It's up to 'Multiman' Seol Young-woo to recapture the leade

 You may be watching from heaven now, but I would also like to say thank you to Director Yoo Sang-cheol, the senior I respect the most and my eternal teacher.”

Seol Young-woo (26), who received the 'Young Player Award' at the professional soccer K-League 1 Awards Ceremony in December 2021, went on stage and mentioned the name of the late coach Yoo Sang-cheol. He was a student of Coach Yoo, who passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer in June of that year, when he was the head coach of Ulsan University. Coach Yoo, who was famous as the best multi-player during his career, discovered Seol Young-woo's multi-player ability, who played as a side attacker until his first year of college, and suggested that he change his position to side defender.

Director Yoo’s eyes were accurate. Seol Young-woo, who was consistently selected for the national team by age group even after changing his position, achieved his dream of debuting as a professional by signing a contract with professional soccer team Ulsan HD (formerly Ulsan Hyundai) in 2020. In his second year, he became a starting player and won the Young Player Award, leading the K League. Recognized as a representative side defender.

Although he is right-footed, Seol Young-woo, who boasts multi-talented ability to play both left and right, has become a player coveted by all coaches at every international competition. Amid his consistent league performance, he was called by coach Kim Hak-beom to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and last year, he also accompanied the under-24 (U-24) national team led by coach Hwang Seon-hong, contributing to winning the gold medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

Seol Young-woo is also famous as a favorite student of Ulsan HD director Hong Myung-bo, who is famous for being picky. Coach Hong, who praised him as 'a player with a variety of abilities' and 'a player who can play any position when the team needs him', has used Seol Young-woo since he took office as Ulsan HD coach in 2021. If Director Yoo discovered Seol Young-woo's talent, Director Hong can be said to be the benefactor who allowed his talent to blossom.

Coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who took charge of the national soccer team in February of last year, also immediately recognized Seol Young-woo's abilities. Coach Klinsmann selected Seol Young-woo as a replacement when Kim Jin-soo left due to a sudden injury during the A match in March of that year, which was his debut. As a result, Seol Young-woo earned the title of being the first player coach Klinsmann selected from his own perspective after taking office.

Since then, Seol Young-woo has been called every time the Klinsmann convenes. In a friendly match against El Salvador in June last year, he also achieved his dream A match debut. At the time, he started as a right-side defender and played full-time, and was impressed by the coach with his stable defense and sharp attack participation. Seol Young-woo, who has not been missing from the national team since then, was proudly named to the final list of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup national team announced on December 28 last year.

Korea aims to win the Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years. Players who are active on the world's best stages, such as Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), are positioned in each position, so they are evaluated as the strongest of all time.

Korea's only concern is defense. In particular, the defensive positions on both sides, where Seol Young-woo mainly plays, are traditionally vulnerable positions. After Lee Young-pyo (47, KBS commentator) and Cha Du-ri (44, current national team coach) retired, there are no players capable of competing on the world stage. In this national team, excluding Seol Young-woo, the average age of the side defenders, including Kim Jin-soo (Jeonbuk), Ki-je Lee (Suwon), and Kim Tae-hwan (Ulsan), is 33.3 years old. It is no exaggeration to say that Seol Young-woo, the only player in his 20s and multi-resource, holds the key in a forced march that requires up to seven games to win. Can Seol Young-woo, Coach Klinsmann's 'first pick', be reborn as the new crown prince of Klinsmann through this tournament? His true value can be seen from the first group stage match against Bahrain, which will be held on the 15th at 8:30 PM Korean time.

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