| Lee Jung-Hyo | |
| Fullname: | Lee Jung-Hyo |
| Birth Date: | 23 July 1975 |
| Currentclub: | Gwangju FC (Manager) |
| Position: | Defender |
| Youthclubs1: | Ajou University |
| Years1: | 1999–2008 |
| Clubs1: | Busan I'Park |
| Caps1: | 171 |
| Goals1: | 10 |
| Pcupdate: | 18 March 2009 |
| Manageryears1: | 2011–2012 |
| Managerclubs1: | Ajou University (coach) |
| Manageryears2: | 2013–2014 |
| Managerclubs2: | Ajou University |
| Manageryears3: | 2015 |
| Managerclubs3: | Jeonnam Dragons (coach) |
| Manageryears4: | 2016–2017 |
| Managerclubs4: | Gwangju FC (coach) |
| Manageryears5: | 2018–2019 |
| Managerclubs5: | Seongnam FC (Assistant Manager) |
| Manageryears6: | 2020–2021 |
| Managerclubs6: | Jeju United (Assistant Manager) |
| Manageryears7: | 2022– |
| Managerclubs7: | Gwangju FC |
| Hangul: | 이정효 |
| Hanja: | 李正孝 |
| Rr: | Yi Jeong-hyo |
| Mr: | Yi Chŏng-hyo |
Lee Jung-Hyo (born July 23, 1975) is a South Korean former football player and current manager of Gwangju FC.[1]
He played for one club, Busan I'Park.
In March 2009, he announced his retirement.
He is one of the legends of Busan, a one-club man who has experienced Daewoo-Icons-IPark (former teams based in Busan).[2]
As the captain of the Ajou University soccer team, he won the 1997 National University Football League Fall Championship and was named the tournament MVP.[3] After receiving attention through this tournament, he joined Daewoo Royals (now Busan I'Park), the parent company of Ajou University.
His first season with the Daewoo Royals (now Busan I'Park) was a difficult one for him. He couldn't play a single game due to injuries.[4] After returning from injury in 1999, he was recognized as an important player by interim manager Chang Woe-ryong in the second half of the season, and played a key role. He played 20 games in the season, mainly as a right-back.
In 2000, he was recognized for his skills and signed a new contract with a signing bonus of 60 million won and an annual salary of 24 million won, but he was injured again and only played in 4 league games.
From 2001 to 2007, he played excellent as a fullback and wingback under several Korean coaches with good skills. In 2008, he was appointed as the captain as the most veteran player of the team under coach Hwang Sun-hong. However, towards the end of the first half of the season, he suffered a serious injury and it became difficult for him to continue playing.
In 2009, he ended his career as a player with a retirement ceremony at Busan I-Park Stadium.
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| South Korea | League | KFA Cup | League Cup | Asia | Total | ||||||||
| 1999 | Busan I'Park | K-League | 15 | 0 | ? | ? | 0 | 0 | ? | ? | |||
| 2000 | 4 | 0 | ? | ? | 5 | 0 | colspan="2" | - | |||||
| 2001 | 22 | 0 | ? | ? | 0 | 0 | colspan="2" | - | |||||
| 2002 | 25 | 2 | ? | ? | 7 | 0 | colspan="2" | - | |||||
| 2003 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2" | - | colspan="2" | - | 20 | 0 | |||
| 2004 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 1 | colspan="2" | - | 27 | 4 | |||
| 2005 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | ? | ? | |||||
| 2006 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | colspan="2" | - | 30 | 3 | |||
| 2007 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | colspan="2" | - | 35 | 3 | |||
| 2008 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | colspan="2" | - | 12 | 0 | |||
| Total | South Korea | 171 | 10 | 51 | 3 | ||||||||
| Career total | 171 | 10 | 51 | 3 | |||||||||
Unlike other K-League coaches, Lee is famous for using state-of-the-art tactics. He also uses goalkeepers like field players to attract opponents and counterattacks. As Lee said in an interview, "I learn from Brighton and Arsenal's tactics,[5] I will inherit those of Roberto De Zerbi and Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta.
The essence of soccer is attacking soccer, which places absolute importance on destroying the opponent's defense as much as it depends on scoring. It aims for very aggressive and pressuring soccer. He is a manager with outstanding tactical ability, using fast and fluid positional play and applying strong pressure, which is a trendy tactic in modern soccer. He is evaluated as the Korean manager who best understands positional play, which has become very important in modern soccer, and his tactic is characterized by the organic movement in creating space.
The core of the pressing soccer used by Manager Lee Jung-hyo is the side. When the opposing goalkeeper catches the ball or catches the ball in the center, he waits while guarding the area, and when the ball is passed to the side, the wingback advances to a considerably high position and begins to press. At this time, the central midfielder also advances and blocks the opponent's ball path. Gwangju can play soccer by suppressing the opponent from above and continuing the attack through strong pressing tactics.
Manager Lee Jung-hyo also implanted high spatial awareness in Gwangju players. Thanks to this, Gwangju can play the ball organically with players not restricted by position during build-up and attack. For example, when the central defender advances and plays the build-up, the central midfielder drops down to cover the space, and when the ball is played in the midfield, the striker also drops down to create a momentary numerical advantage in the center and passes and advances.
During the attack, the midfielder and the striker move freely while keeping the opposing defense in check. In the meantime, the wingers and central midfielders endlessly penetrate the side space or half space to create a threatening situation. At this time, the wingbacks are given the role of ‘inverted’ to come in to cover the empty midfield space and help with the ball circulation or prepare for the opponent’s counterattack.[6]
After retiring from Busan I'Park, he went through the process of obtaining a leadership certificate and was appointed as a coach in his alma mater Ajou University's soccer department since 2011.
After serving as a head coach under coach Ha Seok-joo, he was promoted to coach when Ha Seok-joo took over as manager of Jeonnam Dragons in August 2012, and began his coaching career early on. He has won numerous championship trophies for about three years at Ajou University and began to be recognized as a competent leader in the U-League.[7]
Ahead of the 2015 season, he changed seats with coach Ha Seok-joo. He joined the Jeonnam Dragons as a coach and made his debut as a professional leader.[8]
With his appointment as a coach of Gwangju FC in 2016, he will serve as a major member of the division that will remain.
Along with coach Ma Chul-joon and goalkeeper coach Ki Woo-sung, he continued to assist coach Nam Ki-il through Seongnam FC and Jeju United FC and served as the right arm of coach Nam Ki-il as a senior coach.[9]
After that, he moved to Seongnam FC with Nam Ki-il, leading Seongnam to promotion and stay in the top division, and in 2020, he moved back to Jeju United, manager Nam Ki-il's former club, to build leadership as a senior coach,[10] including Jeju's promotion and fourth place in the league.
On December 28, 2021, he officially took over as the 7th manager of Gwangju FC, which was relegated to the K League 2, making his debut as a professional club manager, and returning to Gwangju after about five years.[11]
He made his managerial debut through the league's opening game against Gimpo FC, but unfortunately lost 1:2.[12]
In a series of matches against Daejeon Hana Citizen, he beat everyone's expectations and achieved his first win since his debut as a coach.[13] He was aggressive in this game, but he was aggressive and pushed Daejeon hard, blocking Daejeon's build-up and causing pass misses, interfering with the attack and stealing the ball. He showed strong pressure and prepared well for Daejeon, which plays a lot of soccer. It was a famous game that predicted Gwangju's victory.
In particular, with rookie Jung Ho-yeon as the first starter in the game, he blocked Lee Hyun-sik, Daejeon's playmaker, and blocked Daejeon's build-up. In addition, Jung Ho-yeon acted as a cleaner in the center of Gwangju, overwhelmed the center of Daejeon, raising the morale of the team and fans with determined plays and leading the game in an advantageous direction.
Since then, he has continued to rise, leading Bucheon FC 1995 and leading the league,[14] and in the third round of the FA Cup away match against Incheon United in the K League 1, he has created a stir by winning 6-1 in a big victory.[15]
Based on Gwangju's upturn, he became the winner of the Paradise City Coach of the Month award in April. Since the main prize is awarded through integration of the first and second parts, it is quite difficult for the K League 2 coach to receive, but he made it through.[16]
In the face-off against Gimpo FC at home on September 3, he made an aggressive replacement while being dragged 0:1, resulting in a crazy come-from-behind victory by scoring goals in the 90th and 94th minutes.[17] Now, regardless of the results of FC Anyang's fierce pursuit, if they achieve four wins, they can win the K League 2 title and win direct promotion on their own.[18]
On Sept. 21, then-second-ranked Anyang lost to Daejeon at the FC Anyang vs. Daejeon Hana Citizen match. Thanks to the double-digit gap that it has accumulated, it has secured early victory in the K League 2 and promotion to the K League 1 regardless of the results of the remaining matches.[19]
Along with the 2022 season's coach award, he contributed greatly to the team winning nine gold medals.[20]
On January 18, 2023, the Gwangju club officially announced that it had signed a two-year contract with manager Lee Jung-hyo.[21]
He received attention for his unique answers that broke the mold at the opening media day of the K League 1. He wore Lee Eut-deum's uniform upside down out of comfort and care for Lee Eut-deum, who suffered a long-term injury after training hard. This time, he pointed out Lee Hee-kyun as the most notable player in Gwangju in 2023.[22]
Lee Jung-hyo led Gwangju FC in the 2023 season based on his own tactics, and led the team to third place after twists and turns. Through this, he earned his first berth in the Asian Champions League since the foundation of Gwangju FC.[23]
With the end of the 2023 season and the news of the transfer of several coaches drawing attention, exclusive reports have emerged that they have agreed to renew their contracts with the Gwangju club on December 13, 2023. The contract lasts for three years, until 2027.[24]
Lee Jung-hyo's tactics are analyzed a lot by the opposing team, and he advanced to the Final B this season due to grass problems.[25] [26]
Although his performance is poor in the league, the ACLE League has been cruising with victories so far, making him a coach who is receiving attention from all over the world.[27] [28]
Korean Super Cup runner-up : 2005