Gwangju FC's home stadium grass, which is not improving, also affects coach Lee Jung-hyo's tactics.
Gwangju's home stadium, Gwangju Football Stadium, has been pointed out a lot about the condition of the stadium. Whenever the players run, the grass is so bare that they can see the soil in places.
The same was true of the most recent match, the Pohang Steelers match. Gwangju, ranked seventh, needed a victory to continue its hopes of advancing to Final A.
However, conditions at the stadium were also at their worst on the day. There were many grassy areas where people could see the dirt from a distance, and when sprinklers were activated to prevent injury to players, the ground turned to mud.
After the start of the game, the ball bounced irregularly to the dug floor while the players exchanged passes. Both the players who gave and received the pass had difficulty in continuing the next move smoothly.
Coach Lee Jung-hyo also had no choice but to consider conditions at the stadium. Lee, who usually releases attacks through short passes, pressured Pohang on the day by displaying a mix of long passes.
Coach Lee Jung-hyo said before the match, "There were still some cute aspects of our soccer. However, considering the condition of our stadium, there are some parts that cannot be solved only through passes. We will deal with Pohang in accordance with the environment."
Gwangju won 2-1 with consecutive goals by Gabriel and Choi Kyung-rok, allowing them to continue their hopes of advancing to Final A. However, despite the advantage of being a home stadium, they had to give up the soccer they could do well on the pitch.
The poor conditions in Gwangju are not just conditions of its home stadium. The Gwangju Football Center, a training ground that opened in June, also experienced problems just a month after its opening and became unable to carry out normal training.
The biggest problem was the summer weather, which turned into a subtropical climate. Temperatures well over 30 degrees Celsius, inhospitable humidity and frequent downpours damaged the grasses at stadiums and training grounds before they could settle.
An official from Gwangju said, "The grass management team is continuously repairing the stadium and training site every day. It is not easy to repair and manage it to the point where we feel sorry for it when we watch it in hot weather."
Moreover, the number of grass management staff is also not relaxed. Gwangju ranked third in the league last season, and will play in the ALCE of the 2024-25 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League this season. It will play its first Asian stage with Yokohama F. Marinos on Tuesday.
However, the schedule will be held at the Gwangju World Cup Stadium, not at the Gwangju Football Stadium. This is because the Gwangju Football Stadium did not meet AFC regulations.
As a result, Gwangju World Cup Stadium, which has not been used for a long time, also needs to be repaired, followed by Gwangju Football Stadium and Gwangju Football Center. 토토사이트 모음
A club official said, "It is true that we lack hands. We are striving to manage grass by visiting three places day and night. We cannot just wait for the grass condition as we have to proceed with training while working on the league and ACLE schedules," adding, "The Yokohama team has requested that we use the Gwangju World Cup Stadium for training, but we had no choice but to ask for your understanding to ensure the stadium's condition."