Coach Lee Min-seong picks the emerging Yang Hyun-jun as the ‘top contributor’ to the gold medal

“All players are ‘top contributors,’ but if I had to pick one person, I would pick Yang Hyun-jun.”

This is the answer given by Lee Min-seong, coach of the U-23 national team, who achieved the milestone of winning the Asian Games men's soccer title for the fourth time in a row, when asked to name the "biggest contributor" to the gold medal at a press conference after the final match against Japan on the 3rd.

Yang Hyun-jun, a winger who plays for Celtic, a prestigious Scottish professional soccer team, was born in 2002 and was selected by Lee Min-seong as one of the three wild cards (players over 24 years old) allowed per country in the Asian Games for the U-23 age group.

Yang Hyun-jun, who came on board with high expectations, but is said to have a bad hamstring (the muscle behind the thigh), has not been able to play since starting in the first group match against Qatar held on the 15th of last month.

In the game against Qatar (4-1 Korea won), he contributed to the victory by assisting Kim Myung-jun (Genk)'s goal, but since he was not active in the game after that, Coach Lee's selection of 'top contributor' could be considered somewhat surprising.

Coach Lee explained the reason, saying, "After one game, I was unable to play due to an injury, but I was very dedicated behind the scenes. I think that helped the players who played today a lot."

Yang Hyun-jun, who later met with reporters, talked about his junior teammate, Yang Min-hyuk (Besterlo).

Yang Min-hyuk, who was 20 years old and within the age limit for this Asian Games and was considered the most promising player in his age group, came to the Asian Games without many opportunities to participate in his team and was unable to show off his skills to the fullest in the competition.

Then, in the final, where he again started as a starter, he assisted Uhm Seong (Swansea City)'s winning goal with a wonderful cross, and it is said that his 'roommate' Yang Hyun-jun was in charge of mental management in the process.

Yang Hyun-jun said, "Min-hyuk was in a bit of a difficult situation. I think he suddenly felt pressured to play the game after I was injured," and added, "I think the coach is grateful that I did everything I could and helped him focus only on the game."

The national team had been using rooms in the dormitory as previously assigned during the tournament, but after playing the semi-final against China in Osaka and moving to Toyota, the venue for the final, they were free to choose their own room. It is said that Yang Hyun-jun volunteered to share a room with Yang Min-hyuk.

Yang Hyun-jun said, "I saw him lose his mentality a lot when he couldn't play or made a mistake while playing, so I told him, 'There's no need for that, and a striker can show good performance if he does what he does consistently.' He's a smart friend, so he understood that and did it well. I just said it."

He said, “I’m really touched” that Yang Min-hyuk, whom he looked after so much, became the main character who helped score the “gold medal goal.” He added, “Min-hyuk is a talented player. I think he felt that pressure and weight when he was taken from Tottenham, but he seemed to put that aside in the final and concentrate on the game, so I’m happy as a senior.”

Yang Hyun-jun, who was finally able to reveal that his injury status was in fact 'out of the competition' after the first game, said that he mainly relieved his regret towards the team with 'coffee.'

He said, "I couldn't help inside the stadium, so I tried to get along with the kids outside and bring them together as a 'one team.' As overseas players joined late, it felt like the team was playing separately, but I tried to play a role in bringing them together as a team by talking a lot about soccer and life." He laughed, adding, "I tried to buy almost all the coffee."

At the same time, Yang Hyun-jun added, "(Lee) Young-jun, (Kim) Jun-hong, and (Lee) Seung-won served in the military and played a big role in the team. They played just as hard as the players who did not go to the military. I would like to say a special thank you to those three."

Like many players on the national team, Yang Hyun-jun solved one of the important variables in overseas activities with the military service benefits that came with this gold medal.

Yang Hyun-jun said, "It's really good because I feel like I can pursue my career as a player with a higher goal," and emphasized, "There are many good young players in our country, and there will be more players going to sea."