'100-win challenge' Kim Do-gyun: "Paju will turn the flank behind" vs 'Revenge match' Nousse: "Seoul Eland is excellent, but we will decide with football" [Mokdong]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Kim Do-gyun (49), manager of Seoul Eland, is taking on the challenge of reaching 100 wins. Gérard Nousse (41), manager of Paju Frontier, expressed respect for his opponent while vowing to perform well.

Seoul Eland will face Paju Frontier in a home match of the 'Hana Bank K League 2 2026' Round 23 at Mokdong Stadium on the afternoon of the 23rd at 7:30 p.m.

After the World Cup break, Seoul Eland has gone unbeaten in six matches (four wins and two draws), accumulating 40 points (12 wins, four draws, five losses) to sit in third place, trailing second-place Suwon FC only on goal difference. The gap to the top-ranked Suwon Samsung is just four points. A victory today would narrow that gap to one point.

Speaking before the match, manager Kim Do-gyun said, "We expect Paju to exploit spaces behind us or launch counterattacks and long balls, so we have prepared accordingly." He added, "When Paju sets up in a 5-3-2 formation during defense, their wide midfielders push forward, creating space that we plan to continuously target."

Regarding the defensive adjustment of promoting Baek Ji-woong as a defensive midfielder, he explained, "Kim Oh-gyu, who took rest during the summer break, played the full 90 minutes in the last match. When paired with Osmar, he showed stability, so we selected him for the starting lineup." He further added, "We determined that Baek Ji-woong's style was necessary when deploying one midfielder, and we also considered his advantage of being able to change positions during the game."

If Eland wins today, manager Kim Do-gyun will become the 23rd manager in K League history to reach 100 career wins. On this, Kim Do-gyun responded calmly: "I only found out yesterday. Reaching 100 wins is a record we were bound to achieve someday, so I don't attach great importance to it."

Emphasizing composure amid the fierce battle for the top spot, manager Kim Do-gyun stated, "As the gap narrows, ambition grows, but we have agreed with the players not to focus on other teams' results. It is important to maintain our current good momentum over the remaining 11 matches. Whether we finish first or second, we will concentrate solely on achieving promotion."

Opponent Paju currently sits in 10th place with 24 points. Having rebounded with two wins and one loss in their last three matches, they are gaining momentum, which is encouraging.

Before the match, Gérard Nousse, manager of Paju, expressed respect for his opponent. He said, "Seoul Eland scores many goals, has excellent combinations, and controls many elements during the game. I believe they will be among the teams that must be promoted to K League 1 next year."

He added, "Seoul Eland currently demonstrates the style of play we aspire to on the field. As a newly formed team, we also hope to one day play like Eland does."

In their first meeting last April, Paju lost 1-3. Manager Nousse said, "Our team has also grown and developed significantly during this period. Today's match, I want to decide solely on footballing merits without any external factors."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original