His height is 180 centimeters, not enough to play soccer in any other position. However, it became a big handicap when he chose the goalkeeper. He is the smallest goalkeeper in the K League when there are nearly 100 players in the first and second divisions. Recently, the K League is considered to be 185 centimeters short as a goalkeeper. Chung Hyeon-ho, a 19-year-old goalkeeper in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, is the only one in the K League to exceed 2m at 201cm. 바카라사이트넷
In particular, as the Korean soccer style demands some postplay, there are many doubts about whether a short goalkeeper can properly cope with the airball fight. However, Shin Song-hoon is silently sweating on the professional stage while overcoming such prejudice.
Shin Song-hoon, who joined Gwangju FC last year through Gwangju FC U-15 (Gwangdeok Middle School) and U-18 (Kumho High School), has been playing for Gimcheon Sangmu since this year, choosing to solve the military problem early on. In Gimcheon, there are many gatekeepers who can play as key players in any team, including Kang Hyun-moo, who played 161 K-League games for a club in Pohang Steelers, Kim Joon-hong, who contributed to the semifinals of Korean soccer at the U-20 World Cup in June and won the A-match this month.
However, this season, Shin Song-hoon has played the most games in Gimcheon, gaining the trust of the coaching staff that led to acting coach Sung Han-soo and coach Chung Jung-yong. Although there were variables such as Kim Joon-hong’s transfer to the U-20 Asian Cup and World Cup, Shin Song-hoon played the most in 14 games, exactly half of the 28 K-League 2 games played by Gimcheon this year. Kim Joon-hong is followed by Shin Song-hoon with six games, Kang Hyun-moo with five games, and Moon Kyung-gun with three games.
Based on his performance, Shin Song-hoon was selected for the U-23 national team led by head coach Hwang Sun-hong and is set to qualify for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup in Changwon from the 6th to the 12th. Shin Song-hoon’s motivation for starting soccer and goalkeeper came by chance when he was very young. When he was in kindergarten, he participated in a soccer tournament as a goalkeeper, and when he won the championship, he was attracted to the position and began his full-fledged gatekeeper life.
However, competition with tall goalkeepers who travel 190cm was inevitable, and Shin Song-hoon put a lot of effort into turning such a handicap into an advantage. He saved this because he had an opportunity to build a short but elastic body.
Shin Song-hoon said, “I prepared for the opponent’s shots with good positioning, and handled the aerial ball with quick judgment and bold movements,” adding, “I personally tried to overcome the losses in the key by focusing on power exercise and jump training.” K League officials also say that Shin Song-hoon has the advantage that tall goalkeepers do not have because of his good jumping and agility.
In foreign countries, many goalkeepers are already gaining huge popularity with their good defense, even if they are short. Jorge Campos, who is 170 centimeters tall but was the main goalkeeper of the Mexican national team at the 1998 World Cup in France due to his excellent reflexes and brilliant play, and Guillermo Ochoa, the Mexican national team, who is still active by blocking the opponent’s attack even at 185 centimeters.
Shin Song-hoon also refers to these world-class goalkeepers and closely observes the movements of the K League’s short goalkeeper seniors and uses them as his growth nourishment. “Recently, I am referring to David Raya (183cm), a Spanish national team member who moved to Arsenal this summer after playing a big role in Brentford in the Premier League,” he said. “In Korea, I observe small goalkeepers such as Seongnam Kim Young-kwang and Seoul E-Land Yoon Bo-sang (183cm).”
After overcoming many difficulties, he has become a goalkeeper who is gradually recognized on the professional stage. In addition, he was selected for the national team by age and had a dream to participate in next year’s Paris Olympics. Shin Song-hoon, who dreams of becoming “Korea’s Ochoa” and “Korea’s David Raya,” is still in progress.