No matter how successful a coach is, no matter how generous the conditions, it doesn’t mean much, said Ulsan Hyundai coach Hong Myung-bo. He hasn’t forgotten how he encouraged his players, saying that winning the championship would be like snow falling yesterday.
Ulsan, led by Hong, played a goalless draw against Daegu FC in the 25th round of the Hana One Q K League 2023 at DGB Daegu Bank Park in Daegu at 7:30 p.m. on May 5. Although Ulsan only earned a point, its dominant lead in the standings remained unchanged.
Prior to the match against Daegu, Ulsan announced the re-signing of head coach Hong Myung-bo. His contract runs until 2026. The fact that Ulsan re-signed Hong to a new contract in the middle of the season shows how much confidence they have in him. After leading Ulsan to their first K League 1 title in 17 years last year, it was a well-deserved reward for one of the best coaches in the club’s history.
Unsurprisingly, the re-signing was one of the many questions asked of Hong before the game against Daegu. “I am grateful that the club was considerate and re-signed me during the season. I think I have to work harder,” he said.
Naturally, the conversation turned to the terms of his three-year contract. While Hong was very happy to hear that the club had re-signed him to a contract that he could celebrate with the fans because of his great performance, he didn’t attach much significance to the length of the contract. Here’s why.
“For a coach, enough time is the most important thing, but the length of the contract is meaningless. Of course, you can fulfill your contract, but you can also not. It just gives you more time to make a long-term plan and develop the team gradually. As a result, I feel like it only highlights the bad things about coaches, which should be guaranteed when they are good or doing well. Personally, I always have my resignation letter in my pocket. That’s why I think you have to do your best every game 꽁머니지급.”
Hong says. To summarize, while it’s certainly nice to be given a generous amount of time as a coach, there’s no telling if this contract will be honored. Even if you win a big tournament right away, and even if you’re the coach that everyone is clamoring for, if you don’t perform well right away, you’ll be at the center of criticism.
The manager of a team like Ulsan, which is always trying to win, will be criticized by the fans even if the winless streak is prolonged. There are not many coaches who leave with applause. More often than not, they bow their heads and apologize before packing their bags. Hong knows this all too well.
In fact, for him, the time to leave on a high note was late last year. He had just won the trophy that Ulsan fans wanted so badly. At the time, there was quite a bit of speculation that Hong could leave. If you’re going to leave on a high note, you have to leave on a high note. But Hong chose to stay with Ulsan, and this time he signed a bigger contract.
“Who remembers that we won the championship last year? It snowed yesterday, you can’t even see it,” Hong told his players during winter training. While this quote from total football’s founder and Dutch-born world champion Linus Meijers got the players in the right frame of mind, Hong knows it applies to him as well. “There’s always a resignation letter in your pocket,” he says. To avoid having to pull out that resignation letter, Hong knows he has to lead Ulsan to soaring heights.
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