Thiago praises ‘top scorer contender’ Joo Min-gyu, “Let’s see who will be smiling after the season!”

Thiago highly evaluated Joo Min-gyu, his competitor for the top scorer. 

Daejeon Hana Citizen drew 1-1 with Suwon FC in the 34th round (1st round of the final round) of ‘Hana 1Q K League 1 2023’ held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 22nd. As a result, Daejeon maintained 8th place with 46 points. 

Daejeon could have confirmed its retention early by earning just one point in this game. But things didn’t go the way we wanted. Daejeon went on the offensive from the beginning of the game, but no goals were scored. Rather, they ended up conceding the first goal to Suwon FC. In the 33rd minute of the first half, Kim Hyeon finished off Lee Young-jae’s sharp cross with a header.

Daejeon, which started the second half with the lead taken away, quickly used the substitution card. At the start of the second half, Kang Yun-seong was brought in to replace Joo Se-jong. Then, in the 7th minute of the second half, they added Thiago and Kim Young-wook to the game instead of Yoo Kang-hyun and Massa, giving them a chance to win the game.  

In the end, the goal was scored. In the 16th minute of the second half, Thiago easily pushed in Kim In-gyun’s sharp ground ball cross from the left. There were several decisive opportunities after that, but no additional goals were scored. Nevertheless, Daejeon confirmed its retention in the first game of the final round thanks to Thiago’s equalizing goal. 

Although we didn’t win, we achieved our team goal. Additionally, a meaningful personal indicator was created. It is Thiago who is tied for first place in scoring. Together with Joo Min-gyu, he is scoring 15 goals. Of course, the K League does not award joint top scorers. 1st and 2nd place are determined based on the number of games played, playing time, etc. Anyway, since the scores are tied, there will be a competition to be the top scorer until the end.

Thiago, who met in the mixed zone after the game, said, “It was a difficult game. Suwon FC had to beat us. So they came out strong against us. As a result, they were able to achieve their goal of remaining in K-League 1 by earning one point. “I’m glad I was able to do it,” he said.

At the same time, he expressed regret about his personal performance, saying, “Personally, it is a disappointing game. I scored a goal, but I had several good chances, but I could not capitalize on them.”

Thiago was brought on as a substitute in this game. When asked if he was disappointed not to be able to start as a starter in a situation where he was competing for the top scorer, he said, “Of course, it can be disappointing from the player’s perspective. However, I respect the decision of the manager and coaching staff. In the end, I think it is fortunate that I scored a goal. But what? “I am satisfied that the team has confirmed my stay,” he said.

Thiago is competing for the top scorer for two years in a row. Thiago played for Gyeongnam FC in K-League 2 last season, competing with his current teammate Yoo Kang-hyeon (then Chungnam Asan) for first and second place. Ultimately, Yoo Kang-hyun took first place with 19 goals, and Thiago took second place with 18 goals. 카지노사이트

Currently, it is tied with Joo Min-gyu. The number of matches is also the same, with 32 appearances. However, based on playing time, Joo Min-gyu played 2,334 minutes and Thiago played 2,456 minutes. In the end, when the scores are tied, the player with the least playing time is the top scorer. 

In response, Thiago said, “It would be great to be ranked first. It would be very meaningful as a striker. And if I receive the award, I would like to say thank you to my teammates who helped me. So, I will become the top scorer and “There is a reason why I want to do it,” he explained. 

At the same time, Thiago said, “Joo Min-gyu is a player who has shown good performances on the K-League stage in recent years. He is a good player. He has also scored against Daejeon. I am nervous because he is scoring a lot of goals, but who will be laughing when this season ends? “Let’s see if there is anything,” he said, sending a cheerful message to Joo Min-gyu.