While the ‘Meetan Boys’ from Suwon Samsung Youth are growing rapidly, the team is unable to carry on its old reputation.
Suwon signed a U-18 youth team agreement with Maetan High School in 2008 to lay the foundation for a new youth system. It was in 2013 when head coach Seo Jeong-won took office that he began to focus on nurturing youth players in earnest. Starting with Kwon Chang-hoon, Kim Kun-hee, Yoo Joo-an, Jeon Jin-woo (before renaming Jeon Se-jin), Kim Tae-hwan, Oh Hyun-gyu, Kang Hyun-mook, and Jeong Sang-bin stood out.
Three of them have entered the European stage. The first runner is midfielder Kwon Chang-hoon, born in 1994. After the 2016 season, Kwon Chang-hoon moved to Dijon, France. His transfer fee is 1.5 million euros (approximately 2 billion won). At the time, rich Asian clubs such as China and the Middle East sent huge love calls, but Suwon made a deal with Dijon to help the player’s will to advance to Europe.
The second is normal bin. Striker Jeong Sang-bin, born in 2002, played 28 K-League games in the 2021 season, scoring 6 goals and 2 assists. That year, he was called by coach Paulo Bento and was also selected for the Korean national soccer team, reporting his debut goal in his A-match debut.
Jeong Sang-bin transferred to Wolverhampton in the English Premier League (EPL) in January 2022. But right away he couldn’t wear the Wolverhampton jersey. This is because it is difficult for non-EU nationals to obtain a work visa in the UK. Jeong Sang-bin moved on loan to Grasshopper of the Swiss Super League and is currently playing in Switzerland. 메이저사이트
The third is Hyungyu Oh. On the 25th, Oh Hyun-kyu moved to Celtic, a prestigious team in Scotland. His contract period is 5 years, his uniform number is 19, the transfer fee is said to be around 4 billion won, and his annual salary is 700 million won. Angers Posteglu Celtic manager said, “Oh Hyun-kyu is the type of striker I really like. He will be of great help to Celtic.”
Like this, Maetango, which Suwon has concentrated on growing for more than 10 years, is highly praised as a Korean soccer youth restaurant. The slogan, “Ooo-me (winner is always good anyway),” was born naturally. It’s an amazing achievement.
It is a general phenomenon that if the youth is strong, the first team is also strong. If so, will Suwon be evaluated as the best team in the K-League? To be blunt, Suwon has long since lost its elated ‘Real Suwon’ color in the 2000s. Passive investments have also been going on for a long time.