My coverage deeper down the list is a bit thinner. Some was COVID related as many youth+reserve team seasons were shutdown. Others were due to limited info as some clubs are quieter than others. And of course, the marginal guys are a function of my time and energy and have been trying to manage that a bit better this season. Not helping things is the fact that with said interruptions, I don't think I've done a full recap
Kwon Chang Hoon -- Going to start with the end with Kwon Chang Hoon returning to K league ahead of mandatory military service and that looks to have impaired the end of his Freiburg career with Streich increasing his focus on the next season. It was doubly frustrating as he had started to earn Streich's trust over the first half of the season, earning minutes and starts until he injured himself. With a different set of circumstances, Kwon Chan Hoon might have been able to carve out a role in this squad but health and military duty brings a quiet end to his European career barring an Olympic miracle.
Jeong Woo Yeong -- A tough season start but Jeong started to show flashes of the skill that had made him a Bayern prospect and started to earn increasing minutes over the second half of the season. His defensive work rate improved and started to mature in his movement and decision making. That said, he still turns over the ball too often with excess risk taking and he now has the mental burden of not making the Olympic team. And he's lacking a bit of danger in the box which makes tolerating these shortcomings more painful. The silver lining is that Jeong will have a full preseason to earn a bigger role and looks like he should get those chances to impress.
Hwang Hee Chan -- After an extremely bright start to his Leipzig career, things slowed down quickly as Hwang took a bit longer to adapt to Nagelsmann's system and had some niggling injuries, and then stopped completely due to COVID infection that ended his first half of the season. While there were some rumors that HHC might leave in the winter window, HHC was convinced to stay so that he could get a fair chance without those health issues. Unfortunately, those chances took a long time. It was a bit frustrating as Sorloth was only marginally convincing in patches and HHC offered the pace and physicality when he did come on that was lacking in the Leipzig attack. But things turned around for the better with a superheroic cup appearance and while HHC wasn't exactly shining, he had carved out a decent sub role. Now with his old Salzburg manager taking the helm, HHC will be looking to re-find the form that took him to the Bundesliga. Its hard to judge after one friendly, but HHC looked ready to fight (including a hilarious yellow card arguing over a throw in) and comfortable in Marsch's system.
Lee Kang In -- I'm having a hard time remembering the positives at it felt like such a long season and looking at my recaps, I did not recall that he had started off well, with regular starts, albeit out of position. Unfortunately, conflict with senior players and a derailment due to COVID infection due to KNT duty were additional factors that made it start to feel like groundhog day. LKI had many great moments during the season but lacked any consistency with frequent banishments to the bench and a team in general discord. LKI was at fault in a few ways as well, particularly with his defensive work which really limited how he could be used but also finding ways to influence the match when he's not getting the ball every buildup. Now off to the Olympics, a move seems unlikely with Valencia unlikely to earn enough to offset financial issues and/or make it worthwhile, so LKI will have to either hope to excel there and earn a last minute move or more likely, use it as a warm up for a new season with a new manager.
Ji Dong Won -- Ji's season was almost a complete repeat of past few seasons with a decent preseason ending in injury and a long road back to fitness and form. When he was loaned out to Eintracht Braunschweig after a fall with little role, he looked like he might repeat the heroics of his loan to Darmstadt with large contributions early on. Unfortunately, his fitness started to fail again until his season ended with a foot injury. A meek ending to Ji's European career as he moves to FC Seoul. Ji was never a great player but he was often a very good player but injuries continued to flare up at the worst times. That said, he had more than a few highlights including a Europa League stretch and saving multiple clubs from relegation. I'll a bit sad to no longer see Ji in Europe.
Lee Jae Sung -- For a long portion of the season, LJS was the best player in BL2, able to score, create and battle and Kiel was able to ride his form to the top of the table and a deep run in the cup, with the highlight being an upset of Bayern. The only shortcoming over this time was the fact that there weren't multiples of him to play all the various positions he played at one time due to the inconsistent play of his teammates. Often starting as a false 9, LJS could migrate back to become a CM or play out wide as tactics dictated. But all the minutes and running caused LJS to tail off at the worst possible time as Kiel somehow dropped out of automatic promotion, got blown out in the cup semis and lose badly in the second leg of the promotion playoff. While LJS wasn't awful during this stretch, it spoke to his importance to Kiel and the drop off in his play. While rumors late in the season had LJS moving to Hoffenheim, LJS chose Mainz as a free agent this summer. Given comments from Mainz thinking the deal to Hoffenheim was done, one wonders if Hoffenheim had second thoughts after that drop off in play or if LJS was more intruigued by Mainz' improved play under new coach Svensson. LJS' gamble paid off even if it ends disappointingly for Kiel who misses out on LJS and promotion. LJS' start to this season is starting off slow with an injury suffered in KNT duty but it sounds minor so hoping to see how he fits in soon.
Choi Kyoung Rok -- A really happy season for CKR who recovered from ACL injury and a marginal role over the prior two seasons to earning a new contract and becoming one of the regulars in the XI. While he isn't lighting it up on the stats, he provides some quality in their attack and his workrate helps both in the press and in filling in the holes of their midfield. CKR picked up yet another injury after signing his new contract, so that remains a concern but based on preseason, looks to have retained his role.
Son Heung Min -- My concerns with Mourinho's hire reached peak realization with Tottenham playing some miserable football but in an unexpected twist, Son benefitted from the simple play with a blazing hot 2/3 of a season. Son also matured a lot as a player, able to contribute when not scoring and better maintain energy levels despite an incredibly high workload. While his performances match-to-match stayed positive, the sheer number of minutes across EL qualification and a deep run in the league cup did eventually catch up, with Son's second half of the season more up and down and even picked up a hamstring injury. A lot of questions remain with a possible new contract for Son weighed up against a Tottenham side in disarray, with a new manager, major missing pieces in defense, and the uncertainty of Kane. I'd prefer than Son find a new challenge on a stronger team but he has comfort here and a WCQ cycle to manage so one can see why he'd stay. Either way, Son remains the top watch each week.
Hwang Ui Jo -- Has a player led his team in scoring so uninspiringly? In a club with greater concerns that came to a head with a credit default type event, Sousa's sudden departure and uninspiring replacement, and a battle against relegation, maybe HUJ's contributions were overshadowed by all the negativity. Part can also be attributed to many of the goals being PKs. But HUJ also was a bit of tweener, not playing great out wide but also not being strong enough to be a CF. That said, he carried the burden as well as he could, despite often being isolated up top and avoided relegation. Olympics is a bit of a distraction for HUJ but with Bordeaux having modest goals, perhaps wouldn't have the detriment it might to a player needing to earn his club role more. As it stands, HUJ will be needed this season whether as a LW or as a forward.
Yun Il Lok -- A really strange season for Yun who worked hard, got positive compliments from his manager and earned a bigger role by the week... and then fell completely out of the squad and his contract wasn't renewed and headed back to K League. Maybe he never fully adapted culturally, especially given COVID circumstances, but he never looked out of place on the pitch and the quiet second half of the season was disappointing.
Suk Hyun Jun -- Suk's early COVID infection appeared to be of the longer term variety as his start to his season was delayed and he had a marginal start to his season. Then he missed more time with what was implied to be more coronavirus complications and then a calf injury. Overhanging all of this was Suk's attempt to avoid military duty in Korea ending with him officially entering "draft dodging" status. I won't opine on the last point, but despite this Suk had a hand in Troyes earning promotion even if Suk's role had been reduced quite a bit from last season. Despite City group's involvement, Troyes has been fairly quiet this window so Suk should keep that role barring a late window dump of talent from their parent clubs.
Kwon Chang Hoon -- Going to start with the end with Kwon Chang Hoon returning to K league ahead of mandatory military service and that looks to have impaired the end of his Freiburg career with Streich increasing his focus on the next season. It was doubly frustrating as he had started to earn Streich's trust over the first half of the season, earning minutes and starts until he injured himself. With a different set of circumstances, Kwon Chan Hoon might have been able to carve out a role in this squad but health and military duty brings a quiet end to his European career barring an Olympic miracle.
Jeong Woo Yeong -- A tough season start but Jeong started to show flashes of the skill that had made him a Bayern prospect and started to earn increasing minutes over the second half of the season. His defensive work rate improved and started to mature in his movement and decision making. That said, he still turns over the ball too often with excess risk taking and he now has the mental burden of not making the Olympic team. And he's lacking a bit of danger in the box which makes tolerating these shortcomings more painful. The silver lining is that Jeong will have a full preseason to earn a bigger role and looks like he should get those chances to impress.
Hwang Hee Chan -- After an extremely bright start to his Leipzig career, things slowed down quickly as Hwang took a bit longer to adapt to Nagelsmann's system and had some niggling injuries, and then stopped completely due to COVID infection that ended his first half of the season. While there were some rumors that HHC might leave in the winter window, HHC was convinced to stay so that he could get a fair chance without those health issues. Unfortunately, those chances took a long time. It was a bit frustrating as Sorloth was only marginally convincing in patches and HHC offered the pace and physicality when he did come on that was lacking in the Leipzig attack. But things turned around for the better with a superheroic cup appearance and while HHC wasn't exactly shining, he had carved out a decent sub role. Now with his old Salzburg manager taking the helm, HHC will be looking to re-find the form that took him to the Bundesliga. Its hard to judge after one friendly, but HHC looked ready to fight (including a hilarious yellow card arguing over a throw in) and comfortable in Marsch's system.
Lee Kang In -- I'm having a hard time remembering the positives at it felt like such a long season and looking at my recaps, I did not recall that he had started off well, with regular starts, albeit out of position. Unfortunately, conflict with senior players and a derailment due to COVID infection due to KNT duty were additional factors that made it start to feel like groundhog day. LKI had many great moments during the season but lacked any consistency with frequent banishments to the bench and a team in general discord. LKI was at fault in a few ways as well, particularly with his defensive work which really limited how he could be used but also finding ways to influence the match when he's not getting the ball every buildup. Now off to the Olympics, a move seems unlikely with Valencia unlikely to earn enough to offset financial issues and/or make it worthwhile, so LKI will have to either hope to excel there and earn a last minute move or more likely, use it as a warm up for a new season with a new manager.
Ji Dong Won -- Ji's season was almost a complete repeat of past few seasons with a decent preseason ending in injury and a long road back to fitness and form. When he was loaned out to Eintracht Braunschweig after a fall with little role, he looked like he might repeat the heroics of his loan to Darmstadt with large contributions early on. Unfortunately, his fitness started to fail again until his season ended with a foot injury. A meek ending to Ji's European career as he moves to FC Seoul. Ji was never a great player but he was often a very good player but injuries continued to flare up at the worst times. That said, he had more than a few highlights including a Europa League stretch and saving multiple clubs from relegation. I'll a bit sad to no longer see Ji in Europe.
Lee Jae Sung -- For a long portion of the season, LJS was the best player in BL2, able to score, create and battle and Kiel was able to ride his form to the top of the table and a deep run in the cup, with the highlight being an upset of Bayern. The only shortcoming over this time was the fact that there weren't multiples of him to play all the various positions he played at one time due to the inconsistent play of his teammates. Often starting as a false 9, LJS could migrate back to become a CM or play out wide as tactics dictated. But all the minutes and running caused LJS to tail off at the worst possible time as Kiel somehow dropped out of automatic promotion, got blown out in the cup semis and lose badly in the second leg of the promotion playoff. While LJS wasn't awful during this stretch, it spoke to his importance to Kiel and the drop off in his play. While rumors late in the season had LJS moving to Hoffenheim, LJS chose Mainz as a free agent this summer. Given comments from Mainz thinking the deal to Hoffenheim was done, one wonders if Hoffenheim had second thoughts after that drop off in play or if LJS was more intruigued by Mainz' improved play under new coach Svensson. LJS' gamble paid off even if it ends disappointingly for Kiel who misses out on LJS and promotion. LJS' start to this season is starting off slow with an injury suffered in KNT duty but it sounds minor so hoping to see how he fits in soon.
Choi Kyoung Rok -- A really happy season for CKR who recovered from ACL injury and a marginal role over the prior two seasons to earning a new contract and becoming one of the regulars in the XI. While he isn't lighting it up on the stats, he provides some quality in their attack and his workrate helps both in the press and in filling in the holes of their midfield. CKR picked up yet another injury after signing his new contract, so that remains a concern but based on preseason, looks to have retained his role.
Son Heung Min -- My concerns with Mourinho's hire reached peak realization with Tottenham playing some miserable football but in an unexpected twist, Son benefitted from the simple play with a blazing hot 2/3 of a season. Son also matured a lot as a player, able to contribute when not scoring and better maintain energy levels despite an incredibly high workload. While his performances match-to-match stayed positive, the sheer number of minutes across EL qualification and a deep run in the league cup did eventually catch up, with Son's second half of the season more up and down and even picked up a hamstring injury. A lot of questions remain with a possible new contract for Son weighed up against a Tottenham side in disarray, with a new manager, major missing pieces in defense, and the uncertainty of Kane. I'd prefer than Son find a new challenge on a stronger team but he has comfort here and a WCQ cycle to manage so one can see why he'd stay. Either way, Son remains the top watch each week.
Hwang Ui Jo -- Has a player led his team in scoring so uninspiringly? In a club with greater concerns that came to a head with a credit default type event, Sousa's sudden departure and uninspiring replacement, and a battle against relegation, maybe HUJ's contributions were overshadowed by all the negativity. Part can also be attributed to many of the goals being PKs. But HUJ also was a bit of tweener, not playing great out wide but also not being strong enough to be a CF. That said, he carried the burden as well as he could, despite often being isolated up top and avoided relegation. Olympics is a bit of a distraction for HUJ but with Bordeaux having modest goals, perhaps wouldn't have the detriment it might to a player needing to earn his club role more. As it stands, HUJ will be needed this season whether as a LW or as a forward.
Yun Il Lok -- A really strange season for Yun who worked hard, got positive compliments from his manager and earned a bigger role by the week... and then fell completely out of the squad and his contract wasn't renewed and headed back to K League. Maybe he never fully adapted culturally, especially given COVID circumstances, but he never looked out of place on the pitch and the quiet second half of the season was disappointing.
Suk Hyun Jun -- Suk's early COVID infection appeared to be of the longer term variety as his start to his season was delayed and he had a marginal start to his season. Then he missed more time with what was implied to be more coronavirus complications and then a calf injury. Overhanging all of this was Suk's attempt to avoid military duty in Korea ending with him officially entering "draft dodging" status. I won't opine on the last point, but despite this Suk had a hand in Troyes earning promotion even if Suk's role had been reduced quite a bit from last season. Despite City group's involvement, Troyes has been fairly quiet this window so Suk should keep that role barring a late window dump of talent from their parent clubs.
Park Kyu Hyun -- Despite an abbreviated season with Werder Bremen's B team, PKH seemed to be ever close to a role with the first team, at times rumored to be possibly in the squad and training throughout the B team hiatus. Perhaps these factors resulted in Werder Bremen able to buy him for far less than the option on his loan and he looks to be in the first team this season, even if Werder is disappointingly relegated and down to BL2. Currently he stands as a backup LB but hopefully he can earn a larger role over the season.
Paik Seung Ho -- Paik continued to struggle to adapt to Darmstadt even if his football playing seemed to be doing ok. He struggled a bit to find a position, especially given his defensive shortcomings and inconsistent final ball contributions. After a slow start to the season, Paik looked like he had finally gotten things going as the season turned colder with some good assists and play. But soon enough his role got reduced and it seemed Paik had a change of heart about fighting for his spot and though the move took a long time to complete, ended up going to the K League. Disappointing as Paik flashed some good skills that some more adaptation to physical 2nd tier play might result in really having an impact, but on the other hand, lingering on the bench in that 2nd tier isn't a way to progress one's career.
To come: I'll try to add more of the young guys when I find some time but I'm finding this blog post a bit fatiguing and time consuming haha!
