“The ranking was not important for us to come here.”
Daejeon Hana Citizens drew 2-2 with Jeonbuk Hyundai in the 21st round of the Hana Bank K League 1 2024 at Daejeon World Cup Stadium at 7 p.m. on Sunday. Daejeon remained in 11th place with 19 points. Jeonbuk remained in 12th place.
Kim Moon-hwan made his Daejeon debut. After joining Busan I-Park in 2017, Kim made an immediate impact in his first year as a professional, scoring four goals and providing one assist in 32 league appearances. After settling in, Kim grew into one of the league’s leading defenders year after year, earning K League 2 Best 11 (Defense) honors for the second consecutive season with three goals and one assist in 26 league games in 2018 and two assists in 29 league games in 2019.
The national fullback was granted military exemption for the Asian Games in Palembang, Jakarta. He became even more valuable as he led Busan to promotion. In search of a new challenge, he moved to LA FC in the MLS, where he gained experience in his first overseas stint. He then returned to the K League with Jeonbuk Hyundai. He played at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where he led his country to the round of 16.
After moving to Al Duhail in Qatar, Kim joined Daejeon in the summer transfer window. Upon his return, Kim focused on improving his fitness and was named to the roster for this match, coming off the bench to help his team to a dramatic 2-2 draw. He made his presence felt from the right side to the center. It was his return to the K League and his debut in 19가이드 Daejeon, but he settled in well, making us excited to see what he can do in the future.
In an interview with Mixzone, Kim said, “I played my comeback game against my former team, Jeonbuk. Even though we couldn’t overturn the deficit, it was very good to see the team not giving up and trying to keep up until the end. We will try to bring home the result in the next game against FC Seoul.”
“I was resting after the end of the season in Qatar. I was building up my body and then I joined the team. Even though the team results were not good, the atmosphere was good. It was great to have such a close-knit team. The players were very nice and helped me adapt quickly,” he said.
When asked about his conversations with the Jeonbuk players, he said, “I told them not to come to the left and to be careful with each other. We were just joking around with each other.” “We were at a point where we were switching from a three-back to a four-back, and he asked us to dig into the space from our position,” he said.
For an international fullback to come to Daejeon, a team in the relegation zone, was a big move. “When I came back to Korea from Qatar, the ranking wasn’t that important to me. I only chose Daejeon because I had love and interest in the club. I didn’t care about the ranking,” he said.