In the sweltering heat of July, who were the “physical stars” of the Korean League who braved the sweltering heat? The “Heart of Gangwon” Hankook Young ran the most distance, while Suwon Samsung’s Jeon Jin-woo made his first appearance on the top speed list. Park Soo-il (Seoul) dominated the distance and number of sprints.
The Korea Professional Football Association (KPA) announced on Wednesday (July 9) the top five players in the monthly activity (physical) data category based on data from each of the K League 1 (Rounds 20-24) and K League 2 (Rounds 19-24) matches held in July. Introduced in April, activity data and the packing index have allowed K League fans to enjoy the fun of watching soccer through various additional data, just like the English Premier League (EPL) and the German Bundesliga.
Activity data, which utilizes optical tracking system technology to analyze the total distance run (km), top speed (km/h), number of sprints, and sprint distance of K League players, was revived after a three-year hiatus in 2020. In 2020, it was not possible to accurately compare and analyze the data because the 22 K League clubs did not use the same GPS equipment, but from this year, all clubs applied the same measurement method, making it possible to accurately compare and analyze the activity data.
■ ‘From heart to pride’ Hankyung tops overall distance covered
Hankyoung, who was second in the overall distance covered category in June, moved to the top of the category after running 62.98 kilometers in five games in July. She played full-time in all five games, doing the dirty work for the team.
Her performance is desperate in more ways than one. Currently at the bottom of the league, Gangwon have yet to win since Yoon Jung-hwan took over as head coach. With the team under relegation pressure, there’s a lot of pressure on the players to perform every game. However, despite the team’s struggles, Hankyung is protecting the “pride of Gangwon” by being named Team K-PL pick eleven and starting against Atletico Madrid.
Second and third place went to Jung Ho-yeon (Gwangju, 57.98 kilometers) and Park Soo-il (Seoul, 57.18 kilometers), respectively, while fourth place went to last month’s winner, Yoon Beetgaram (Suwon FC, 57 kilometers). In fifth place, Aubertan (Pohang, 55.55km) remained the same as last month.
Jeon Jin-woo ‘sprinting for a rebound’ tops the top speed list
The top five in the fastest category were completely different from June. Jeon Jin-woo, one of the main players behind Suwon Samsung’s rebound in July, took the top spot, followed by Lee Kwang-hyuk (Suwon FC), Vasellus (Daegu), Kim Tae-hwan (Ulsan), and Lee Dong-joon (Jeonbuk).
Jeon Jin-woo was the fastest runner in July in the last match of the 21st round, when Suwon started to gain momentum. In the 14th minute of the second half, after Mulicic’s equalizer made it 2-2, Jeon reached a top speed of 36.73 km/h as he slipped past opposing defender Anton.
Lee Kwang-hyuk was second at 35.69 km/h for his fast sprint in the 23rd minute of the first half against Seoul in Round 22, and Vasellus, who topped this category in May, was third with a speed of 35.51 km/h in the match between Daejeon and Round 24.
Park Soo-il and Ko Jae-hyun are the top two in sprint distance and number of sprints
Seoul’s Park Soo-il took the top spot in both sprint distance and number of sprints. In addition, Ko Jae-hyun (Daegu), who had consistently led this category except for June, returned to the top spot.
Park Soo-il, who topped the list for both sprint distance and number of sprints, played full-time in five games in July, recording 137 sprints and a distance of 2,931 meters. Second place went to Ko Jae-hyun, who once again proved to be a ‘sprint powerhouse’ with 123 sprints and 2,789 meters in five games. Wandelsson (Pohang, 118 runs, 2,676 meters) and Vasellus (Daegu, 110 runs, 2,470 meters) took third and fourth place, respectively, while Kim Seung-dae (Pohang, 2,309 meters) was fifth in distance and Oberdan (Pohang, 107 runs) was fifth in number of runs.온라인바카라
■ ‘Who ran the most’: Gimpo and Seongnam go head-to-head
In K League 2, Gimpo and Seongnam battled it out for the overall distance covered, with Gimpo winning in the end. Gimpo was led by Cho Sung-kwon (62.11km), followed by Kim Tae-han (60.21km) and Kim Yi-seok (59.6km). Seongnam had Park Tae-joon (61.04km) in second and Cho Sung-wook (60.2km) in fourth.
Meanwhile, the top speed category was won by Cho Ji-ji (Cheongju), who ran at a speed of 36.70 km/h in the 22nd round in Bucheon. In the sprint category, Lee Jun-jae (Gyeongnam, 3,750 meters) took the top spot for distance and Kim Jin-rae (Seongnam, 174) for number of times.