A miracle man? It’s a nickname I never thought of, so I really like it and I’m grateful.”
On the 14th, we met at the JoongAng Ilbo in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, and the soccer team’s central defender, Kim Young-kwon (32, Ulsan Hyundai), smiled and said.
Like the nickname ‘Miracle Man’, following the ‘Miracle in Kazan’ in the 2018 World Cup in Russia against Germany, the ‘Miracle in Doha’ in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar also started at his toes. Kim Young-kwon scored an equalizer in the 27th minute against Portugal on the 3rd, signaling a 2-1 come-from-behind victory. When Lee Kang-in’s (Mallorca) corner kick hit Cristiano Ronaldo’s (Portugal) back and fell, Kim Young-gwon, who kept an eye on the ball, shook the net with a left-footed volley as he slid.
Kim Young-kwon said, “His younger brother and friends said, ‘Why are you there during the goal scene? Portugal raised their line and showed an empty space and went in. It hit Ronaldo’s back and landed right in front of me. In fact, I knew that Ronaldo was hit on the back after watching the video after the game. I was lucky, and (Kim) Jin-soo, who runs next to me, said, ‘I become a real person. I joked, “I will be the one who will be.” He laughed.
Korean netizens called Ronaldo ‘Hanbandu’, saying that he helped the Korean Peninsula, and even made a composite photo of his resident registration card. Kim Young-kwon said, “Ronaldo was talking to himself, but it was a nuance of cursing because our national team coaches are Portuguese. I also enjoyed seeing what netizens made.”
In the second half of the match against Germany in the World Cup in Russia four years ago, when a corner kick hit Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) and flowed, Kim Young-kwon kicked it in front of the goal. When asked about the player who scored a goal in the World Cup by receiving a pass (?) from Toni Kroos and Ronaldo, Kim Young-kwon laughed, saying, “I accidentally received an assist, not an assist, from the best soccer players in the world.”
Kim Young-kwon scored the opening goal that defeated Germany, the number 1 player in the FIFA rankings, at the time of the Russia World Cup, 토토사이트 and Son Heung-min (Tottenham) scored an additional goal with a stormy run. Kim Young-kwon said, “It’s different that Heung-min assisted (Hwang) Hee-chan’s goal this time instead of scoring, but it was amazing because the situation was similar.”
When I heard that he had acquired the ‘Kkabangkwon (right to prevent slaughter, the right to be forgiven even if he made a mistake)’ again after 4 years, Kim Young-kwon laughed, saying, “If it’s 2 (Kkabangkwon), I can use it until I retire.”
Kim Young-kwon created miracles whenever Korean soccer was desperate. Due to his father’s business failure, Kim Young-gwon went to manual labor on weekends in his 3rd year of high school and received 70,000 won (63,000 won excluding commission) per day and saved up the money to buy soccer boots. Kim Young-kwon said, “At that time, the hardships made me stronger. I didn’t want to see my parents having a hard time, and I thought that if I didn’t come close to success, I couldn’t protect my family, so I clenched my teeth and played soccer. The strength of the family was great,” he said.
Like the match against Germany four years ago, Kim Young-gwon performed a kiss on the right forearm this time as well. On his forearm, the phrase ‘I will always engrave it in my heart’ in French, along with his wife’s name and eldest daughter Young-myeong (Sejin P & Baby Ria) are tattooed. Kim Young-kwon said, “It was the ceremony that I promised in advance with her daughter Lia. She liked it because it had her name on it,” she said. Kim Young-kwon, who has three siblings, daughter Lia (7), son Lee Hyun (5), and Lee Jae (2), said, “Lee Hyun-yi is left-footed and beats his father and scores goals. He wants to play soccer if he wants to,” he said.
Kim Young-kwon heard the stigma of ‘automatic door’ because he failed to prevent the group stage elimination at the World Cup in Brazil eight years ago, and was baptized on the way back home. Kim Young-kwon, who said that he took a photo with his cell phone as the crowd gathered to welcome him back home, said, “I was scolded for the last two World Cups, but this time I was welcomed. He wanted to leave this moment because it could be the first and the last.”
The round of 16 against Brazil was his 100th A match. After making his A-match debut against Nigeria in August 2010, he became the 15th Korean player to join the ‘Century Club’. He threw himself into the net but could not prevent a 1-4 defeat. Kim Young-kwon said, “It was an honor to play the 100th match against the world’s No. 1 team, but the result was disappointing. Neymar, who has accumulated age and experience, is different from just kicking the ball.” Regarding the ‘Brazilian Dance Ceremony’, he said, “I didn’t feel good from the opposing side’s point of view, but I think the ceremony is also a part of football and if it is the culture of Brazilian players, we should accept it.”
Paulo Bento (Portugal) The Korean coach is called ‘Benverge’ because he takes care of his players like a father. In particular, in the second match against Ghana (2-3 loss), a last-minute corner kick was not taken, but when the referee ended the game, Kim Young-kwon protested with a blood clot in his neck. Just as the referee was about to take the card out of his pocket, coach Bento ran and protested and was sent off. There was also speculation that Bento coach was sent off instead to protect the player to prevent Kim Young-kwon from being sent off.
Kim Young-kwon said, “I thought it didn’t make sense to finish without giving a corner kick, so I argued. In fact, he received a yellow card against Portugal. Wouldn’t it be great if the director remembered that I had been warned in an instant? If I had been sent off, there would have been no equalizer against Portugal.”
Kim Young-kwon also told an anecdote about the halftime match against Portugal. The first half of the match against Portugal ended 1-1, and Korea had to win unconditionally. Kim Young-kwon said, “A long kick could have come out as close to the goal as possible. However, the coach said, ‘What’s more important than the result is the play we prepared for 4 years. Let’s not waste time with long kicks,’ he said calmly. Thanks to that, the players were able to work calmly.”
Kim Young-kwon said, “Coach Bento showed tears two or three times, not only in the final match with Brazil, but also in the final meeting after the Blue House dinner. Some of the players also cried. Defensive coach Felipe Coelho said, ‘Coach Bento, who I’ve been with for a long time, never cries, but this is the first time I’ve seen him cry’. My first impression of the director seemed stiff. Koreans have a lot of affection, but it seems that the director is also affectionate. When he left the country last night, seeing him wiping away tears made me cry too,” he said.
Next, Kim Young-kwon said, “When it was difficult for four years, I carried all the arms and took the lead without lowering the tail instead of the player. He was on the player’s side for everything, and he let me know that Korean players can become the best players.” This is why the players sacrificed their lives even though they knew that coach Bento would resign after the World Cup in September
Kim Young-kwon said, “I fought with pressure and burden in the last two World Cups, but this time I felt that I could have such fun at the World Cup. Thanks to that, the soccer we wanted came out.” “Most of the players vomited and didn’t eat well after the game. His knee was scraped, and he did not receive first aid. (Hwang) In-beom threw off his bandage, although it wasn’t enough to sew his head on, and (Son) Heung-min also wore a face mask to run, even though it was stuffy and his bones didn’t stick well. I thought, ‘I’ve done this, but it wouldn’t make sense if I couldn’t make it to the round of 16’.”
Regarding the next command tower, Kim Young-kwon said, “It is one of the important parts to go to the system of one coach for four years. I think he needs to be given time to match up with the players,” he said.
Can 32-year-old Kim Young-kwon, born in 1990, play until the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America? There is a case in which defender Choi Jin-cheol played in the 2006 World Cup in Germany at the age of 35.
Kim Young-kwon said, “The higher the goals and commitments, the better. These days, the life of a player is getting longer. If I can take on the challenge after taking good care of my body for 4 years, I want to take on the challenge. I also have a strong desire to show my children how their father continues to play soccer. Of course, if you’re not feeling well, you can’t go. “I won the league and the Asian Champions League, but in the Asian Cup, the runner-up in 2015 is the best result. If he wins the Asian Cup, I don’t think there will be any regrets left in his career as a player.”