
“10 out of 100… James Maddison spoke to me first and said ‘Good Player’ because he was sorry for the mistake.”
Yoon Do-young (17, Daejeon), the youngest member of Team K-League, who captured the attention of soccer fans with his spirited play against Tottenham in the English Professional Soccer Premier League (EPL), gave himself a perfect score.
Yoon’s team lost 3-4 to Tottenham in the first match of the 2024 Coupang Play Series at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on March 31.
With each half of Team K-League’s squad playing the first and second halves, Yoon Do-young, who started on the right flank, showed off his skills for 45 minutes.
Yoon wowed soccer fans with a clever move to set up Lee Dong-kyung (Gimcheon) shortly after the game started.
However, Yoon gave himself a pretty harsh score of 10 out of 100.
“I tried to have fun, but I think I unintentionally put a lot of effort into my body, and I think I made a mistake that I shouldn’t have made because I became conscious of it,” Yoon Do-young said after the game. ”I learned a lot and I was honored. I have more regrets than regrets,” he said.
He also looked back at the moment when he played against Son Heung-min, the ‘Daebaebae’, for the seventh time.
Yoon Do-young was extremely active and dropped low in defense.
Naturally, he was able to block passes to Son Heung-min, Tottenham’s left winger, or go one-on-one with him on several occasions.
In the 26th minute of the first half, he made a vital stop on Son Heung-min in a Tottenham attacking situation.
In the 26th minute of the first half, while Tottenham was attacking, Yoon Do-young blocked Son Heung-min in the box.
Son Heung-min, who was slightly tripped by Yoon Do-young, expressed his strong disappointment by slapping the ground, saying that it was a penalty kick (PK), and Yoon Do-young approached Son Heung-min, the ‘big man’, and extended his hand.
“I said, ‘I’m sorry,’ but he didn’t say anything at the time,” Yoon reflected on the scene.
After the game, Son Heung-min said, “Do-young, that’s a PK,” a mixture of affection and concern, but Yoon shrugged it off, saying he apologized again.
Facing Son Heung-min with the ball in a defensive situation and isolated near the left corner flag, Yoon tried to make a breakthrough and pass while shaking Son Heung-min from side to side, but was unsuccessful.
“It was our defensive area, so I didn’t know what to do, so I fumbled and couldn’t connect,” Yoon said, adding, ”I was happy to be in a one-on-one situation when I didn’t expect it, and I was honored.”
He played alongside his ‘best friend’ Yang Min-hyuk (Gangwon), who will be playing for Tottenham from January next year, on both wings of the K League, reuniting with his U-17 national team teammate.
The “Yang-Yoon Duo” attacked with vigor, with Yang picking up the ball on the left and laying a low pass to Yoon Do-young, who was charging forward from the opposite side.
“I thought Minhyuk was feeling a bit overwhelmed, so I told him that if he was uncomfortable on the left side, we could switch positions during the game. We tried to focus on Minhyuk,” said Yoon.
Watching Yang Min-hyuk get closer to his dream of making his EPL debut, Yoon Do-young is also thinking more and more about going overseas.
“I think I’m getting a little more attention, and I’m hearing good things around me saying, ‘Go abroad,’” Yoon said, ”but I’m still lacking a lot, so I think it’s right to go abroad as soon as I’m lucky enough to get there, grow a little more, and then leave when I’m satisfied.”
Yoon was also proud to receive praise from Tottenham midfielder James Maddison.
Maddison happened to be walking behind her after the game, and the two high-fived each other.
“She asked me how old I was, and I told her I was the same age as Minhyuk and that we were friends,” said Yoon. ”She kept telling me that I was a good player.
She told me to do better in the future,” he smiled.
He also exchanged jerseys with EPL players.
“I thought my brothers were already famous players. I was watching the timing from behind and realized that Timo Werner hadn’t exchanged jerseys, so I asked for one, and he gave me a brand new one. I’m grateful,” he smiled. 파워볼사이트