Struggling K League Club Daegu FC Name New Head Coach

This photo provided by Daegu FC on April 23, 2024, shows the K League 1 club’s new head coach, Park Chang-hyeon. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)

SEOUL, Apr. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Sitting only one point above last place in the top South Korean football league, Daegu FC named veteran tactician Park Chang-hyeon as their new head coach Tuesday.

Park, 57, replaces Choi Won-kwon, who stepped down last week to take the fall for the club’s sluggish start.

Park, who had been coaching Hongik University in Seoul since 2017, will make his Daegu coaching debut Sunday against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

Daegu have registered just one win through their first eight matches, along with four draws and three losses. With seven points, they are in 10th place, with Gwangju FC and Daejeon Hana Citizen FC just below them at six points apiece. Daegu have scored the fewest goals this season with only five.

Park played in the K League from 1989 to 1996, and jumped right into coaching in 1997.

He has mostly coached university and high school teams. In the K League, Park was an assistant for Pohang Steelers from 2008 to 2010, and was their caretaker manager for seven months in the latter part of the 2010 season.

“Park Chang-hyeon has been coaching on various levels for 27 years, and with his experience, we felt that he would be the right person to help our club overcome the current situation,” Daegu FC said in a statement. “We expect him to be able to work effectively with our young players and steer the club in the right direction at such a difficult juncture.”

Park said he was “honored” to be taking over Daegu and said he was confident his years of coaching experience will serve him well in the new role.

“My goal is to bring more stability to this club and take it to a higher place,” Park added. “I’ll try my best to put the club in the top six.”

(Yonhap)