areas.” He emphasized that he would actively communicate, unlike before, saying, “I will visit you directly, rather than waiting for you.”
Nam’s well-known image can be summed up in one word: reticence. He speaks little, and he seldom reveals his thoughts. As a result, there is not much conversation with the players.
Director Nam’s declaration that he would throw away the reticence that had been going on since his days as manager of Gwangju FC and actively communicate was related to the discord with Yoon Bit-garam, who transferred to Suwon FC through a trade ahead of this season. Yoon Bit-garam attended the Suwon FC press conference and said, “It wasn’t that there wasn’t much communication, but there was one or two times. Because of that, I went to the 2nd group,” he said, expressing regret, “It was the first time I was in a situation in my professional life.” Even after manager Nam apologized earlier, saying, “I feel sorry for not being able to participate in the game,” he said, “Why couldn’t you do that at that time? I wasn’t good at everything, but it was a problem that could be solved if I communicated enough, but it’s a pity.” 토토사이트
Going through this series of processes, Director Nam also felt a lot. So ahead of this season, the team tried to change. A typical example is the new claim group. Coach Nam did not select a vice-captain, but formed a team of six captains, including Koo Ja-cheol, Jeong-un, Kim O-kyu, Ahn Hyun-beom, and Kim Dong-jun, centered on the existing captain Choi Young-joon, to help the team communicate.
Coach Nam said, “Senior players help us communicate. Sometimes we talk to each other about recruiting players,” he said. “We arrange a meal once or twice a month. We are trying and working on various things to fill the parts that the players need.”
Manager Nam’s change is felt by the players as well. Koo Ja-cheol said, “The captain is also a communication channel. It becomes a justification when the director wants communication. They are all seniors, so it is easy for the coach to approach them.” “There were many cases where the coach approached me first while preparing for the season. If you talk a lot, you can only build trust,” he said. Kim Joo-gong also said, “During the field training in Thailand, he came out in the morning and gave high-fives to the players and talked lightly to the players passing by.” Certainly, the atmosphere is more harmonious than last year.”