adminHwang Seon-hong (55), coach of the Asian Games soccer team, now understands the joys and sorrows of “N jobbers” who have two or more jobs.
This is because coach Hwang is preparing for the Paris Olympics next year as the Hangzhou Asian Games have been postponed for a year due to the spread of Corona 19. He says, “The Asian Games are in front of me first,” but he is busy because he cannot afford to miss the Olympic ticket.
Coach Hwang met with reporters at the Paju Training Center (NFC), where the Asian Games team was recently convened, and confessed, “It is not easy to prepare for the Asian Games and the Olympics at the same time.”
Director Hwang’s difficulties were already confirmed from the convocation in March. At the time, he planned training in Doha, Qatar, where he called up the under-24 national team for the Asian Games and the 22-year-old Olympic team at the same time.
Even though the number of coaching staff has not increased, it was never easy to train and play with 50 people from two teams at once. The Asian Games team played a practice match against the Middle East team, and the Olympic team participated in the Doha Cup, where 10 Asian countries participated.
Director Hwang laughed, saying, “It’s fortunate that the age group for the Asian Games has been confirmed as being born in 1999, and even the uncertainty has disappeared.”
Usually, N jobs are supported by the power of income that increases as much as you work. Coach Hwang is enduring with one goal of taking responsibility for the future of Korean soccer rather than living in pockets. The unprecedented three-game winning streak started with the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. And the thought of standing on the podium once again at the Paris Olympics is full in my head. Recently, it was not even during the A-match period, but I persuaded the K-League clubs to make a three-day training session for the Asian Games national team. 안전놀이터
Head coach Hwang said, “We were scheduled to call in June, but we called in May because we thought we needed even a short training session to improve our organizational skills.” .
Director Hwang, who unintentionally became an N catcher, says that September is the real turning point. The Asian Games finals will open on September 19th, and the first qualifying round for the Paris Olympics will be held from the 4th of the same month. There is only one leader, but two competitions must be held simultaneously within a month.
Coach Hwang believes in the strong support of the Korea Football Association. Coach Hwang said, “The association is pushing to host the first Olympic qualifiers in Korea. After passing the preliminaries in Korea, you can move on to Hangzhou. After the Asian Games are over, I can take part in the second qualifying round in Doha, Qatar in March next year, so I have time to spare.”
He said, “The promotion of the Doha field training in March was also a process of preparing for the second qualifying round. If the players do their best, I am ready to give everything. It is not an easy situation, but we will do our best to succeed in both competitions.”