Kim Eun-sook, who led Incheon Hyundai Steel to their 11th consecutive WK League title, was her toughest “enemy” throughout the season, and she lavished praise on Suwon FC for bringing her team to the brink of defeat in the championship match.

Hyundai Steel won 6-2 at home in the second leg of the Hyundai Steel 2023 WK League Championship Final at the Incheon Namdong Stadium on Nov. 25.

After losing the first leg 1-3 on April 19 and looking like they were out of the running for the title, Hyundai Steel produced a stunning comeback in the second leg to win their 11th consecutive title.

Hyundai Steel’s victory in the regular season was also dramatic. The team, which was in third place behind Hwacheon KSPO and Suwon FC until the last minute, won the final round to complete an ‘upset win’.

There is a saying in the WK League, ‘Uhyeon’. It means ‘Hyundai Steel will win the championship anyway’.

This season, however, the competition for the title was fiercer than ever. Suwon FC, led by Ji-so-yeon “Jimeshi” Ji-so-yeon, played a great game until the end in both the regular season and the championship, so Hyundai Steel had to be more careful, and women’s soccer fans had more fun.

At the post-match press conference, head coach Kim Eun-sook said, “I really wanted to play Suwon FC in the championship. It was the first time we lost two games to the same team in the league. “We wanted to meet Suwon FC and become a true champion,” she reflected.

“It was mainly because I emphasized to the players that they should keep pushing even after finishing the first half 4-0,” said Kim Eun-sook. “Suwon FC is a team that has been bothering us since the days of the (former) Suwon City Corporation, and (today) they showed that they are a team worthy of the championship.”

This is the third time Kim Eun-sook has overseen Hyundai Steel’s title triumph as a player and the second time as a full-time head coach.

Kim, who became acting head coach in March 2021, was promoted to full head coach last season and has been leading the team ever since.

“People say it’s the same because we win every year, but this year was really eventful,” Kim reflects, “We lost four games in a row and dropped to seventh place, and we didn’t have enough time to catch up because we had a lot of national team members,” she says.

“Nevertheless, it was thanks to the ‘professional’ players who knew Hyundai Steel’s soccer well and moved in the midst of the difficult schedule that we won the overall title,” he said, giving credit to his students.

On the other hand, Suwon FC coach Park Gil-young, who became the ‘loser’, said, “I am very sorry for being too aggressive in the second game.” “I want to reinforce the players and play soccer next year to score more goals and concede fewer goals than this year.” 파워볼