‘Rubber Yul in 2013, Kim Seung-dae in 2014, Lee Jae-sung in 2015, Ahn Hyun-beom in 2016, Kim Min-jae in 2017, Han Seung-kyu in 2018, Kim Ji-hyun in 2019, Song Min-kyu in 2020, Seol Young-woo in 2021, Yang Hyun-jun in 2022….’
The K League Young Player Award is the dream of players under the age of 23. In the past, the Rookie of the Year was a big deal, but the expanded scope of the Young Player Award has established itself as a gateway to stardom. Three of the previous winners have gone on to play in Europe (Lee Jae-sung, Kim Min-jae, and Yang Hyun-joon). All of them have either played for their national teams or are currently playing as center backs.
Introduced in 2013, the Young Player Award is open to players in the K League 1 (1st Division) who are 23 years old or younger, have played professionally in Korea and abroad for less than three years, and have played in more than 50 percent of all K League games in the season. Previous winners of the Rookie of the Year Award are excluded. In the past, the Rookie of the Year award was given to players in their first year. However, it is not easy for rookies to establish themselves in the team, so we expanded the concept.
Many young players have been shining in the K League this season. With the mandatory under-22 rule in place, the number of key players on teams has increased. While there are no obvious “star” players like Lee Jae-sung and Kim Min-jae, there are many “workhorse” players like Altoran who are making their mark.
As of Round 35, there are 23 players who have met the criteria for the Young Player Award. Among them are Daegu FC’s Hwang Jae-won, Gwangju FC’s Jung Ho-yeon, Pohang Steelers’ Lee Ho-jae, Jeonbuk Hyundai’s Kim Jung-hoon, FC Seoul’s Lee Tae-seok, and Suwon Samsung’s Kim Joo-chan.
Hwang Jae-won has the most playing time among the candidates. He has played 2798 minutes in 30 matches. He also has the highest rating (6.85) among the nominees. With one goal and three assists, Hwang has been named to the Round of 11 twice and MOM once. And then there’s the all-important “Team Impact. Hwang made his mark at the last Asian Games in Hangzhou, where he was the starting right fullback for the gold medal-winning team. 무지개토토 도메인
Not to be left out are Chung Ho-yeon “Young Gun” and Hoo Boda, who were the breakout stars of Guangzhou. Jung has the second-most minutes (2,777) and the second-highest rating (6.82) among the nominees. He also has the most assists (6). There’s also an Asian Games premium. Uhm has the most offensive points among the nominees with 5 goals and 3 assists. He also has the most round 11s (five). If he wins the award, he will become the first player in history to win both the first and second categories.
Lee “Express Joker” Ho-jae has six goals, the most among the nominees. He also has the most games played (34) and MOM awards (3). Kim Jung-hoon, who has grown into Jeonbuk’s starting goalkeeper, Lee Tae-seok, who has been a stalwart on the left side of the field for Seoul, and Kim Joo-chan, Suwon’s boy wonder, are also worthy candidates for the Young Player Award.
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