| Midfielder Woo-hyuk Lee who started as a goalkeeper (provided by the Korea Professional Football Federation) © News 1 |
A rare scene emerged. Pro soccer K League 2 Gyeongnam FC midfielder Woo-hyuk Lee started as a goalkeeper.
In the match between Gyeongnam FC and Bucheon FC in K League 2, which was held at Jinju Stadium on the 16th, Lee Woo-hyuk wore unfamiliar goalkeeper gloves from the start and kept the goal instead of his main job.
There is a story. In Gyeongnam, one of the four goalkeepers was injured, and the other three were all diagnosed with the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19).
The Korea Professional Football Federation will play a game if there are 17 or more players (one goalkeeper) remaining per team, excluding those unable to participate due to COVID-19. Injured players are included in these 17 players.
Because of this, Gyeongnam had to play this game without a goalkeeper who might play, and MF Lee Woo-hyeok was put into the actual game without even performing proper catching training.
It often happens that the field player temporarily sees the goalkeeper following the goalkeeper is injured or sent off during a match when the replacement card runs out. However, it is extremely rare for a field player to start as a goalkeeper from the start.
Lee Woo-hyuk, of course, had a hard day. In the beginning, he seemed to save Gyeongnam from a crisis by holding several ‘saving shows’ even though he was in an unfamiliar position. But there were limits.
In the 28th minute of the first half, when Honam Kim conceded a goal, the positioning was not good, and in the fourth minute of the second half, he caught a normal shot and missed it and gave up the goal to Namani Eun. In the 46th minute of the second half, I had to watch the winning goal conceded while changing uniforms on the bench to go to the field. In the end, Gyeongnam lost 2-3.
It was sad to see Lee Woo-hyuk, who played 147 K-League games as a midfielder, bow his head as a goalkeeper.
This is an event that might not have happened had it not been for COVID-19. The goalkeeper is a special position, so if one or two goalkeepers are injured, the club prepares for the worst by adjusting the condition and training.
However, no one might predict the unexpected variable in which three goalkeepers were infected with Corona 19 at once, and in the end, this unusual situation occurred.
It is a sad record created by the special nature of the ‘corona era’.
Meanwhile, in the K League, there have been two cases of field players starting as a goalkeeper before.
In 2011, Sangju Sangmu’s (then) defender Lee Yun-ui, whose squad was thinned in the followingmath of an unfortunate match-fixing incident, started as a goalkeeper.
Also, in 2014, when Ansan Mugunghwa (then), who was a member of the National Police Agency, had no players to play in the match due to a large discharge in the second half and an injury to the main goalkeeper, striker Kang Jong-guk wore goalkeeper gloves from the start.
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| Gyeongnam Lee Woo-hyuk (provided by Korea Professional Football Federation) © News 1 |
