Director Lee Jung-hyo of 'Suwon Samsung debut match' said, "I'm not nervous... "You should try 7 goals in front of 60,000" [the site of a water source]

*This content was translated by AI.

Manager Lee Jung-hyo (51), who is known as the best tactician in the K-League, expressed his strong determination before his debut at Suwon Samsung.

Suwon and Seoul E-Land will face off in the first round of Hana Bank's K League 2026 at 4:30 p.m. on the 28th at Suwon World Cup Stadium.

Coach Lee Jung-hyo said in an interview before the game, "I'm not that nervous. I've scored seven goals against Al Hilal (the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions League) in Saudi Arabia, but I don't think anything worse will come," he said. "Yesterday, I slept well for about eight hours in a long time. I prepared well," he said.

This game is Lee Jung-hyo's debut as manager of Suwon, who led Gwangju FC until last season.

In response, director Lee Jung-hyo said, "Even if I do well, I think it will be noisy even if I don't do well. "I think every year of my leadership life will be noisy," he said. "I'm trying to enjoy the noisy atmosphere with the players."

Coach Lee Jung-hyo will put Hayes, Ilyuchenko and Kang Sung-jin in the three-top in the first game. Kim Sung-joo, Park Hyun-bin and Kim Min-woo will be in the midfield, while Park Dae-won, Hong Jung-ho, Song Joo-hoon and Lee Kun-hee will take charge of the four backs. Kim Jun-hong protects the goal.

In particular, about midfielder Kim Sung-joo, who was born in 2006, coach Lee Jung-hyo said, "If you hear this, Lee Hee-kyun (currently Ulsan HD) may be upset," adding, "Kim Sung-joo is an upgraded version of Lee Hee-kyun." The skills you have are also good. I have good chemistry with him," he said with a smile.

This season, Suwon built a second-class power in the K-League. Midfielder Ko Seung-beom, who returned to his home team, goalkeeper Kim Joon-hong, and defense team were joined by Hong Jung-ho, the best 11 players in the K League in the 2025 season. Director Lee Jung-hyo's Gwangju-era supporters Hayes and Jung Ho-yeon also joined.

In the match against E-Land, Ko Seung-beom and Jung Ho-yeon will be absent. Coach Lee Jung-hyo said, "I thought a lot about putting the two players on the bench. "I'm still trying to give the two players time," he said. "I could play as early as next week."

Regarding the opponent E-Land, head coach Lee Jung-hyo said, "I thought it would be better to analyze E-Land coach Kim Do-kyun rather than analyze the opponent," adding, "I finished the analysis based on what kind of soccer coach Kim Do-kyun played last year and his memories of playing against me in Gwangju."

Manager Lee Jung-hyo then laughed about manager Kim Do-kyun's comment on Suwon's list and said, "Someone must have missed the practice game," and added, "I'm considering everything." He expressed confidence, saying, "That side must know enough about how we will play."

However, coach Lee Jung-hyo said, "It was a little different from what I expected" when he saw E-Land's list.

In addition, coach Lee Jung-hyo, who recalled watching the Suwon Samsung game with his wife in the past, said, "Of course, my wife is also coming today. At that time, it was a match between Suwon Samsung and Seoul E-Land in Gyeonggi-do, and Suwon lost 0-1."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.