South Korean soccer hopeful Bae Jun-ho (20, Daejeon) is thriving on experience. After catching the eye of scouts at the FIFA U20 World Cup in Argentina, Bae Jun-ho proved his potential by being recognized by world-renowned Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone.
Bae started for Team K-League in the first leg of the Coupang Series against Atletico Madrid at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Nov. 27.
After impressing with his skills at the U20 World Cup last month, Bae Jun-ho was selected as a member of Team K-League by the fans.
Hong Myung-bo, the new head coach of Team K League, gave Bae a chance to start. Atletico Madrid started Antoine Griezmann, Alvaro Morata, Koke, and Rodrigo DePaul in the first half, giving Bae Junho the opportunity to go head-to-head with some of the best players in Europe.
Bae worked diligently as he moved between the attacking midfield and left flank, but facing world-class players in front of an estimated 60,000 spectators, Bae was nervous and didn’t show his full potential. His flashes of movement allowed him to penetrate the defense, but the dribbling breakthroughs that followed his steady ball touches in the club matches were nowhere to be seen.
However, after the game, Simeone was quick to praise Bae, saying, “I was impressed with the way No. 33 (Bae) played in our defense.” Griezmann also gave Bae an autographed jersey to encourage him.
With several European teams recently showing interest in Bae, Simeone’s public praise is expected to draw more attention to him.바카라사이트
However, Bae’s expression was full of regret. He told the press after the game, “I don’t know what (Simeone) saw as good, but I’m grateful. “I don’t know what (Simeone) saw as good, but I’m grateful,” he said, “but it’s a shame that I didn’t show all the things I can do well,” he added.
“I need to improve and work on the things I learned from this match to get to a higher level,” he concluded.