"I feel great, but to be honest, I feel a little heavy on my shoulders because I had such a bad performance in the K League 2 last year. We have to go to the playoffs at the very least. We need to find the tarnished reputation. Seongnam should not be in the K League 2, but be with us in the K League 1. We need to prepare more for that." Shin Tae-yong, Seongnam's non-executive general manager, said, "My former team Seongnam should regain its tarnished reputation."
Seongnam FC suffered a come-from-behind loss to Seoul E-Land FC 1-2 in the 10th round of the "Hana Bank K League 2 2025" held at Tancheon Sports Complex at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Seongnam allowed its first two consecutive wins of the season and fell to sixth place.
Shin Tae-yong, the legendary team's general manager, showed up at the stadium. He attended fan signing events to mark the Children's Day holiday, and people flocked to the event. After spending 12 years in Seongnam alone since Ilhwa Chunma in 1992, Shin briefly moved to the Queensland Lower in Australia in 2005 and ended his career by retiring. After starting his career as a coach of Seongnam Ilhwa from 2008, he led the team to the championship of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League in 2010, and the FA Cup in 2011.
Since then, he has made various achievements in international competitions. After serving as the coach of the Korean Olympic team and the U-20 national team, he also achieved the "Miracle of Kazan" by experiencing World Cup stages as the coach of the Korean national soccer team at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Until early this year, he had been the coach of the Indonesian national team, making exciting achievements across the country and gaining extensive experience. After taking a short break, he has been appointed as the part-time general manager of Seongnam since last month, helping the team develop and strengthen its squad.
He also witnessed the performance of his son Shin Jae-won, who contributed to the first goal. Shin Jae-won, the eldest son of Shin Tae-yong, has been active in Seongnam since the 2023 season after playing for FC Seoul, Ansan Greeners, and Suwon FC. As a starting player, he scored two goals and five assists in 27 K League 2 games last season, and changed his uniform number to No. 7 this season as he continued to accompany Seongnam. He also posted a sharp cross that became the starting point when Huiz scored the first goal in the seventh minute of the first half.
Shin Tae-yong, who was interviewed by reporters during the half-time, said, "Cross is very sharp. Cross is a very good friend, so I don't worry about that. Until last year, he couldn't find his pace as the game time was up and down. He seems to have improved his pace by steadily playing as a starter this year. When I see him, he is playing well and showing his strength in crosses these days," he said, praising his son. "It's a pity that there are no big strikers who can accept that. I am going to supplement that in June," he said, displaying his faithfulness to his role as a general manager.
He expressed his thoughts on Seongnam. Seongnam, which suffered a slump last season at the bottom of the K-League 2, has become a completely different team as it had four wins, four draws and two losses in 10 matches in the early days of this season. "I feel great, but to be honest, I have a bit of a burden on my shoulders because I had such bad performances in the K-League 2 last year. I need to go to the playoffs at the very least. I need to find my tarnished reputation. Seongnam should not be in the K-League 2, but be with me in the K-League 1. I need to prepare more for that," said Shin Tae-yong, the team's general manager.
"Actually, I am under a lot of pressure. I did not perform as well as the budget I was spending and the environment was good," he said. The team should reflect on itself, starting with the owner, CEO, and staff. The same goes for the coaching staff and players. Professional baseball players must perform well in order to attract more fans and receive support. They do not support the team that came in last place. We must reflect on such matters first and judge what is wrong with the team," he said, expressing his conviction toward his hometown team.
-How do you feel about coming back to your old team
I feel good, but to be honest, I had such a bad performance in K League 2 last year, so my shoulders are a little heavy.
-When I accepted the general manager position, Seongnam said I should go up a bit
To be honest, I feel a lot of anger. I did not perform as well as the budget I used to spend and as well as the good environment. Everyone, including the owner, the CEO, and the staff, should reflect on themselves. The same goes for the coaching staff and the players. Professional players need to perform well in order to attract more fans and receive support. They don't root for the team that came in last place. We need to reflect on those issues first and then judge what the problem is. I am making this happen by talking to the coaching staff and talking to the CEO about marketing and what we can do for the audience
-The part you want to change the most
"At the very least, we have to go to the playoffs. We have to find the tarnished honor. Seongnam is not in the K League 2, but we have to play with them in the K League 1. We need to prepare more for that."
-I think Seongnam has a good vibe at the beginning of the season
In fact, the player base is not that thick. The game against Samsung in Suwon is at a critical juncture, and I think from experience that today's game will also be the most critical juncture. If we endure today's game well, we will turn into a team that does not collapse easily in future games. Since the players are not thick, once the atmosphere subsides, it is not easy to come up, so we have to overcome that well. 바카라
-How does your son Shin Jaewon perform
Crosses are sharp. I don't worry about that because he's usually a very good player. Until last year, he couldn't find his pace because of the unstable game time. This year, he seems to have improved his pace by steadily playing as a starter. If you look at it, the game is good and he is showing his strengths, Cross, quite well these days. However, it's a pity that there are no big strikers who can accommodate that. I keep looking for it to make up for that in June.
-How did you see Gwangju FC Asian Champions League challenge
Coach Lee Jung-hyo lost 0-7, but he did well. Obviously, I want to say that he did quite well for Gwangju's budget. However, I would have analyzed what Saudi Jeddah is like and the strengths and weaknesses of Saudi players, but I don't think it was too much.