Baek Seung-ho (25, Jeonbuk Hyundai) played 30 minutes at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. On December 6 of last year (Korean time), he went in as a substitute in the 20th minute of the second half of the last round of 16 against Brazil, touched the ball 31, and made 27 passes and 3 tackles. He also recorded one shot. In the middle of the second half after four goals, when Lee Kang-in’s free kick came out of the Brazilian defense, he hit it with his left foot from the field outside the arc and pierced the net. His kick, which fired a shell at 89 km/h, remained in Korean soccer history as the last goal of ‘Bentuho’.
Above all, it was a ‘one shot’ that had a great meaning to Baek Seung-ho himself. Meeting with reporters at the Jeonbuk clubhouse in Jeonju on the 12th, he said, “It was an honor just to go to the World Cup. Having missed his first three games, he spent the World Cup aiming to qualify. Not only me, but all the players who couldn’t play, I did my best with the mindset of ‘Let’s prepare to do well whenever we enter’, but the opportunity came, and luckily I scored a goal. It was a grateful and meaningful World Cup. I think I gained a lot of confidence,” he looked back at the scoring scene.
Baek Seung-ho received the highest rating (7.5 points according to <WhoScored.com>) among Korean players in this match, and his goal was nominated for the 10 best goals in this World Cup selected by the International Football Federation (FIFA). For Baek Seung-ho, who has been promising as the future of Korean football since childhood, it can be said that it is a turning point to organize a chapter in his football life. As a youth, he learned soccer for about six years at the prestigious Spanish club FC Barcelona and made his professional debut through the second team. It was in 2019, at the age of 22, that he was called by coach Paulo Bento and boarded the adult national team.
It was the transfer to Jeonbuk that provided a stepping stone to a comeback for Baek Seung-ho, who lost his position in the team and fell into a slump while leaving Barcelona and going through Girona, Spain, and SV Darmstadt, Germany. Entering Jeonju Castle in 2021, the year Jeonbuk coach Kim Sang-sik took office, he quickly leaped into Jeonbuk’s main midfielder. In his K-League debut season, he won the league championship and was selected again for the national team after a long absence. Incomparable to the European days when ‘participation was the goal’, he played many games and improved his physical strength and performance.
He said, “It was a really good choice to come to Jeonbuk,” and he said, “As I played more matches and gained experience in the national team than when I was in Europe, my senses improved a lot. Since he is in the same position as director Kim Sang-shik, he receives a lot of advice,” he pointed out the secret to his growth. Last year’s record was 2 goals and 5 assists in 30 league matches. According to the soccer statistics site ‘Sofascore’, his season average rating is 7.22 points. He is third among Jeonbuk players after Cho Kyu-seong and Hong Jeong-ho, and eighth among all players in the league. 카지노사이트
Baek Seung-ho is in his third year in the league this year. The year 2023 is a new challenge for him, who has been reborn as a prodigy of Lamasia (Barcelona’s youth player development system) to an ace of Jeonbuk and furthermore a World Cup scorer. In particular, the motivation of his team, Jeonbuk, is different. Jeonbuk, which lost its league title in six years last year, recruited Jun Amano, one of Ulsan’s key players in the championship, and also brought in Dong-jun Lee, who played for Germany’s Hertha BSC. In addition, on the 4th, Roberto DiMateo, famous to soccer fans as the coach who won the European Football Federation (UEFA) Champions League, was appointed as a technical advisor.
Baek Seung-ho said, “I’m looking forward to all the players who came this year. (Lee) Dong-jun hyung also played in the national team, and Amano played against him in the league. If we prepare well, I think we will be able to achieve better results than last year.”
Jeonbuk will go to Spain for winter training on the 16th. Baek Seung-ho, who was quenching the new season in Spain, said, “It feels like going home. He will contact the coaches and players he is close with and have a meal with him,” he laughed.