Pitch People
Daejeon Hana Citizen
GK
Lee Chang-geun
카지노사이트 Daejeon Hana Citizens’ backline goalkeeper Lee Chang-geun is one of the hottest goalkeepers in the K League these days. With his incredible reflexes and ironclad defence, he has been raising the profile of the Daejeon Hana goal. He’s already been recognised for his skills as an age-group representative, but it’s safe to say that he’s at the peak of his powers in front of the Daejeon Hana goal. Whether he’s conceding goals or not, Lee is an integral part of the Daejeon Hana defence.
More recently, his stock has risen after his performance in the Coupang Play Series against Atletico Madrid. After that game, there was even talk of a possible call-up to the national team. It could be the chance of his life. However, when faced with the Best Eleven, Lee Chang-geun was cautious. Rather than focusing on whether or not he would make the national team, he simply bowed his head to the fans, saying that he had conceded a lot of goals in the game. He expressed his desire to regroup and really contribute to Daejeon Hana’s rise to the top.
“I want to enjoy the end of the season”
Q. Congratulations on the 4-3 win against Seoul. How did you feel about the game?
“Even though we conceded three goals, I’m still happy that we won, because it means we can see what we need to work on as a team going into our next game against the Pohang Steelers. It’s our team’s goal to reduce our mistakes even more.”
Q. Even though you won, it must have been a tough game for you as a goalkeeper.
“To be honest, I felt bad even when it was 4-2. It was a game that the fans would have enjoyed, but I have a job to do to protect the goal and I don’t think I did it properly. I can’t enjoy it, but I take a small consolation in the fact that the team won. I’ll work hard again and try to reduce the number of goals conceded.”
Q. You’ve made a lot of saves this year. Is it safe to say you’re in the prime of your career now?
“Well, it’s funny because I feel like I’ve done a good job when the team is in a good position or when we win, but even when I make a lot of saves, like I did against Seoul, I always concede a lot of goals, so I’m either drawing games that I should win or I’m losing games that I should draw, so it’s too ambiguous to say that I’m doing a good job, so I’m just trying to help myself by thinking that I’m still hanging in there. I’m sorry I gave up a lot of points again today.”
Q. Still, as a goalkeeper, you can’t avoid conceding goals, can you?
“Of course, but you can’t be satisfied with that. I want to make sure that no matter how difficult it is for the team, we can get through it, and I have the experience to do that. I always try to have the mindset when I’m preparing for a game to go lower.”
Q. You’ve been performing well all season, but after the AT Madrid game, you’ve been under the microscope even more.
“I feel the stares, but like I said, it’s a really difficult situation to enjoy. If the team was in a better position, I could enjoy it a little bit, but we don’t have that luxury. I’m always worried because I don’t know what’s going to happen to us. I want to enjoy it at the end of the season, and hopefully then I’ll have something to really enjoy.”
Q. The national team is taking notice.
“They came today, but I think they came to the wrong place (laughs). I tried not to pay attention to it, but even though I said I didn’t pay attention to it, it still bothered me. Anyway, I conceded a lot of goals. I’m not happy with my play, but it’s good for me if they come and look at me. I can’t show them everything in this one game, but I want to give everything I can in the remaining games and be judged.”
Q. You’re on the verge of a split round. You have a lot of work to do.
“If you concede a lot of goals, you’re never going to be in the top group, so we’ve been having a lot of meetings with the players. We conceded a lot of goals today, but we also made a lot of improvements since the last game against Gwangju (0-3 loss). For Pohang, I think we need to have more meetings and follow the coach’s instructions well. For me, every game is a final.”