‘Career High’ Kimcheon Kim Han-gil “I will do my best to survive K-League 1”: Jeong Pil Jeong

[정필=김아영 스포츠전문기자 kspa@jeongpil.com] “Every game in Gimcheon is important. I will do my best to stay on the team with the spirit of returning my holidays.”

Kimcheon Sangmu Professional Football Team (Nak-ho Bay CEO) drew 2-2 in the away match against 34R Suwon FC in the ‘Hana One QK League 1 2022’ held at Suwon Sports Complex at 4:30 pm on the 2nd. Kim Han-gil, who started this day, scored in the 31st minute of the first half to give Gimcheon a point. Kim Han-gil was named in the starting line-up after a month and scored early.

After the game, Kim Han-gil said, “I started as a starter for the first time in a long time, but I was in good shape during training. It feels good to score a goal with the help of my teammates. Actually, I prepared a ceremony in advance because my successors thought they would score a goal, but after scoring for a long time, I couldn’t think of anything. Next time, I will prepare a ceremony where I can laugh with the fans.”

He continued, “There were a lot of fans from Gimcheon, so it felt like a home game. Calling out the players’ names before the warm-up and cheering them on gave them a lot of strength and motivation. I sincerely thank the fans who came to support me even in the heavy rain.”

In Gimcheon, as well as before enlistment, Kim Han-gil spends attack and defense with multi-resources. After making his professional debut at FC Seoul in 2017, he scored his first professional goal in 2018 and his second professional league goal in 2022.

Kim Han-gil said, “In the professional team, the situation was constantly changing, attacking and defending. To be honest, I wanted to record the attack points, but on the one hand, it was a chore. Rather, I wanted to support the best players on the team. “I thought I had to do the dirty work so my colleagues could do better.”

Kim Han-gil, now in his 6th year as a professional, is recording a career high in Gimcheon. In addition to one goal and two assists, his record appearances in the 2022 season (30 games) is the record for most appearances in a season. Immediately after transferring to Jeonnam in 2020, he spent a long rehabilitation training period due to ligament and Achilles tendon injuries during training.

Kim Han-gil, who is building his career by playing in the most games this season, said, “The place where I was injured in the past hurt about a month ago. There was talk of surgery, but it’s mid-season and I’m personally greedy, so I’m rehabbing in a different way. He works hard to compete in the game by doing his best. The game against CPD Suwon gave me confidence, so I will continue to challenge myself.”

The reason why the 2022 season is the most important for Kim Han-gil is not just a career high. Because Kimcheon’s K League 1 survival is at stake, he fights intensely in every match. Kim Han-gil said, “The players and the coaching staff are all united with the goal of staying in the K-League 1. I will do my best until the end so that I can survive in the K League 1 as much as you support me. Even if I return my holidays at the end of the year, I will continue to work until the end of the season to stay on the team.”

On the other hand, Gimcheon, who finished the 34th round, took one point on the day, but on the 3rd, Suwon defeated Samsung Seongnam and moved up to 10th, down one notch to 11th. On the 9th, Gimcheon will play a home match against Seongnam FC, the lowest ranked FC, with three points.