Ulsan Hyundai welcomed 2023 in the position of the’defending champion’ of the K-League 1 (Part 1). Unlike previous years, the eyes of Ulsan players, who are now in a position to receive challenges, are already full of passion.
After the 2022 year-end vacation, the Ulsan team gathered again at the Hyundai Sports Club House in Ulsan on the 3rd and started preparing for the 2023 season in earnest. Ulsan, who won the ‘Hana 1 Q K League 1 2022’ and relieved the pain in 17 years, aims to rise to the top again this year.
It’s just the beginning, but it’s smoother than ever. It is different from last year, when Lee Dong-jun (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Lee Dong-kyung (Hanzarosos), and Oh Se-hoon (Shimizu S-Pulse) left the team one after another ahead of the opening ceremony. This year, the recruitment of Joo Min-gyu and Kim Min-hyeok was decided early, and the existing foreign players Martin Adam and Bakko were kept. Even new foreign players such as Daryan Boyanich and Esaka Ataru joined the clubhouse on the 4th. A team official is satisfied, saying, “It is very rare to start winter training with everything in place like this.”
The players who briefly checked their physical condition on the 3rd, the first day of the call, measured their exact physical condition on the 4th토토사이트. Individual physical fitness tests were conducted, and the current condition was confirmed through various scientific methods, such as checking the level of fatigue through a lactate level test. Based on this, the Ulsan coaches plan to raise the physical strength of all players to a similar level within three weeks. From the 5th, the group is divided according to the level of physical condition and begins full-scale physical training.
Even during the off-season, the enthusiasm of the players was enormous. Athletes who participated in the finishing training held from the 1st to the 16th of last month were notified in advance of the physical fitness test at the convocation in January. The coaching staff notified the recruited students individually of the test. Although there were individual differences, the players were generally in good condition even after the break. Ulsan coach Hong Myung-bo said, “We divided the training program from A to D according to physical condition.” About three people can be put into the game right now,” he praised.
Ulsan will resume overseas training this winter. Many teams are heading to Southeast Asia, such as Thailand and Vietnam, but Ulsan leaves for the Algarve in southern Portugal on the 21st. From early February, they will participate in the 2023 Atlantic Cup and face European teams. They were tied in the same group as Brentford B Team (England), Mittwillan, and Lyngby (Denmark). Head coach Hong said, “There is an advantage to going to Southeast Asia to build a body, but the experience of playing with local teams in Europe will be important to the players.”