Antoine Griezmann, Cesar Aspilicueta, Alvaro Morata, Zane Oblak, Memphis Depay, Koke… Spanish giants Atlético Madrid are making their first appearance in front of domestic fans. It’s their first visit to Korea since their founding in 1903.

Atletico Madrid is the 11-time champion of the Spanish Primera Liga. They are behind Real Madrid (35) and Barcelona (27). Atletico Madrid has also won the Copa del Rey (King’s Cup) 10 times and the Europa League three times. Argentine coach Diego Simeone, a “three-back believer,” has been at the helm for 12 years since taking over on December 23, 2011.

Some of the biggest stars in the K League will be on hand. Team K-League will be led by Ulsan Hyundai head coach Hong Myung-bo, one of the top names in the K League. Last year, he led Ulsan to its first K League 1 title in 17 years. Yesterday’s enemies become today’s allies. In the attack, Lee In-gyu (Ulsan), Lee Seung-woo (Suwon FC), and Na Sang-ho (Seoul) work together. Lee Seung-woo, a former FC Barcelona youth player, will face the Spanish side in a battle of pride.

In the midfield, 20-year-old Bae Jun-ho (Daejeon), who has emerged as the future of Korean soccer, dreams of becoming the next Yang Hyun-joon. After breaking into the Team K League last year, his fortunes changed in a preseason friendly against Tottenham. He caught the attention of soccer fans with his dazzling dribbling that brought down Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez. He quickly established himself as a national team star and moved to Celtic in the summer transfer window. Fan favorites Sejingya (Daegu) and Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk) are other “hot midfielders” not to be missed.

The defense is led by national center back Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan) and includes Seol Young-woo (Ulsan), who made his A-match debut in June, and Hwang Jae-won (Daegu), who was selected for the Hangzhou Asian Games. Daejeon defender Anton also stands out, as he conducted a tearful ‘courtship’ on social media to be selected for the Team K League and received the most votes among defenders to be named to the Fan Eleven. In goal will be national team goalkeepers Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan) and Lee Chang-geun (Daejeon).

The stage is finally set. Team K League will play the first leg of the ‘Coupang Play Series’ against Atletico Madrid at 8 p.m. on the 27th at Seoul World Cup Stadium. On the 30th, Atletico Madrid will face Manchester City (England), who made a new history by winning the triple (European Champions League, regular season, and FA Cup).

A day before the festivities, a press conference was held on the 26th. Team K League was represented by Hong, Kim Young-kwon, and Se Jing-ya. “I would like to congratulate the players on their selection to the Team K League. “It’s not an official match,” said Hong, “but we are grateful to Atletico Madrid for coming to Korea for the sake of Korean soccer. Personally, I want our K League players to play with the pride of being selected for this team and the pride of representing the K League. I hope we can play a passionate and impressive game for the many fans who support the K League.”

Kim Young-kwon added, “I think the players who have been selected are the best players in the K League. It’s an event match. It’s important not to get injured. A lot of people are coming, and we will do our best to repay them on the field,” he emphasized. Sejingya added: “I’m happy to be an All-Star again. I’ve done it once before and I’m grateful to be selected by the fans. It will be a great experience. I’m going to be with a lot of stars and coaching staff. I’m looking forward to giving back to the fans the love they’ve given me.”

Hong added, “Atletico Madrid is a team with clear tactical colors, and it’s no exaggeration to say that their defensive organization is world-class. We are all different teams. We have no training time. We all have to play without knowing the characteristics of the players.” “I’m not afraid of that,” he said, “because there’s only one language in football. There is only one language in soccer. It’s the ball. It’s all about what you do with the ball. I don’t think nationality is important at all. I’ve never thought of it as the most important thing in soccer. We’re going to show our language perfectly. He’s a world-class coach. It’s an honor to play with him.”

Simeone, who will face Team K-League, said, “Thank you for your hospitality. From the moment I arrived at the airport, there were many people waiting for me. It was the same at the hotel. We will repay them with a good game and work hard for the fans to enjoy. We had our first training session. What we are trying to do is adjust to the time difference. It’s important to compete with other teams. We want to play with expectation, hope, and grit in the first game and share the joy with the people who came to the stadium. I know Team K League has a good coach. I think it will be fun. There will be enough time for all the players. We want to make it accessible to all fans. We’re going to make sure we give everyone equal time.”

He added: “Korean soccer is developing and gaining recognition. We’ll take a good look at (the new faces) tomorrow and see what happens.” “When I go to the stadium, I’ll shake hands with Coach Hong. We will share our memories of the World Cup.”온라인바카라

“Thank you for the hospitality,” said ‘Captain’ Koke. Everyone, including me, has been grateful since we arrived. We received a lot of affection from the fans when we arrived at the airport. To repay them, we will play a good game and show a good form.”