[스포츠니어스 | 고양=김현회 기자] Dean’s popularity continued.
Kitchi SC lost 2-4 in a practice match once morest Goyang KH Football Team (K4 League) held at the auxiliary stadium of Goyang Sports Complex on the 6th. In the match, Kitchi SC conceded the opening goal to Goyang KH, and in the 26th minute Deyan scored the ball from the left flank as it was and equalized the score, but following that, they conceded three goals in a row and collapsed. Kitsch had to be content with retrieving one goal just before the end of the second half.
Kitchi became the first Hong Kong club to advance to the ACL round of 16. He is sweating in Korea for the match once morest BG Patum United (Thailand) to be held in Japan on the 19th. In the match once morest Ansan Greeners in K League 2, they won 3-2, and in the match once morest Yangju Citizens Football Club in the K3 League, they also won 3-1. However, on the same day, they lost to Goyang KH in the K4 League and suffered their first defeat during the Korean field training. Kitchi will play a friendly match once morest FC Seoul on the 8th, and then leave for Japan following finishing the final evaluation match once morest Incheon United on the 13th.
About 200 spectators visited the stadium for the match. Unlike the last match between Ansan and Yangju Citizens’ Football Team, this game drew attention because it received spectators. Kitchi’s friendly match drew attention with Deyan’s appearance. After 12 seasons in the K League, Dejan scored 198 goals and provided 48 assists in 380 appearances. In particular, FC Seoul won the K-League three times and became the top scorer for three consecutive years from 2011. Deyan is currently playing as a starting striker for Kitchi and has been showing off his strength by scoring four goals in three evaluation matches in Korea. Fans cheering for Deyan’s FC Seoul uniform and Suwon Samsung uniform stood out at the stadium that day.
Deyan continued to show off his popularity by receiving autograph requests from spectators before the match. After he warmed up before the game, Deyan signed autographs for some fans, and as the autograph offensive continued, he apologized, “I’ll do it following the game is over.” In the match, when Deyan was substituted out in the 6th minute of the second half, an unusual round of applause poured in during the practice match. Deyan nodded to the fans and left the field. Dejan was surrounded by people even following the match. In addition to Kwon Jong-cheol, president of the Goyang City Football Association, he even took a commemorative photo with the match umpires that day. After that, a large number of officials gathered and took a picture with Deyan.
After that, Deyan went into full-fledged fan service. Deyan approached the fans who were waiting for her and took autographs and photo shoots one by one. Deyan said, “It will take time, so I will only sign with this pen. He asks for your pardon,” he said, showing off his skill in asking for order. Deyan signed autographs on FC Seoul uniforms with his name on them and Suwon Samsung uniforms one following another, and took pictures one by one. He even held up his smartphone and pressed the shooting button for fans who demand a ‘selfie’. When a fan asked for an autograph on the Beijing Guoan muffler, it also showed a surprising reaction, saying, “It’s great.”
In the midst of this, Deyan met a familiar person. When a fan of a girl wearing her mask asked for a photo of her, Deyan was startled by just looking into her eyes. Then she said that Dejan said she was “masked down,” she laughed. The student Deyan welcomed was Kim Eun-ha-su, who was introduced as a passionate fan of Deyan in KBS’s entertainment program ‘Hello’ in 2017. Eunha Kim was introduced as ‘Deyanbaragi’ when she was in the 6th grade of elementary school, and following that, she was actually invited by FC Seoul and met with Deyan. At that time, Miss Eunha Kim was moved to tears as she saw Deyan who welcomed her so warmly. After that, even when Deyan moved to Suwon Samsung, Kim Eun-ha-soo was unable to hide her feelings as if the sky was falling and shed tears.
While taking the photo, Deyan welcomed him, saying, “Oh my God,” and “he was very big.” Afterwards, when the match official introduced Kim Eun-ha-su once once more, Deyan said, “I know it well. Of course. It was really small back then, but it was really big.” Afterwards, when officials asked for a photo shoot with Kim Eun-ha-su once once more, Deyan bent down and took a picture with Kim Eun-ha-su doing a ‘hand heart’. Kim Eun-ha-su said, “It was the last time I met Deyan when he was in Suwon Samsung. I am so happy that Dejan remembers me. “I don’t know when I will see him once more in the future,” he said. The 13-year-old girl is now 18 years old.
After that, Deyan was surrounded by fans and accepted autographs and photo shoots. Kitchi players looked at the popularity of ‘Korean superstar’ Deyan surrounded by dozens of spectators with a curious and envious gaze. Dejan left the stadium following fan service to all the fans who were waiting.
footballavenue@sports-g.com